Refurbishing an old “Abbess” desk

I recently bought an old Abbess schoolmaster’s desk from the 1940s or 1950s  in a charity shop – for only £25. Sadly enough the surface was quite greasy and scratched, so I decided to use it for a refurbishing project. Since I love the texture and look of old wood I wanted to keep the surface as natural as possible, adding some modern touches.

I bought some additional material – apart from sanding paper I already had at home – for £20: Chalk paint and furniture wax.

Then I started sanding the complete surface – using a machine for the tabletop and did the rest by hand. It already looked better after that.

I decided to paint the legs with anthracite chalk paint.

But I tried to keep the original features like this old “Abbess” label.

What I love about chalk paint: You can still see and feel the texture of the wood.

As last step I polished the complete surfaces with furniture wax. Took ages. Looks fantastic.

Now it has a new purpose: As sideboard in my living room