More espace

Blake's been surviving with a tiny night stand for the past several years while we searched for something better.  

On my side of the bed is a small dresser with feminine lines and hardware.  I wanted to find something with straighter, more masculine lines and hardware for Blake's side.  But also something that would coordinate well with the other furniture in the room.  After much deliberation, we both decided that the best option would be a desk so that Blake could have ample storage and a larger tabletop.  

We were helping Blake's parents clean out one of their storage rooms a few months ago and came across this desk.  They hadn't used it in 15 years and were going to get rid of it, so we took it off their hands.  I really liked the straight lines, the size, the leather top, and the leather and iron hardware.  The only thing I didn't love was the color.  It was that terrible dark, speckled 70's brown.  Yuck.

We brought it home and started sanding it down thinking we'd want the whole thing in a natural wood color.  An hour or so in we decided we'd like it better with the frame painted white and the drawers sanded down to the natural wood.  

I painted (this sucker took five coats.  Ugh!) and Blake sanded.  As he kept sanding we were surprised to see that each of the four drawers was a different color.  I was annoyed at first, but then (due to Blake's recommendation that we arrange them in "ombre" order) ended up liking them the way they are.  Plus, if I get tired of the variation I can always stain them all one color.  

One good thing about the variation is that it actually coordinates quite well with the reclaimed wood stool we found at HomeGoods.  I love happy accidents in home improvement projects.