Painting My Desk with SW Color of the Year: Upward

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that I painted most of the main level of our home Sherwin Williams Color of the Year: Upward SW 6239. I’m so in love with the color that when I painted the old desk in my office, I decided to paint it the same color as my living room. 

I was originally going to use a white paint color just like the white tones of all of my other furniture. However, I’m so in love with the soft blue of Upward and I happened to have lots of leftover paint. 

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Color of the Year Choice

Sherwin Williams Upward is such a great light blue hue. It has some gray undertones but reads very light in natural light and in lamp light. I’ve had other blue paint colors in our home this is my absolute favorite. 

I had seen the color on kitchen cabinets so I knew that painting my desk with SW Upward was the right thing to do. My home office has a French country flair and the desk looks amazing. 

My desk is in a closet that I’ve made into an office nook. I have a blue and white toilé wallpaper on an accent wall and the desk against it is stunning.

Painting the Desk

The vintage desk that I have is a darker color wood so I knew that sanding and priming would be in order.

When I paint furniture the type of paint that I would normally choose is chalk paint but I wanted to do this cheaply so a great way to do that is to only use what I have on hand. 

Prepping and Sanding the Desk

I started by cleaning the desk well with soap and water. If the weather is nice you can do this outside and hose your furniture down and then let it dry well in the sun.

There were some nicks and scratches in the desk that I used wood filler and a putty knife to fill. The skirt around the chair opening had fallen off so I used wood glue and clamps to secure the wood pieces on the desk.

After the wood filler and wood glue had dried overnight, I used a sanding block to sand everything. 

I didn’t spend a lot of time on it, I just roughed up the areas that still have a sheen to it from the old lacquer finish. 

Priming the Desk

For this project, I was determined to do it on the cheap so I only used things that I already had in stock. I used some Kilz Primer and it took two coats. It wasn’t bleeding through the first coat so I probably could have gotten away with one but I just wanted to be sure. 

After the two coats of primer had dried overnight (in between each coat), I was ready to paint.

Painting the Desk

I had leftover Emerald Interior Latex Paint from Sherwin Williams in Upward SW6239. While I did the primer with a brush, I found a small roller to paint the top of the desk. It’s my experience that this is the best way to get a nice even coat that doesn’t have brush marks. 

I’m loving how wonderful the Wooster Microfiber Roller Sleeve covers and holds paint and I’m using them for everything painting project now.

I did the top and the flat sides with the roller and then a brush for the other parts of the desk. Again, I used two coats and it covered beautifully. 

Top Coat on the Furniture

I washed the hardware thoroughly with some water and dish soap. It cleaned them up but they were just cheap metal hardware. The hope of some beautiful brass that I could polish was dashed. 

The Hardware

I got out my handy rub-n-buff in antique gold. Using a paint brush I added on a new layer of this pretty gold finish. Once I painted the hardware with enough rub-n-buff to get the desired look, I let it dry. 

Then using a soft rag, I gently rugged off any excess product.

The hardware looks brand new and the gold against the cool color blue was the perfect choice. 

Using Interior Wall Paint

While this interior paint color was intended to go on walls, using it to paint over the warm wood with house paint turned out to be a good choice. There are so many different types of paint for different applications but it doesn’t mean they can’t have multiple usages. 

​Using an interior acrylic paint is something I like to do with furniture as it creates a nice smooth finish. In my opinion, it also tends to be a little more durable than chalk paint. 

Sherwin-Williams Upward

This enchanting shade, carefully curated by Sue Wadden, the Director of Color Marketing at Sherwin Williams, promises a gentle forward momentum, infusing our homes with a new sense of ease and sunny day energy. 

I’ve painted my entire house several colors over the years but this is my absolute favorite. While it is a cool paint color, it has a very positive energy and creates a cozy feel. 

The color palette in the office is blue, white, and green so upcycling my desk in this beautiful color of blue just made sense. I was able to update the desk, use paint that I already had in stock, and change the look of the whole room. 

Peace and Love,

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