Sage Green Painted Desk Makeover with a Hand-Painted Design

Painting an old desk is a great way to give it new life. A friend gave me an antique desk she was getting rid of, I think it dates from around the 1940’s. This is actually the desk ( and my junk)I have that is very similar, because I forgot to take a before picture of the one I painted! Also, have you painted a piece of furniture and are wondering what finish to use? Check out this post on how to seal painted furniture with wax vs. polyurethane. This Sage Green Painted Desk Makeover really came a long way with added glazing and a painted pattern.

A Sage Green Painted Desk Makeover, this vintage wooden desk features ornate brass knobs and decorative detailing, set on a hardwood floor in front of a fringed, patterned fabric background.

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I wanted to paint and makeover the desk with an antique green finish to update the old wood. On the base color of the desk, I first painted. primer to keep the dark red stain from bleeding through. The stain was very, very similar to this so you can see how dark it is.

A dark wooden desk with six drawers, featuring a Sage Green Painted Desk Makeover, displays plastic storage drawers filled with items placed in the knee space underneath.

I painted a few coat of paints in a vintage green color like (affiliate link) Sage Green paint letting them dry and then sanding them between each coat.I liked the green color a lot, but I wanted to tone it down a little bit, so I added a brown glaze over the top will mute the green paint. You can also age furniture without adding glaze. And, you can also see how to gray-wash furniture too.

A Sage Green Painted Desk Makeover: this vintage wooden desk features nine drawers, decorative edging, and subtle gold designs, set on a wooden floor near a white textured fabric.

Before I added the glaze, I took some pictures in natural light of the hand-painted designs I added so you could see the true color. It’s pretty, I just wanted it to look more it was really old. It’s amazing how much the flash changes colors and makes them look so much colder than in person…. And here is after the aging and glaze.

A vintage-style sage green painted desk makeover with decorative drawer pulls and reddish-brown accent detailing, set on a hardwood floor.

Here is a look at the up close detail of the freehand pattern painted on the sage green desk makeover. To paint the freehand pattern, I first painted the undercoat in gold acrylic paint using a round brush, and then used a thin liner brush to outline over the top. It almost has a dandelion or thistle-like quality , and I’m glad I added the gold underneath.

Close-up of a wooden surface with a sage green painted vine and leaf pattern along the edge and a carved, grooved border—perfect for a Sage Green Painted Desk Makeover.

In natural light it’s a lot closer to the true color. I love how adding the glaze over the artwork adds a nice bit of depth and dimension to the painting and makes it look like a really old desk. As if the painting were all original and it’s gathered patina over time.

Sage green desk painted with gold embellishments

It was a fun project to do too and I can’t wait to take it over to my booth.

Normally I change the knobs out, but I actually put the old ones back on because they just seemed to fit. Check out this tutorial on how to make repeat patterns on furniture with a pencil.

The image shows the word "Jen" written in a black, cursive script on a white background

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