Elegant Desk with WoodUBend Mouldings

November 3, 2019

Hi Friends! Today I’ve got a classic little desk done with elegant WoodUBend mouldings and a timeless paint finish.

I picked her up looking pretty rough from Goodwill for $15; the sticker on the back said Pier One. Someone had already sanded her down, but then abandoned the project. Maybe because of an imperfection on the top. So I had to save her, and finish the process of making her beautiful again.

Here is the issue on the top.

Here is the list of products I used in this makeover.

Resource List:

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Desk (thrifted)
White Lightning
Dixie Belle Mud in brown
Woodubend scroll embellishments 366 and 367
WooduBend horizontal applique 1374
Mason Dixon Gray
Sawmill Gravy
French Linen
Gator Hide

I cleaned the piece really well with White Lightning, and rinsed it too. To repair the top, I scraped away the sticky paper-like substance, and sanded it down. There was also an indent, so I filled it with brown Dixie Belle Mud. After sanding that smooth, I was ready to add the mouldings and paint.

WoodUBend Mouldings

Let’s talk about those WoodUBend mouldings. They are the star of the show! I think they take this piece from good to amazing! They add such a beautiful detail. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you what they are and where they came from.

These wood mouldings are manufactured by WoodUBend, a company based in the U.K. They are wood composite, so you can treat them exactly like wood.

You can sand them, stain them, paint them, drill them, but they have another super amazing quality. You can bend them!

You just apply heat with a heat gun, hair dryer, griddle, whatever you’ve got, and then you can shape the moulding to the surface. Affix it with wood glue and then apply heat again.

The additional heat creates a suction between the moulding and the piece, and you don’t even have to clamp or tape it in place. It is immediately adhered, and will expand and contract with the surface it is on.

These are truly a GAME CHANGER!

You can also use them on lots of different surfaces, like glass, mirror, pottery, and metal. I’ve seen a lot of projects using these mouldings online, and my mind is blown with the creative possibilities. I can’t wait to use them on many more things!

Linen Painting Technique

I couldn’t envision a solid color on this piece, so I picked a layered finish. Love how this color combination came out! It looks a little like a linen fabric, tone-on-tone, but enough contrast to be interesting.

My first layer is Mason Dixon Gray, applied with a pretty dry brush and up and down, back and forth strokes. I made a cross shape in an area, and then moved to a different area leaving some spots unpainted. It dries really fast with this technique, since I’m using such a small amount of paint.

I continued the same technique with Sawmill Gravy, partially covering some of the first layer. The last color was French Linen.

Then, I went back and added a little more layering with each color. I even did the same thing over the WoodUBend mouldings.

This is totally up to your eye and personal taste. You really can’t mess this up, as long as you keep your brush fairly dry.

Finishing Touches

I was super tempted to paint the mouldings metallic, or gild them with gilding wax, but I convinced myself to stop. I really do love how elegant it looks without those things, and I think it will also be more marketable.

To add those little turquoise knobs to the side drawers, I had to cut off a little curly bit of the moulding. I did this with a razor blade, but depending on your cut, you can also use scissors.

Those knobs have been in my stash forever, and I’m pretty sure I spray painted them that color eons ago. I decided against any knob in the middle since you can grab the bottom of the drawer to slide it open and I didn’t want to detract from the WoodUBend moulding detail.

I sealed the top with 2 coats of Gator Hide. I wanted the water resistance, since the future owner may set drinks on the top.

Staging

The staging has evolved a little since last week. I applied a special paint finish to the brick panel wall, but I still had to use it vertically for now until I get another panel done and have more width to work with. If you’d like to see how I did the wall, you can check out the Facebook Live video here.