Thrift Flip: Mid-Century Modern Desk

I have been an avid thrift since I was in high school. When COVID hit I took a break and I really haven’t felt comfortable with thrifting again until recently. The first time I went back there was such excitement that sparked so much inspiration. Furniture is something I love scoping out, but never have the space for, so I thought why not try an experiment to purchase a piece to flip and try to sell it for a profit. It would give me content and give me a project to get my creative juices flowing again.

I found this piece at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore which is currently my favorite place to score some super cheap but good quality furniture. This desk was marked down to $14 and for that price, I know this was the piece I wanted to start with. It is a classic mid-century modern design that is very popular and I knew with the right design it would definitely sell, but if it didn’t it wasn’t a huge expense out of my pocket.

I started by removing all the drawers and giving it a good sand with my orbital sander on all surfaces.

I started by removing all the drawers and giving it a good sand with my orbital sander on all surfaces.

The plan is to paint the desk black, but since the desk itself does have some nice dimension under the drawers, I wanted to highlight that. I taped off the walnut lining under the drawers to keep them their existing wood color.

Next, I gave the desk and drawer fronts a fresh coat of primer so the paint would adhere better. Once that was dry, I went over the primer with some black furniture paint.

When the black paint was dry, I removed the tape from the wood I wanted to keep exposed. I rubbed some wood stain to that area to freshen it up and then using a small brush, I touched up the corners. with black paint.

For the finishing touch, I added some brass handles to the drawers and I have to say I think it came out really good. I posted it on Facebook Marketplace and sold it for $180 in about a day and a half. It was a really great feeling when I sold this piece, I had no idea it would even sell. It also felt really great to repurpose an old piece and give it new life. With furniture being so disposable these days, I think it is so important to save the furniture pieces that have good bones and if it doesn’t turn out well, at least you tried. During the same thrift store trip, I also came across the chair you see below. The chair in the photo is the end result of that thrift flip. I can’t wait to share that flip with you next, it was an even more drastic transformation.

Hey! I’m Cristina.

I’m so glad you are here. Let’s make something!

Get to know me a little better over on Instagram.