Ikea Secretary Desk Makeover

Several years ago, my daughter, an old soul who adores vintage pieces, decided she needed a secretary desk in her room.

Frankly, I didn't think it was the most functional piece for a middle school girl.

I knew that years of makeup mirrors and laptops, textbooks, notebooks and journals were all waiting in the wings.

And there was no way, they were all going to coexist peacefully on that small, fold down, writing area.

A pull down flap, that also forced her to push her chair back, in a tiny room, to access. Not practical. At all.

But she insisted and I gave in.

Well, sometimes mother really does know best and eventually that desk found itself tucked away in the basement.

Until recently, when she moved out, without it, and decided to send it to the thrift store.

That was my cue to adopt it and turn it into a beautiful new storage piece for my ever growing pile of thrift finds.

Of course, in its original state, it didn't really fit in my living room. Ikea furniture doesn't generally scream cottage style, but the bones were good.

It just needed a little help.

Adding Cottage Style To A Secretary Desk

I started by removing the center panel on each door.


You see, my plan was to add some charm to that boring cabinet portion of the desk and I needed the center of each door open to do that.

My DIY guy was in charge of that part of my flip and he showed me two ways to get it done.

The easy way is to remove the wooden bar holding the center panels in place. Once gone, the center panel should just fall out.


We weren't that lucky. Those pieces wouldn't budge.

Instead, we needed to drill holes in the doors and use a saw so we could pull the pieces out of the notch. 


Thankfully, this time the removal was quick and clean, no sanding necessary.


Next up, it was time for paint. 

I thought about painting it my signature red, like my round table, but in the end I just decided to warm up that stark, stained, white wood a bit, with a Buttercream chalk paint.


I also decided to add a bit of contrast to the piece by staining the top. For that I used this water based gel stain from Dixie Belle.

It's one of my favorites, since it has no smell and goes over everything without stripping or sanding. I've used it to transform my fireplace mantel.

And for numerous crafty projects.

A few coats, applied one at a time, with a rag and a bit of drying time in between, did the trick.


With the painting and staining behind me, it was time to focus on the details and add some personality to this bland Ikea special.

Starting with three wooden knobs from my stash and a small wooden accent piece for that fold down flap.


Since I wanted to mount this behind the top knob, I needed a hole drilled into the center to accommodate the screw...which, by the way, we needed to get an extra long one, since it had to get through that extra wood.

To drill it without cracking the delicate wood, my husband left it in the plastic and went very slow with a tiny bit. Worked like a charm.

He's an expert when it comes to power tools, which is why I let him handle them.


When the accent pieces and new knobs were in place, I broke out the paint again and gave them all a few coats of that Buttercream paint.

I also used a bit of stain on the accent piece, for a touch of contrast against the rest of the desk paint.
With the majority of the makeover behind me, it was time to get back to those doors. The ones that were going to elevate my design.

And hide all the stuff inside.

Now, if you've followed me for any length of time, you probably know what's coming, since it's my go to way to dress up any kind of cabinet door.

I add fabric.

Over the years, I've added fabric to:

• My bathroom vanity
• My shuttered doors
• My electric fireplace cabinet
• My under sink cabinet doors to create a mock sink skirt...and more

And I've done every one of those DIYs all with double stick velcro.


Yup. It's the easiest way to attach fabric to a cabinet or glass door.

Plus, it doesn't harm the wood, there are no nails or curtain rods to install and you can change the fabric on a whim to match your decor or season.

Best of all, there's really no sewing involved, just cut your panels and stick them to the velcro in a pleated manner, on the top and bottom of the door.


This post where I covered my glass cabinet doors with fabric has a few more tips and details the steps, but overall, it's a very basic process.

With fabulous results every single time.


At first, I chose a red buffalo check from my collection, the same fabric I used to make my kitchen and living curtains. I thought it was a good look for the warmer months though.

So I ended up swapping it out for some leftover floral fabric I used to make pillows for the room instead. It seemed to fit the mood of my fall living room decor much better.


It only took me a few minutes to do.

And complete that Ikea desk makeover.

This mama's new favorite piece in the house.

Hmm. Maybe the kid did know best, after all. 

😉

Hey, before you go, I just joined a new group of friends for a monthly upcycling hop.


I hope you'll stick around and check out all their incredible finds and flips.

You are sure to be inspired.