Advice needed for DIY project--how much of this desk should I paint?

November 27, 2020 11:09 AM

I'm having trouble deciding whether to paint the entire desk or just the wood parts, not the metal legs.

I bought this desk.

I'm not a fan of the 100% black color scheme (I find it kinda basic with zero personality) and bought this paint for it.
(as seen in Dakota Johnson's kitchen).

Now I'm not sure whether to paint the entire thing or leave the Z shaped painted metal legs alone? Would it be too much to do the entire thing, or would it look unfinished/unnatural to only do the surfaces? Thoughts?

posted by BeginAgain to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

I’d start with the wood parts and see how it looks.

Honestly there’s a chance it wouldn’t stick right to the metal, you might need to abraid the surface first.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:17 AM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

I think it’s definitely worth it to start with just the surfaces and see how you like it. It could be very cute that way!
posted by brilliantine at 11:25 AM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

Definitely leave the metal legs alone. A 2-tone color scheme will look sharp.
posted by mezzanayne at 11:30 AM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

That's a nice color. If you're going to paint the flat surfaces, I would definitely use a primer. I'm guessing that the surface is some kind of laminate on top of particleboard or MDF. Paint probably isn't going to stick well without a primer. And even with it, if that paint is latex wall paint, it may not wear well with your arms and hands being in constant contact with it.

Another option would be to find on of the Krylon Fusion spray paints in a similar color. It bonds with plastic, so it may stay looking good for longer.
posted by jonathanhughes at 1:05 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

I think this would look nice with just the horizontal portions of the wood painted (ie, skip the sides; leave them black). Another thing that might be cool, in lieu of paint, is self-adhesive vinyl film in some sort of pattern (you can order it from places like Home Depot).
posted by SageTrail at 11:13 AM on November 29, 2020

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice all, I took it and decided to just paint the wood. I’m very happy with how it turned out.
posted by BeginAgain at 12:41 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]