A couple of months ago I was approached by a prospective client inquiring about incorporating red in a dresser makeover for their recently re-designed master bedroom. They were big fans of the ultra-chippy, shabby look and were envisioning a white chippy dresser with red drawer fronts. As with every custom order, I always start by consulting with the client, looking at the space the piece will be in, and create an idea board, of sorts, for them. While pulling inspiration photos for them, I kept thinking of how I had always wanted to do a very chippy, barn-red piece and found some great inspiration photos of similar dressers to present to the client. They loved the idea of a solid red piece!
Well, fast forward a month or so and the prospective client decided to go in an entirely different direction. Womp, womp. No big deal…things like that happen. So, my red paint got shelved and I was quickly lost in other projects/vacation/etc. That is, until I found this beautiful secretary desk:
Before of the inside
Before
Love it! Love the serpentine drawer fronts. Love the eagle’s claw feet. Love the brass, batwing pulls. Love the skeleton keyholes. Love the mini-cabinet, mini-drawers, and hidden compartments inside the drop-down. Love, love, love!
This piece had it all…great lines and design, a classic look, a great dark stain, just the right amount of wear and lovingly aged. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect piece for the chippy, barn-red treatment I’ve been eagerly wanting to do. And thus, The Huntsman came to be!
Perfectly shabby and beautifully red!
I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! To achieve this look, I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Tricycle milk paint, let it chip and fall away, distressed it where I wanted to give it a more time-worn look, and then sealed it with hemp oil and an antiquing wax to add a little more depth to the paint. I fall more and more in love with milk paint each and every time I use it! (But that’s a post for another day.) Here’s the secretary with the top closed: 
When I brought the desk home it had quite a few scratches and gouges on the face of the drop-lid. I was about to fill them in and sand them down when I thought better of it. Why not keep them? They would fit perfectly with the well-loved, ultra-chippy, shabby look that I was going for. And so they stayed. And a big part of me thinks the piece would look incomplete without them. Check out this wonderful chippy goodness!
And the wonderful eagle claw feet
And lastly, this desk’s original brass hardware fits perfectly with the new looks!
What do you think? Are you a fan of the ultra chippy and shabby look? What about RED…do you like red? Let me know what you think!
This cute little secretary is available for sale in my Etsy shop!
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