Anyway, I was going to try to get a nap in today to make up for the lost sleep, but somehow that didn't end up happening. Instead I applied a couple coats of paste wax to Ellen's dresser and then in a burst of caffeine-fueled enthusiasm drove up to Seattle to find the knobs to finish it off.
I wanted something a little oversized to make it super easy for her to be able to grasp them and pull the drawers out; we're not sure what her fine motor skills look like so I figured I'd error on the side of caution. I think what I found will probably work, but if it doesn't we can always change the knobs out for pulls, which are easier for a person with fine motor issues to handle. If the desk survives her teenage years we can always replace the knobs with something a little more neutral and grown up (I'm thinking something in milk glass, white porcelain or brass) later, but for now these will work!
I still need to line the drawers and the bottom shelf, but otherwise her desk is officially done!
I'm thinking that maybe this will not be the first teenager this desk has belonged to. I'm basing this on the condition of the desk when I bought it. Sadly all of my "before" pictures, which were shot in a badly-lit garage, are too blurry to post up here. But basically picture the desk with a beautiful mahogany finish on it that would have been perfect (and probably way out of my price range) if someone hadn't spilled what looked like half a bottle of nail polish in a color probably called something like "Ravishing Red" all over the top of it and down one side and then tried to get part of it off using nail polish remover and/or steel wool. Basically it looked like the owner had gotten into a knife fight on top of the desk and lost. Badly.
So even though this is the first piece of furniture I have ever painted in my entire life and someone else who actually knew what they were doing could probably have done it a bajillion times better, it still beats what the desk looked like when I got it. I'm expecting that it will probably take quite a beating in the next few years, but hopefully Ellen will keep her nail polish in the bathroom where it belongs.
Anyway, I also picked up a magnetic bulletin board with a world map printed on it for above her desk (she wants to travel the world, so this way she can stay organized and keep track of where she's been all in the same place) as well as a couple rolls of really pretty wrapping paper to cover some plain storage boxes that will go in her room-- way, way cheaper than buying the patterned ones. And I couldn't resist buying her first stuffed animal: an adorable plush badger. Because hey, it's a badger. I didn't even realize that stuffed animals came in that brand of awesomeness.
Oh, and I finished off what will probably be the last of the pillows for her bed, unless I run out of other projects and go crazy while I'm waiting. She'd probably appreciate me stopping now, though. There are only so many throw pillows you can have on one bed at a time before things just start getting ridiculous.
I did try to take a nap in the afternoon while Connor was down for quiet time and Jeremy was at the gym, but since Connor interpreted the words "Quiet Time" to mean "Attempt To Set The World Record For Highest Decibel Level Ever Attained By A Small Child Who Thinks The Sound Of His Own Voice Is Hilarious," it didn't work out so well. Then by the time Jeremy got home it was late enough in the afternoon that taking a nap would just mean going to bed and then waking up at three in the morning. Oh well.
But anyway, today was pretty productive despite my sleep deprivation, and I managed to get the vast majority of the big projects I wanted to finish over Spring Break wrapped up. So that means tomorrow can be a total day of rest.
Speaking of which, happy Easter, everyone!
~Jess
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