The Kelly Campaign
February 7, 2012
For the longest time I’ve been wanting to paint a piece of furniture bright Kelly green. It started when I found this Reed & Barton color glazed silver bowl from the 1960’s in a thrift shop for a dollar. A dollar for this beauty!
So I wanted to bring this fun color into our home and once I found the perfect piece, this small campaign desk, off to the paint store I went to color match it! Here’s the desk I found at (of course) a thrift store for $40 – the hardware alone is worth that to me, but the added benefit was this desk with faux bamboo legs that would tuck nicely into the kids study/art/craft playroom.
Before:
After:
The desk was not real burled wood, but had a speckled and scratched surface, so painting it was an easy call. I followed the same steps I’ve mentioned before, 1. Remove the hardware, 2. Clean and scuff up the piece with a medium grit sanding wedge and 3. Prime with product designed for glossy surfaces (Zinsser is my fave).
Next, two coats of this fabulous paint! I’ve wanted to try the Advance formula by Ben Moore and this desk was perfect candidate. This enamel formula gives a harder finish like oil based paints but cleans up with water, I’ll definitely use it again – it comes in satin, semi-gloss and high gloss formulas. No Floetrol needed, this paint is that good.
The color is a custom formula to match the bowl, but if you want two close matches, try ‘Grasshopper’ by Sherwin Williams or ‘Bunker Hill Green’ by Benjamin Moore.
Finally I scrubbed and polished the brass hardware and reattached it.
Now this fun Kelly green campaign desk sits in the kids’ playroom for art or homework.
I’m not alone in my love for this shade on campaign furniture, it’s been done before, so be sure to check out Emily’s campaign dresser and do you recall this set of green campaign dressers from Lonny magazine? A gorgeous classic color!
Painted anything a bright fun color in your home lately?
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Tags: campaign desk, kelly green
