Art Deco Vanity Sweet New Desk

There’s something magical about giving new life to a vintage piece, especially when it’s a charming Art Deco vanity. Once a forgotten thrift store find, this sad waterfall vanity was transformed into a beautiful and functional desk, perfect for a young girl or anyone who loves a touch of timeless glamour. With a fresh coat of pink paint, updated hardware, and a little TLC, this once-worn vanity now shines with personality and style, blending vintage charm with modern functionality.

Thrift Store Art Deco Vanity

While browsing in one of my favorite thrift stores, I saw this art deco vanity without a price tag. I asked at the front counter, and the lovely lady quoted a price of $5.00. How did she know about my $5 limit?

Inspect and Repair Art Deco Vanity

The top of the vanity had loose veneer in a few places, which I tried to fix with wood glue. Yeah, that didn’t really work.

I peeled away the loose veneer and sanded the edges smooth with an orbital sander. In years past, I would have used wood filler or even drywall spackling to fix such an issue. I’ve used Bondo to repair a broken claw foot, which was successful. So, I thought I would try it to repair the uneven top of the vanity.

Whoa! I grabbed too much Bondo out of the can. In the photo above, I mixed the filler and the hardener on a scrap piece of wood.

I spread the Bondo on the art deco drawers to minimize the flaws from years of abuse.

I Love My Ryobi Sanders

After the Bondo setup, I used Ryobi sanders to smooth out the veneer edge. I was very pleased with how well the Bondo leveled the edge of the veneer where it meets the missing veneer. I love the detailed edge of the Art Deco vanity top.

A hand broom comes in handy to disperse the dust from sanding.

It also works well to clear out the cobwebs inside the drawer pedestals. Who knew? I Googled to find out what the area that holds the drawers is called.

To ensure that the drawers slide easily into the pedestals, I sanded all drawer sides and tried to remove the sloppy gray paint. Dove-tail drawers are typical in an Art Deco vanity.

Mixing Paint Colors

My friend Regina is a frequent shopper at The White Elephant, where my booth is located in Louisville, Kentucky. She found these two containers of chalk paint and texted me to see if I wanted them. I hoped I could get the perfect color by mixing the two colors. I was going for a light pink.

You can see that the bright pink is now a little toned down with the coral homemade chalk paint.

Easy Furniture Painting

The old gray mare is ready for her makeover. I am so happy that the kneehole is higher than some other Art Deco Vanities.

Related Content: How to Raise the Top of an Old Waterfall Vanity.

The custom paint color was applied with a craft paintbrush and a small foam roller. This photo shows the Art Deco Vanity after one coat of homemade chalk paint. I should have stopped here because I didn’t love the color or the sheen. I thought it would get better.

Do you paint the back of your furniture pieces? I don’t always, but I had a lot of this paint mixed, so why not?

The paint is still a bit wet in this photo.

It’s time for plan B. Why? The paint color is not what I expected. In addition, the thrift store homemade chalk paint has a flat sheen and would require waxing or sealing.

I started with the drawers to ensure I wanted the plan B paint color, Peony by Heirloom Traditions.

I used this paint once before on the Antique Wardrobe Makeover. The can was half empty. I wasn’t sure if I would have enough to paint the entire Art Deco Vanity. I put the drawers in the vanity to show the color difference. The drawers look white against the bright pink but are the sweetest light pink.

Now, the bright pink color looks more coral, do you agree?

To conserve the remaining Peony paint, I painted the back of the desk white.

An old bucket aided in painting the underside of the Art Deco vanity.

Light Pink Art Deco Vanity

I am so happy with the new paint color. What do you think about it?

Magnificent Magnolia Transfer

Looking at the four sheets from the Magnificent Magnolia transfer, I chose a random sheet of flowers instead of one full of magnolia flowers.

After cutting the section I wanted, I laid it on the drawer to transfer it.

Did you know I prefer using my personalized wooden spurtle instead of the included tongue depressor stick? The large part of the spoon works great for large areas, and the handle easily transfers smaller pieces. The large spurtle is easy for me to hold and move around.

In this photo, you can see that I’m ready to apply the transfer to the second drawer.

I opted to apply the magnolia transfer to two drawers. In this case, I believe less is more.

The Peony pink on the Art Deco vanity will make this former Art Deco vanity a lovely desk.

I love how pretty the magnolia transfer looks on the drawers.

After bringing it into the house, I added a small transfer in the middle of the Art Deco Desk.

Here’s another angle so you can see the side. For its age, the waterfall vanity is really in good shape.

These vintage Art Deco vanities had low seats. Since I didn’t have one, I cut down a regular-sized kitchen chair.

I started doodling last year when I found the book Doodle Trees and Happy Bees. That’s my sketchbook and markers with one of my favorite doodle sketches.

Fun and Creative Furniture Fixer Upper Projects

• Particle Board Book Case Makeover
• Lowboy Turned Dressing Table
• Art Deco Vanity (you are here, thank you)
• Furniture Painting For Beginners
• How to Paint Wicker