If Blaire & Jordy Can Do It, So Can You!

Kristin Smith - August 17, 2023

If Blaire & Jordy Can Do It, So Can You!

When Kacey decided to homeschool last year, Blaire (8) asked if she could paint her own homeschool desk. My heart swelled at the idea that Blaire wanted to follow in my furniture-makeover-loving footsteps! She already had the perfect desk in mind—her grandmother's hand-me-down.
Jordy (6) wanted to join in the fun, and since Blaire had a desk from her other grandma to paint, I gave Jordy one I had that I'd never gotten around to refinishing. I especially love that both girls got to paint their grandma's desks to keep for themselves.

No Prep. Just Fun.

No Prep. Kacey's kids always want to join in on our projects. I think they just see us having fun because we don't waste time on endless prep work like sanding, stripping and priming. The first thing the girls did was give their desks a good cleaning. If only they got as excited about their regular chores as they did about cleaning their desks!

Tools are Fun. The girls felt grown-up getting to use their mom's tools to remove hardware. I found myself wanting to jump in and use a drill to do it faster, but then I paused and marveled at the girls' patience and persistence in the process of learning something new, like how to use tools. It was especially tender to see how they enjoyed simple things like applying painter's tape and teaching their little brother, Axel, how to use a screwdriver.

Mixing Paint. Stripping, sanding and priming would have made this project way too big for the girls. Fortunately, they didn't have to do any of that because they added BB Frösch Paint Transformer to their paint. This single little tip made all the difference for a project that even 6 and 8 year-olds can do! Kacey helped them pick a beautiful green color called "Waller Green" by Benjamin Moore.

Let the Painting Begin!

With their desks cleaned, hardware removed, and drawers taped off, the girls got to painting. They used a 4" foam roller for the big parts and a small paint brush for the spindles. Each desk took about 2-3 coats. Shoutout to BB Frösch Paint Transformer for giving the paint such excellent coverage. Paint transformer also helps paint "self-level" which is awesome because it means you don't have to paint in perfect long strokes to get a nice finish. Cross-hatch strokes (that kids seems to be naturally good at anyway) are actually ideal!

Sisters Make Great Project Partners

Blaire didn't need any help with the painting. In fact, when we tried to help, she proclaimed, "I got it!" At six years old, Jordy still needed a little guidance to make sure she got all the spots. She also needed help dark waxing the wood parts—Blaire was quick to jump in and show her how. It's incredible that paint transformer makes projects like this easy enough for kids to do.

Two Proud Painters

The girls are so proud of their new desks! The incredible thing is, no one would ever know the furniture artists were 8 and 6.

Success

As I was cleaning up the aftermath and folding up the dropcloth, I found the cutest "note" that pretty much sums up the girls' experience. I'd say this alone made the project a success.

⬇️ Check out video below to see the girls in action ⬇️

This Kit Made it Easy. Because of the heavy use we expect these homeschool desks to get 😉 the girls rolled on a poly topcoat over the painted parts of their desks (the parts of Jordy's desk that were dark waxed did not need a topcoat.) The Paint Transformer + Poly Mega Kit includes everything the girls needed—paint transformer, paint roller, paint brushes, mixing supplies and poly topcoat. The only thing we added was BB Frösch Dark Premium Finishing Wax for the parts of Jordy's desk that were left wood.