Beautiful PB Teen Sawhorse Desk DIY

I love Pottery Barn but I have to face the fact that it is too expensive for my blood.  This PB Teen faux bois, artistic imitation of wood or wood grain (I had to look that up), takes some time but you will be pleased with the result.  Sawhorses are a great idea as a base.  Thanks to Monica Wants It for the idea.

My idea isn’t original– I got it from the fab Martha Stewart. There’s a video and full tutorial via this link. So, use that tutorial. What my post will have is information on how now to screw it up because I like to keep it real. I have DIY fails, too.

The inspiration for this desk came from PB Teen. This desk had me SWOONING! However, there was, and is, no way I was paying that much. Ever. Especially because my tastes change quicker than a Britney Spears boyfriend. I’ll love faux bois this year, and in 2016 want everything damask again.

I had this old desk back from our apartment days. Daniel used it while he was taking online classes. I believe we paid a whole $70 for it at Office Depot, and surprisingly it’s held up well to painting and moving, etc.

I painted the “sawhorses” with my trusty gold spray paint from True Value. It’s seriously THE BEST gold spray paint. Unfortunately, there isn’t any spray paint that can give the shiny finish of the PB Teen desk, but I’m willing to make sacrifices. Also, the gold spray paint doesn’t work well with metal primer, so just use regular primer, not the one for metal. Do as I say, not as I do. I did seal the sawhorses with poly (this one to be exact) so that it’d hold up to daily use.

Total this project cost me about $30 of supplies (spray paint, wood-grain rocker, acrylic paint, poly), I had high gloss paint on hand, but if I include the original cost of the desk it’d be about $100. That’s a $600 savings from the PB Teen version.