We found a beautiful desk at Father Time Antiques. The desk is from the 1930s and had a green leather top that was in good, but not perfect condition. The desk fit our room perfectly, has a great classic look with history and was on budget at $195.
After doing some research, I decided to replace the leather top myself with a new black leather top with gold tooling. I had a great experience doing this, it was easy, and the results speak for themselves.
My first step was to vacuum and sand out the interior of the desk and drawers. I waxed and polished the wood and lined the drawers with cork. It initially had a musty smell but that completely dissipated after these steps were complete. I am sure it also helped to have the drawers on the floor for a week airing out.
When I removed the leather top, I noticed there was water damage on one area of the desk where the wood felt “soft”. I cut this area out with a utility knife and replaced the veneer with a piece I found on Amazon.
I measured the space with a piece of magazine, and cut the veneer with a pair of kitchen scissors.
I glued the new piece of veneer with wood glue and placed heavy books on top. Then, I filled the edges with wood putty and sanded it down when dry.
I ordered the beautiful new leather top from Dave at DCT Leathers. They are based in Canada and did an amazing job!
All I had to do was follow his instructions: brush a layer of wallpaper glue, roll out leather and smooth with cloth. Done!
This desk will live in the den, which is painted dark navy / black Railings by Farrow & Ball.
MY CHICAGO HOUSE. 