Here is what the desk looked like before...
I sanded down the desk and drawers to remove the existing varnish then added two coats of primer to the base of the desk and front of the drawers. On the top of the desk, I used Minwax stain in Dark Walnut which I had already from two other projects {here} and {here}. I sanded the primer in between coats.
After two coats each of paint and poly and replacing the hardware with some new drawer pulls from Home Depot, this is what the desk looks like now...
And a quick comparison...
I love how the desk turned out. It's amazing what some paint and new hardware can do for an outdated piece of furniture!