A Buffet Makeover

Well this admission is slightly embarrassing… but I’ve had this buffet chillin’ out in my garage for almost a year! I bought it last year at the Lucketts Spring Market and I was SOOO excited to get it! This buffet was just what I was looking for to replace my current dining room buffet. As with most pieces that are for “me” it sat for quite a while, all forlorn and sad, until I got around to stripping the top… then it sat for another 8 months or so until I picked up where I left off! One of the reasons it sat dejected for so long is that I had found a buffet that looks VERY similar to this one. The “new” buffet has a cabinet in the center instead of drawers, which worked out much better for my storage needs. SO this beauty just sat around patiently until I started back on it last week… you know I was going to take it back to Lucketts!

This buffet is HEAVY, very HEAVY, in great shape, vintage and all that yumminess…

BEFORE

Here is my paint removal setup…

I was removing the paint off the top in hopes that the wood underneath was in good shape! I “love” my heat gun and prefer to remove paint with it instead of chemicals, but it was a slow process… heat up paint, scrape it off, deposit paint scrap into cardboard box… REPEAT a hundred times… but I was determined!

I removed about 90% of the paint and the rest I removed with my orbital sander. Starting with 150 grit and finishing with 220 grit.

TA DA! Thank goodness the top was in FABULOUS shape! I would have really freaked out been ticked if I had gone through all of that trouble only to discover it was not!

Rather than repaint the buffet I decided to distress the paint that was there. I really liked the color, sort of an Old Ochre with a touch of green, and it distressed wonderfully. I did decide to paint the side display shelves and for that I chose Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence. I thought it would add a great pop of color to the piece!

I stained the top in Dark Walnut, conditioned it with Watco Oil and finished it off with a layer of Annie Sloan Clear Wax. It was just stunning!

I left the original pulls, but I cleaned them up really good.

I also waxed the cabinet part of the buffet to bring back the shine that the sanding removed, the final finish is smooth feeling but distressed looking!

I had every intention of loading this bad boy onto a truck and taking it to the Lucketts Market this year, but as fate would have it I sold it 2 days after I finished it. I was meeting a new client for a consultation and when she saw the buffet she just loved it! I was sad to see it go, but oh so happy that it went to a great home… and just a LOT little happy that I never had to lift it again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time…