Petite Buffet Makeover {French Linen}

Full speed into the week ahead and just really wanted to share this little buffet that I made over this past weekend.

When I picked this girl up, I fell immediately in love with the simplicity of the piece and the nice clean lines. Not to mention that it is only 4' long...I never find them this size!

But once I got home with my new treasure, it was easy to see that it had been through many repairs and refreshes in it's life...none of which appeared to have been executed with much care.

So we glued, clamped and scrapped away the damaged veneer.

I tossed the dated hardware and sought out something with more flair.

A couple coats of Annie Sloan French Linen with liberal sanding between coats and this little buffet was starting to look so darn cute.

Linking up with:
Talk of the Town
Link Party Palooza
Something to Talk About

Here are some photos of the finished piece. 

Love the new hardware, so fitting for this piece!

Oh and these little candles sticks are repurposed table legs; washed with graphite and dark wax.

Once again, thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

Crystal

Midweek Makeover: Mid Century Buffet

 Who can deny that we tend to gravitate to comfortable situations and familiar territories. It's so much easier in every way when you know what to expect. I know that is certainly the case for me most of the time. However, on occasion, I force myself to try something that is not in my wheelhouse...this Mid Century buffet was one of those projects.

It's really hard to articulate the frustrations that went into this project. Simply looking at the before and after pictures, you're probably thinking 'she's just being overly dramatic'...'how could this project have been that tough!' I should have captured some 'in progress pictures' so you could thoroughly enjoy the chaos!

But since I don't have detailed pictures to share, imagine if you can, two solid weeks of:

Paint a little bit

{notice poor paint coverage issues}

Stand back and critique

Apply a clear coat to seal the entire piece in hopes of better paint coverage

Paint some more

Critique some more

More coverage issues

{vow that I'm never taking on another mid century piece AS LONG AS I LIVE}

Contemplate throwing the buffet in the fire pit

{no that's wasteful, I'll put it out at the curb for some eager passerby}

Apply more sealer

Resolve to leave it sit for another day and assess the mess in the morning

Repeat

This went on for TWO, LONG, FRUSTRATING weeks. I thought I would never get this nightmare out of the shop!

'How could one piece be so finicky and temperamental', I would mumble as I stomped through the shop. {I may have used some graphic language too, but I'll spare you those details}

And then it happened...I began to see the progress unfolding and I was actually starting to like what I was witnessing before my eyes. Who knew it was possible!

I can honestly say that I'm happy I stuck with this project and finished it up because it's quite the looker now!

~Crystal

Antique Buffet {Repurposed}

When we brought this buffet home I was thrilled at the find and thought I would do some quick cosmetic work and get painting.

Easy, right?

Not so quick, it wasn't going to be that easy!

To my surprise {and complete frustration}, the drawers that came with it were so badly damaged and warped that once I removed them...they were never ever going to go back into place! Even though I was disappointed that they weren't functioning {and that we failed to realize this before we purchased it}, this was still a really gorgeous piece with great bones so I needed to repurpose it and give it a new look! I've been down this road many times before and knew I had options. So without hesitation, I tossed the drawers and grabbed some wood and converted the spaces into some shelves.

I've staged it with some fun baskets that would be great for storing goodies, but you could also use this as a media stand or to store linens in a hallway.

I'm very pleased with the completed project, I hope you like it as much as I do!

 

 

Finished with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, French Linen.

Thanks for taking a look! Enjoy your Sunday!

Earth Day Furniture Makeovers

Happy Earth Day!

Today seems like a great day to try and explain a little bit about why I do what I do. I don't know when it actually started, but I think it was long before I even knew what was happening. {funny how we pickup on the habits of our parents and you don't even know it until years later} When I was growing up, my mom was always finding ways to reuse, repurpose, and refinish things. And if you can believe it, my dad was all for said projects too. It was actually hard to throw something away at our house...you would have to sneak it into the garbage when dad wasn't looking so that he wouldn't question why you were throwing it out! We weren't hoarders, but we weren't wasteful either. So by all means we were to save stuff that still had potential until we could find it a new purpose for it.

 Then years later, I found myself trying to furnish my first apartment. With our minimal budget, my roommate and I went to a ton of garage sales and found a bunch of stuff that was in good shape but didn't have the flair that girls in their 20s would want...so we got out the paint and customized our finds to better represent our youthful personalities! {an eclectic mix of turquoise, purple and pink painted garage sale furniture--it was PERFECT}

Fast forward to several years after that...I finally came to the realization that my mom was right! {aren't moms always right!} Decorating your house with a mix of old and new makes for a home that is more representative of your personality. It makes our homes more YOUnique.  Not to mention it's fun, challenging and quite rewarding to breathe new life into an tired and worn pieces and ultimately save them from the landfills.

In the name of Earth Day, I challenge us all to think about how we can repurpose or upcycle the goods we have before we make the decision to throw them out!

--------------------

Let's get on with projects fresh out of the shop this past weekend...from a stocky buffet cabinet to a Thomasville buffet and finally an antique round side table...all three have a new lease on life.

Here is the round table first. Finished in a custom mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint that resulted in a nice warm blue color.  The detailing on the leg and the little cream knobs are fantastic.

The next piece is this sturdy buffet cabinet. this is another custom color, not sure these pictures do it justice. It's a nice soft green paired with the natural stained top, perfect representation of spring!

 

Finally is this Thomasville Buffet. This piece is actually finished in the same color as the antique round table, the only difference is that I used more dark wax on this piece so it's less blue and more grey. 

 

Charming Charcoal Grey Buffet {Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Graphite}

A little Sunday before and after to start your day.

These buffets are getting harder and harder to come by anymore and making a decision on how to refresh them is equally challenging. This buffet sat in the garage for a few weeks waiting for me to make up my mind. I went through my color swatches time and time again but just couldn't settle on anything in particular. Then one of my customers came by and had a suggestion that I do it in charcoal with a light blue wash. Sounded like a great idea but after several failed attempts on my sample boards I had to abort that plan.

I always think when you see a piece that someone has refinished that they must have had a clear vision and execution was effortless. But after some of my experiences, I have to imagine that other DIY'ers and furniture refinishers must encounter the same challenges as I do...please say that I'm not alone here!

I decided to paint this girl in graphite {one of my favorite colors in the ASCP lineup} and a heavy and intentional coat of Annie's dark wax.

I really love how the graphite paint lays down, letting just a little bit of the original wood grain show through and then enriched with the dark wax...a charming patina.

 

The inside of this buffet cleaned up amazingly. It almost looks brand new now!

 

 

I couldn't help but pick up a few flowers for the shoot, I love the look of vibrant magenta with the charcoal. It was unfortunate that the day I wanted to take the pictures there were gale force winds that made it impossible to capture a good shot of the buffet staged but I did manage to grab a couple close ups of the flowers before tearing down.

Well, that wraps up another makeover. Thanks again for stopping by.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

~Crystal