Sold!

I just sold this buffet to some buyers who found in on Craigslist.

In case you don't remember, I lovingly painted it with two coats of homemade chalk paint.  Then I sanded it, glazed it, and then rubbed two coats of wax on it.  After all of that, my arm was tired!

I thought it looked pretty good in its shabby chic vintage state.  I almost laughed when the buyer told me she was going to give it a nice coat of black paint as soon as she got home.

Oh well, to each his own.  At least it's sold!

Another Homemade Chalk Paint Project

I was so excited by how my homemade chalk paint dresser turned out that I had to do another project.  But before I reveal the piece, I wanted to answer a question.  Some commenters asked why you would want to use chalk paint as opposed to regular old latex paint.

Chalk paint is perfect for when you want a piece to have an aged, vintage, or distressed look.  To get a distressed look, I sand around the edges of a piece and other areas that would naturally wear.  Sometimes latex paint doesn't sand off very well.  You also have to wait about 24-hours for latex to cure before sanding.  Chalk paint, on the other hand, sands off very well into a nice, fine dust.  It doesn't peel like latex sometimes does.  It also dries VERY fast and can be sanded as soon as dry.

Chalk paint is also very "sticky" and covers pretty well, meaning you don't have to sand or prime your piece before painting.

If you have any other questions about the paint, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

This time the victim was a buffet that I found on Craigslist (where else???). 

I have a bunch of Clark and Kensington paint that I got for free at Ace Hardware in Oyster Pearl.  I've been meaning to paint my bedroom is this pretty light gray, but haven't had time.  The color looks very gray in my bedroom, but turned out much lighter on the buffet.  I'm wondering if the addition of Plaster of Paris whitened it?

Anyways, to make your chalk paint, just mix a little water, some Plaster of Paris, and your flat paint.  The consistency of mine was much to thick at first because I added too much P of P.  It was hardening into cement in my bucket.  I just kept adding more water and paint to get it to a more workable consistency.

Here's the final result:

The buffet was missing a knob, so I bought two fleur-de-lis knobs at Hobby Lobby.  They were originally an oil-rubbed bronze color.  I lightened them (and all of the rest of the hardware) with some Rub n Buff.  By the way, Centsational Girl has a good post on Rub n Buff and hardware if you want more info.

After I painted the buffet, I sanded it and gave it a coat of glaze to bring out te details and to get that aged look.

A couple of coats of wax later and here it is:

Linked here:
Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Serenity Now

An Aqua Buffet

Last summer I found this buffet on Craigslist.  Yes, that would be approximately one year ago.

I love this style, but it was in really bad shape.  The top was peeling.

Big K helped me put a new top on.  I'm not sure why he's wearing a necklack and Chloe looks like she's being tortured.

I got the buffet painted last fall.  And then it sat...and sat...and sat....without it's hardware back on, only waiting for some final touches.

I finally put a glaze on, rub and buffed the hardware, and put it back on last weekend.

I think this buffet is so pretty and wish I had a spot to put it, but I don't.  After I finished it, I listed it on Craigslist and it sold almost immediately.  At least I've cleared out some space in my garage!!

Linked here:
Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Bella Before and After, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Junker Newbie, Serenity Now

Buyer's Remorse???

I found this buffet on Craig's List and picked it up yesterday for $50. I think the shape is beautiful.

But why the buyer's remorse? The veneer is coming off the top and there is some other damage. I guess, it just seems like a lot of work to restore! Also, I see other people's great finds in blogland where they find a beautiful antique sitting curbside for free or at the Salvation Army for $2.99. That doesn't usually happen to me! I have to pay.

Would you have bought this for $50?

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Junker Newbie

Buffet Makeover

As I was driving home from dropping K off at school the other day, I noticed that my friend was having a garage sale. I quickly pulled over to see what she had. I immediately spied an antique buffet and saw a $10 sticker on it. I thought it must have been mismarked. But, no, the price was actually only $10. My friend moved some stuff from the top of the buffet to show me why it was only $10 - the top was rotted, moldy, and had a big hole in it. The piece had belonged to her great-aunt whose name began with the letter "V" and the doors with the inlaid "V" were very special to my friend and her great-aunt. I had never tackled such a big makeover, but for $10, I thought it was worth a shot.

Here are some before pictures:

I wasn't quite sure what to do with this beautiful beast. So, I started by trying to scrape off as much of the top as I could. I then went to Home Depot and had the nice guys there cut me a piece of wood to fit to the top and cover the damage on the buffet.

I thought about sanding and re-staining the piece because the wood was so pretty. I especially loved the "V" inlays on the side doors. I started sanding and sanding, but the wood on the drawer-fronts just was not in good enough condition to refinish. So, time to prime and paint. I chose a pale aqua, Martha Stewart's Artesian Well...so pretty! But, I still couldn't get myself to paint over those gorgeous doors. Here's mid-project:

I used wood glue to glue down the new top piece and then I stained it and thought I would leave the top and doors stained and the rest painted. Unfortunately, the top didn't look so good stained, so I painted it:

Those darn doors! So pretty, but not so pretty with the paint. So I grudgingly painted the whole thing. For the final reveal, here she is:

She needed some sparkle, so I added a little gold to the greek-key design on the drawers.

This piece took me a long time. I think it was because I didn't have a clear plan or vision of what I was going to do with her. Through trial and error, this is what I came up with and I'm pretty happy with my $10 experiment!

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