From Hating It to Loving It

Wonderiris
by Wonderiris
3 Materials
In order to keep peace within a marriage you have to learn to live with something that you don't necessarily like. Such was the case with this buffet. I never liked it and, frankly, tried to get rid of it numerous times over the years...but, it remained. It became the collector of all things junk and a place to put something that I didn't have another location in which to store it. When we moved I tried to leave it, but it came to the new house and was pretty soon starting to collect stuff. I was determined to make it into something I could love and use.
being cleaned
I first took the entire buffet apart and thoroughly cleaned it. I used Murphy's Oil Soap and scrubbed and scrubbed. I also removed all the hardware, making sure to label each hinge and knob so that I knew which hinge belonged to which door and in which location (upper/lower). This is very important because furniture settles into itself and if you don't label you will find that the doors won't sit just right when you are attempting to put it back together.
All the hardware got a couple good coats of Brushed Nickel spray paint. I used Krylon and put two coats on all the pieces all sides. I stuck the screws into pieces of egg carton and sprayed the top of those as well.
I bought a quart of Benjamin Moore Mozart Blue matte finish paint. I then mixed it with Pixie Dust Chalk Paint powder to make a chalk paint. I have used many different brands of premixed chalk paint, as well as mixing my own using homemade recipes and other powders. I have found that I love Pixie Dust the best. It mixes up very well and it paints on smooth and covers very well. I put on two coats only because I wanted to make sure it was very well covered. The chalk paint dries quickly and had a nice sheen to it even without any wax or sealer.
Next came glazing. For the glaze I used Unicorn Spit Midnight Blackness. I diluted it quite a bit and then painted it onto the chalk painted base in small sections and wiping off with a lint free rag. You must use a clean part of the rag when wiping off to get it to look as you wish it to look. If I wanted more darkness after wiping it off, I simply painted some more of the glaze onto the piece pushing the glaze into crevices and natural splits and wiped off again.
You can see the difference between the original chalk paint and the glazed portion. The inside hasn't been glazed yet. I was really starting to love this piece.
Once the glazing had dried completely I sealed it with a couple coats of marine varnish. I wanted durability since the piece would be now in my kitchen and will be used quite a bit. I also put the hardware back onto the drawers and doors. Because I had labeled the hinges to each door the piece went back together like a dream. Next, the top.
The original top had split into two many years prior. Because the top was screwed and glued to the base it had managed to stay together. I didn't want to keep the top though. I needed to change the piece enough so that it was now mine and not a reminder of something I didn't like. I removed the top completely. I had a pile of wood slabs in the attic of my new house. I hadn't really looked at the slabs, but now was as good a time as any. I needed at least a piece that was 18 1/2 inches wide and 43 inches long to cover the top. Off to the attic I went.
This is what I found. This board had old layers of wallpaper on one side and was roughly hewn on the other side. It was 22 1/2 inches wide! PERFECT! I got it downstairs and that is when we realized this particular piece of wood was probably from original walls in the house. Our house was built in 1780. We estimate the board to be between 200-300 years old. How cool is that?
I slowly sanded the opposite side and cut the board to fit. I love the natural curve of the original tree and that side would be the front of the top. The wood had square holes from the square nails, some discolorations and dings and indentations from wearing of the board. It is beautiful.
I chose to use Tung Oil only as a sealer/protector of the piece. The first two coats were sucked into the wood quickly. It darkened the wood and just added more character by showing more of the wood grain and different striations that came from planing the wood so many years ago.
Four coats later...she is finished and beautiful. My husband was very impressed with the transformation and agreed that it looks so much better than before. I love the character that the new top brings to the entire piece. I am looking forward to the years of service that this piece will now bring to my kitchen.
Suggested materials:
  • Unicorn Spit
  • Chalk Paint made with Pixie Dust   (www.pixiedustpaintcompany.com)
  • Kylon brand spray paint -brushed nickel   (hardware store)
Frequently asked questions
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3 of 10 questions
  • Diane Schule Diane Schule on Apr 28, 2017

    This is beautiful, and the discovery of that old board for the top was genius. Did you consider using the dark wax on the hardware as well as the wood? They seem to stand out as shiny-new next to the softened finished on the blue. But, still, beautiful.

  • Carol Kennedy Carol Kennedy on Apr 29, 2017

    This is a fabulous makeover. I hope mine looks as good when I finally do it. I am not fortunate enough to have a beautiful piece for the top. What kind of wood would you recommend? I want to paint the body but have the wood similar to yours.

  • Tracy Jo Tracy Jo on Jan 07, 2018

    What do you dilute the glaze with?


Comments
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  • Caseyem11 Caseyem11 on Dec 22, 2017

    Well done. Love the top.

  • Laura brown Laura brown on Jun 12, 2022

    You did a fabulous job. I’m of the opinion that almost any wood item can be saved if wanted. It might take a bunch of work but it’s usually worth it. I salvaged tables from my neighbors trash. They had been slightly burned in a house fire. They now sit in my spare bedroom.

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