Mid Century Credenza Upgrade

Andrea Palmai
by Andrea Palmai
6 Materials
$50
3 Days
Medium

This credenza had really good bones and way made of solid walnut, so when I purchased it I knew once I sand it down its going to have gorgeous wood grain underneath. It was 6 feet long and would perfectly fit in my client's living room as a TV stand. So I got to work and started sanding

Before
Sanding


I used my electric orbital sander to get down to the grain. I used 120/220 and 320 sandpaper grit to take off the old varnish and achieve a smooth finish in the end.

All sanded. Once everything was sanded down I wanted to do something cool on the doors to match their current living room. I decided to do a similar design on the doors as they had on their rug.

Tape
Masking tape


to achieve the look I used painter's tape for delicate surfaces. I taped out my design and used a cutting blade and ruler to make sure that the lines were straight. By now I have a lot of practice with the tape, so the more you practice the better you get at "eyeballing " stuff.


I was happy with the evolving design and decided to stop here :) sometimes that's the hardest part. Knowing when to stop. Less is more.

Paint and stain

I decided to go with a classic black and walnut color that would compliment the chrome pulls. I used stain and black paint to achieve this look. Where i had the painters tape cover up the doors the wood's original color was peaking through.

To make sure that the stain and or paint doesn't leak under your tape, I used a just a little bit of stain on a rag to wipe on. For the paint same thing try not to load your brush with paint. If you do notice bleed through just wait till its dry and think of your sandpaper as your eraser. Fold a 220 or 320 grit paper in half and sand it down a bit so you have sharp lines again. Also don't expect to have perfect lines. This is a hand painted piece and so it won't be completely perfect.

Clear coat and done


once it was all dry I applied 3 coats of semi gloss polyurethane and she was done.

Look how cool design in the front turned out. This is now a modern piece with a custom design that will fit my clients home. If you liked this transformation follow me on Instagram to see them transform in real time. And many more live tips!

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  • Sandra L Warren Sandra L Warren on Aug 17, 2020

    That is stunning! Can someone (Anyone) tell me the difference between a credenza, a buffet, a sideboard and a server?


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