Painted Furniture – A Long Search for the Right Buffet

I’ve wanted a vintage buffet for my dining room for two years, but I’m like Goldilocks. Every buffet I found was either too big or too small, too modern or too plain. It took me two years to find one that was just right!

“I think this is it, but I’m not sure,” I said to my husband, Dave, when we found this one.

“That’s close enough!” he said. “Let’s get it.”

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We knew the buffet needed a lot of work. For starters, it had previously been painted white, but the paint job was very sloppy. It needed some structural repairs too, including rebuilding one of the drawers and reinforcing the back, which had sustained some damage over the years. We looked past its flaws and brought the buffet home knowing we could make it beautiful again.

The buffet fit the space in our dining room perfectly! I loved its pretty legs and the scrollwork—and it had plenty of storage for my table linens and holiday dishes. It just needed a little TLC and an American Paint Company makeover.

Dave went to work on the repairs. I painted the bottom of the buffet, including inside the cabinets, with APC’s Lincoln’s Hat, a true black. I painted the top with First Lady, a pink so soft and dainty, it almost looks white. I sealed the entire piece with several coats of APC Top Coat, lightly sanding between each coat to give it an even finish and shine.

Top Coat is one of my favorite APC products because it is so easy to apply and it protects the piece with a durable finish that will stand up to most everyday wear and tear.

The buffet looked much better at this point, but I wasn’t done yet!

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I knew it would look spectacular with the help of a few more American Paint Company all-natural products and some gold metallic finish I had.

I mixed APC Black Mica with Clear Wax and applied it all over the Lincoln’s Hat section of the buffet. The black-on-black finish is subtle, but beautiful. It gives the piece just a little more depth and dimension, taking it from “ooh” to “ooh-la-la!!”

I applied a little bit of a gold metallic to the scrollwork on the doors and the handles to make them pop.

I additionally mixed APC Gold Mica with Clear Wax to top off the handles with even more sparkle.

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On the First Lady section, I applied APC American Grit to the pink scrollwork and around the edges to give the piece a hint of age. I also applied more gold along with the APC Gold Mica/Clear Wax mix for pizazz.

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Here’s the finished piece. It’s even better than “just right” — it is exactly what I was looking for!

This vintage buffet was well worth the two-year wait! I absolutely love it!

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Post courtesy of Courtney

 

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