We didn't do too many projects but one I did saved us hundreds of dollars! And I'm usually not a bargain shopper!
A red buffet really caught my attention for our new dining room. The few I liked and kept seeing, like the below, were anywhere from $400 to $2000!
So I decided to look on craigslist for an easy to refinish table. I am so bummed I never took a picture of the original. I emailed the seller but never heard back. Oh well...
The one I found was perfect but needed work. The light brown buffet I found had green trim and plain wooden knobs - very country cottage. I paid $150 for the table which might seem a little high but once it was done, it was worth it!
I removed the doors and knobs then sanded the table, painted it a few different red's, decided on one, and painted the whole thing with a little roller brush. I was really freaking out at this point because it was SO BRIGHT! I really thought I botched it all up!
The next day I busted out the black glossy polyurethane stain. I really had no idea what I was doing. I poured it into the paper dish (it's left over from kolache factory! haha) and it went all over, oops! It's not like paint! Maybe everyone else knew this, but me.
I knew I wanted the top of the buffet darker than the rest so I layered on the stain.
The secret to getting it to look this way was using a paper towel and NOT taking your time. The gloss stain goes on really slick and very dark. Have a paper towel handy to GENTLY wipe it off as you go, then run your regular paintbrush in the same direction as the wood grain, to get the desired effect. Your paintbrush will also remove some stain, too. If it's too light, do another coat. You can't wait too long, I found, because then it starts to get clumpy and you begin to pick up more of the stain than you might intend. I left the cracks alone.
I reassembled the doors, changed out the knobs and VOILA! Overall, I am pretty pleased!
The metal wood candelabra on top of the buffet is from westelm.com (yes, I need to add candle sticks!) and knobs are from coolknobsandpulls.com
I apologize for the night light plug-in. They are all over our house. My husband is obsessed :)
PS- I know there are professional refurbishing queens out there that are/will critique this but, for the little I knew about staining and sanding and painting, I think it turned out great! I might even try again! That just goes to show you that YOU can do it, too!
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