Buffet to China Hutch Base Part 2

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to throw this buffet away. We bought it almost 2 years ago and it has been in the same spot in the garage ever since. I loved the curved lines and shape of the piece but it needed a lot of work. Every time we had a garage clean out I would say, “This is the day we’re going to throw it out.” It’s not that I wanted to throw it away. It had been so long, I just didn’t have hope we would ever finish it. Plus, we needed the extra room desperately. In my mind it was just taking up space. But we couldn’t bring ourselves to actually putting it out on the curb for pick up.

With the display hutch finished, I needed to find a base for storage. It needed to be substantial and so I got ready to head out for a day of shopping. I scanned the rooms at home one more time to make sure I didn’t have any pieces that fit the bill. Sweeping through the house I grabbed my keys, certain I wouldn’t find anything. I was getting ready to unlock my car door when I realized I needed to put an end table from the store into the garage. As the garage door lifted, I saw the buffet. Two years sitting in the same spot. It had been overlooked so many times but it was exactly what I needed.

It was a beast and I knew it would take a lot of work. I started by stripping the top with a chemical application and scraping tool. The previous owner had put what appeared to be marble contact paper over the top of this mahogany buffet. I know, right? Crazy!

Once I had all of the contact paper off, I used a heavy grit sandpaper (80) and an orbital sander to sand the top. To achieve a smooth finish, I followed the 80 grit sandpaper with a 120 grit sandpaper.

I painted the body of the buffet first with one coat of primer and then with the same shade of black that I painted the  outside of the hutch and allowed to dry.

I used three coats of primer on the top of the buffet because I wanted to use the same custom shade of white and off white I used on the inside of the hutch. I knew it would take a lot of primer because red stain can be temperamental due to bleed through.

Once the primer dried, I applied the custom paint mix.

I chose to leave some of the portions that needed replacement veneer alone. I could have repaired them along with the other parts I had to repair but once I saw the body of the buffet coming together, I decided I loved the mix of rustic and refined.

I coated the entire piece in the same furniture oil I had used on the hutch and waited for it to dry over night before applying clear furniture paste wax the next morning.

I’m so glad we didn’t take this buffet to the curb. It has a new lease on life now and I’m thankful it’s still part of my journey.

 

Many Blessings,

CoCo