A "New" Buffet Table- Brought Back to Life

Happy New Year, everyone!

I really hope you had a great Christmas break and hopefully are looking forward to 2017. The past year seriously flew by and just like that, a new year begins. 
 
It has been a long while since I have been able to browse a thrift store for a piece of furniture that was just waiting to be brought back to life. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I was able to check out a local thrift store that I love with 2 of my kids in tow. While browsing the furniture section, I spotted a pretty sizable buffet table in the back behind some other furniture. I quickly tried to move some furniture around to get to it. I wanted to make sure the doors opened and closed properly and to see if it was even a project that would be doable for me to complete. 
And of course, there was the price tag that caught my attention. It was priced at $18! What?!

Funny thing was, I didn't buy it that day. There was no way I was going to be able to get it into our car all by myself. So I went home and told my husband about it. :) He was pretty willing to go with me to look at it the next day and help me load it in the car if we were to buy it. I think the price tag helped him make that quick decision. ;)

So we took the kiddos and went back the next day. I was also able to "haggle" a little and get the price down to $15. I was pretty excited about that and once the lady told me she would sell it to me for $15, that was it- we quickly bought it! 

Thankfully, a friend of ours who lives not too far from this thrift store let us borrow her truck!!! Yay!!  That helped a ton because this piece was a beast! It's very heavy and sturdy- made in the early 70's. After we bought it, there happened to be a young man who was dropping off some miscellaneous items and offered to help us load the buffet into the truck. That was awesome! We did take the drawers out to help lighten the load a little bit. 

So here are some photos I took (once we got it home) of the work that needed to be done to restore this piece:

It clearly needed some help. There were parts missing and areas that needed to be sanded and caulked. The tough part, however, was all the cleaning this thing needed because you could tell it had sat for a while. There were spider webs, spiders, and even rodent droppings. Yuck! It definitely took some time and elbow grease to get it cleaned up before I could even paint it and bring it into the house. 

I did prime it first with KILZ- that stuff is amazing, by the way, for things like this.

And here is what she looks like now after being painted and decorated a bit.

I love how the artwork my husband bought me last year really stands out on this buffet table!

This baby has great storage!! We have been using it to store all of our games.

The top drawer is one of my favorites. It came with these wooden boards that made 6 different storage spaces. Perfect for little items to be held- like cards and yo-yo's. ;)

I kept the knobs, so they are original to the piece. They were just cleaned up a bit though. 

I'm so happy we got to rescue it! This buffet table had been sitting for a long time, like I mentioned earlier, and just really needed to be cleaned up and brought back to life. I don't know why it makes me sad when I see things like that- I mean, it's just a piece of furniture, right? But, I know that it had great potential and am so glad we were able to get it and put it to use in our home! We love it so much!

Writing Desk Refinished

A few months back, I posted a picture to my FB page about a writing desk that I made over with primer and paint. Our computer has been having some issues so I couldn't find a great photo of what the desk use to look like before it was painted and after I painted it the first time. Here is the only picture I found...it's a little blury.

Basically, it was your basic wood-tone dresser, a little orange-y in color, with some scratches that needed to be fixed. 
My first time around, I painted the desk in a white that I had on hand. It wasn't awful but I didn't love it. Trying to sell it was a bit difficult as well. So I decided to repaint it and had an interested buyer right away!

I loved the way it turned out the second time around. Even my husband said he liked it better and I agree! It turned out better than expected with the new color scheme.

The second go-around, I wanted the brush strokes to be noticeably visible, so I used several different shades of gray that I already had and also mixed in a little bit of water to one of the mixtures. Then I put 2 coats of a poly-acrylic on the top to seal everything and give it a bit of a shine.

The hardware is original to the piece. It really worked with the new color.

It sold to a very kind young woman who needed a desk to stash "all of her stuff." :)
I hope she really comes to enjoy the desk and the work that went into it.

It was also fun to get back into refinishing furniture pieces. Ever since I started building the sofa tables and the buffet tables, I haven't had much time to commit to shopping around for thrifted pieces to redo. So it was really nice to be able to get this thing done and sold to a happy home!

Have a great week everyone and stay warm!!

Painted Sideboard

Hello there!

How was your weekend?
Ours was pretty good actually...we spent a lot of it running errands and hanging out with friends. It was a good weekend but it always seems to go by too quickly!

Anyways, I wanted to share with you all a sideboard I recently painted and sold!
The day I posted about the sideboard I was contacted by a lady who wanted to purchase it...I wasn't expecting an offer that quickly, but it worked out and I am actually a little sad that we don't have it in our home anymore.
It was a very pretty sideboard and very well-made...sometimes that is hard to come by!


Here are some of the pictures I took of it after it was painted and styled.

Here is what this piece use to look like before I painted it and distressed it a little bit.

And here is another after photo.

I was very pleased with the turn-out/end result and miss this piece a little bit...but I know there are more great pieces out there to find and that is a little exciting!


I have another piece in the works right now...a dresser.
It is almost finished and once it is done, I will post some pictures.
Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with:

Stroll Thru Life   * Lou Lou girls  * Dwellings  *  Silver Pennies  
Thrifty Decor Chick 

Some New Pieces

Hi everyone!
Can't believe it is Thursday already!!

Whew...the days just seem to be flying by...funny how that works as you get older.


Well, I wanted to share with you some new pieces I have been working on.

I got both of these pieces at a thrift store in the area that I love to visit...this particular thrift store ALWAYS has great furniture...seriously...most of it just needs a little T.L.C.


To start, I bought this sideboard that needs a little love...and some paint of course.
It doesn't look it in the photo, but the top has a few dings and scratches.

This dresser is a pretty sturdy piece, but as you can see, it needs some work.
It did come with the drawers...but I just didn't take a picture of it all put together.
The drawers slide very well and the middle drawers are very deep which was a great find!

I have plans for both pieces and am I am pretty excited about getting them done.
Hopefully, the sideboard will be complete this weekend and I will be able to post pictures of it soon. :)



Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!
Thanks for stopping by!

Selling a Desk

Hi there!

It has been a busy weekend for us with family in town, but it has been fun!
I wanted to pop in today to mention that I will be selling the desk today I made over a few weeks ago.

To give you an example of how it looks, I am posting some pictures.
If I can find the before photo, I will post that sometime, but for now, here are some pictures of the dresser all updated. :)

And here are some pictures of the desk with a little more accessorizing.

I used pretty much everything I already had on hand except for one part...and that was the moulding I used on the sides as a border for the beadboard.

It has been hand-painted and the top has a chalkboard section perfect for notes and messages. It works great as a writing desk or a kid's desk.

I love the whole look and it turned out quite fabulous!

It will be going to a good home and I can't wait to get my hands on another desk/dresser in the future. 

I hope you all have a fantastic Monday.

We are going to be spending some more time with family today and getting out to enjoy this beautiful weather!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sold & Inventory Archives

Welcome to my Sold Archives & Inventory Page!
I will be updating this page (you can click on my Sold Archives tab at the top of the screen too) as I go along.
These are some of the items I have sold in the past and/or are selling now.



Vintage-Style Gray Desk
SOLD!

Vintage Gray Dresser
SOLD!

Grey-Weathered Coffee Table

Linking up with:

   * Knick of Time * A Bowl Full of Lemons * Elizabeth & Co.   * Domestically Speaking * 

  The girl creative * Stroll Thru Life

Favorite Things Blog Hop *

Coffee Table Styling

One of my favorite parts about home design is decorating.

I love to build things, don't get me wrong, but I have come to love and enjoy decorating a finished product. After all, it is the styling that draws peoples attention to something if done right.

I am not expert...and I always say that...but I am learning and bit by bit am finding the style that is right for me and my family.

I am here to share with you how I styled our coffee table with things we already had around the house. I find that to be the most productive and sensible way to decorate our home anyways.

I love emerald green- so it's been sprinkled throughout our home recently.

I also can't wait to get my hands on some 'real' hydrangeas because I've heard that if you let them dry out, they keep longer and still look beautiful! 

Here's to spring!!