Typewriter Buffet

I originally bought this buffet for myself, but I'm not ready to give up the one I'm using now and this one had been in the garage for almost a year.  It may be my favorite piece ever!  I love the size, storage, all the detail, and the curves.

I bought Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint in typewriter for a dresser that's going in my son's room so I thought I'd try it out on the buffet first.  I'm really liking black lately it's very elegant, but can also be masculine, modern, industrial...  I didn't have any bonding agent but didn't want it to be too chippy so I used Annie Sloan's graphite as my base coat then painted on one coat of MMS Typewriter and sealed with AS clear wax.  I love the soft black color with the original wood tones of the dresser.  

I think someone once had contact paper on the shelves inside the doors because it was very tacky.  I tried alcohol, mineral spirits, vinegar, and steel wool and it wasn't budging.  I really didn't want to cover the pretty wood with fabric so I go some goo gone and one of those scratchy stripping pads and went to work.  Lots of scrubbing later and it's now silky smooth - yea!!  I refinished the top in dark walnut.  I won't be sad if it doesn't sell.  :)

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Sold

64W x 37H x 22D

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Drexel in Old White

I've painted this piece in Annie Sloan's Old White, distressed, sealed with clear wax, and refinished the top in Minwax dark walnut.  The original hardware has been painted in oil rubbed bronze.  This came from an elderly couple who had taken very good care of it - love it when something needs no repairs! 

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$525

70"W x 31"H x 19"D 

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed

Tallboy by Century

This is the tall chest that matches the rustic black nightstands.  I painted it to match the nightstands.  It's a huge piece of furniture with lots of great storage and smooth gliding drawers.

$485

39"W x 20"D x 53 1/2"H 

Rustic Black Nightstands

These nightstands came with a set I was lucky enough to find on CL.  They are by century and in great shape!  I painted them in Annie Sloan's Graphite and General Finishes Lamp Black for a true black, distressed, and sealed with clear wax.  I will be finishing the matching tall chest like the nightstands, but the 12 drawer dresser I'm keeping for myself.  :)  The original owners for some reason had replaced all of the original hardware with ugly hardware that didn't seem hefty enough for it.  So I put cup pulls on the nightstands and will be using them on the chest as well.  I think these can go with just about any style and could be considered formal or casual.  I really like the look of black furniture.

$300

22"W x 16"D x 24"H 

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed

Bow Front Chest in a Weathered Finish

This chest had been very well loved in the past.  It needed some glue and screws and a little wood filler here and there.  Somewhere along the way someone had taken the veneer off the top and applied a very bad stain job to the wood underneath.  I striped the top, but couldn't sand out all the glue marks.  So I used Java Gel to cover it and sanded down to the lighter color wood in some places for a rustic look to match the rest of the chest.  It had some gouges and dings that I didn't fill in because I liked that it fit in with the weathered look.  

I painted it in equal parts Graphite, Coco, and Paris Grey then gave it a wash with straight Coco, distressed, and sealed with clear wax.  This piece would look great in a foyer, rustic bedroom or nursery, dining room... anywhere really.  I love the size and shape of it because it makes it so versatile!

$325

34"H x 21 1/2"D x 42"W

Maple Hutch

I've always heard it's hard to stain maple dark, but Java Gel does a great job!  I sanded the top down to raw wood and used one coat of Java Gel on it so the grain would still show through.    I then painted the buffet and hutch in a half and half mix of Annie Sloan's French Linen and Graphite.  Then I gave it a wash of a Graphite, Coco, and Paris Grey mix.  It's not distressed a lot, but I like that orange look of maple coming through a dark paint color.  I used Pure White on the bead board back of the hutch.  I also took the top trim piece off because in my opinion it helped to modernized it.

This piece would work well in a nursery, living room for extra storage, or of course in a dining room.  :)

$425

49 3/4"W x 19"D x 33" H without hutch and 69" H with hutch

 

Mid Century Modern

Just realized I never wrote about this one.  This is my first mid century piece.  I had been watching it on Craigslist for a while.  The price got to a point where I couldn't pass it up.  I think this is the first piece I haven't done any distressing at all on!  I used Java Gel on the top and drawers and Annis Sloan's Pure White on the sides and some drawer panels.  I used polyurethane on the top and drawers and clear wax on the body.  I love the size of it and it has great storage. 

$250

36"W x 43 1/2"H x 18 1/2"D

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Country French Coffee Table

I love everything about this table especially those curvy, chunky legs!  I refinished the top with Java Gel and painted the rest in French Linen and Pure White.

Upcoming projects:

Refinishing

I've had a few questions about how I refinish my dresser tops so I thought I would just do a post on it.  I'll just start with a picture of all the products I use.

I start out by putting stripper on the top with a chip brush (not pictured) and let it sit for 10-15 minutes then start scraping it off with my plastic putty knife (I guess that's what it's called). There may be a few places where the poly doesn't come off so just put a little more stripper on.  It's usually ready to scrape off in 5 minutes or less.  When I have all the stripper scraped away I pour a little mineral spirits on the top and  use this tool:   

       to scrub away any leftover stripper. I take the dresser out in the sun so the mineral spirits can evaporate.  The I use my orbital sander with a 100 grit sandpaper to remove any poly left on the top.  Then switch to 220 grit for my final sanding.  I then put some mineral spirits on a paper towel and wipe away any sanding dust.  Let the mineral spirits evaporate again and I'm ready to stain.

 This is what my tops look like when I'm done removing the old finish:

At this point if feels as smooth as a baby's bum.  :)

  I put my stain on with a foam brush, leave it on around 5 minutes then wipe off any excess with an old t-shirt.  I give it at least 24 hours to dry before putting Minwax Polycrylic on it.  It's water based so you need to work fairly fast so it doesn't dry.  I use a foam brush to apply this as well.  I like to start at the back middle of the dresser and work it all the way across then keep moving up until the top is done then apply to the sides.  I let the first coat dry 3-4 hours then wrap a piece of 400 grit sandpaper ( my favorite is at home depot) around a sanding block and gently sand the surface.  Use a damp paper towel to get rid of the sanding dust then repeat this 2-3 more times.  Your last application should feel nice and smooth!  I always use the satin finish just because I don't like my tops to shiny.  :)  That's it!  If you have any questions that I haven't answered, just ask and I'll be glad to answer!

Happy Refinishing!

French Provincial in Old White

This cute dresser was picked up for me by my pickers aka my parents.  :)  It didn't need too much work, I adjusted a couple of drawer guides to make the drawer fit in place and sanded down the inside of the drawers to clean them up.  Other than that I just re-stained the top in dark walnut and painted the rest in Annie Sloan's Old White, distressed, and sealed with clear wax.  I haven't seen hardware like this before, they remind me of little bows.

(Sold)

54"W x 20"D x 34 3/4"H