First, let me introduce you to the before:
Yes.
This is the piece I bought from my favorite local boutique – Vintage Gypsy. Marie, the owner, is always helping me out when I’m in search of a piece to refinish or a certain style I want to incorporate in my home. I actually bought this over a year and a half ago, during the summer months when I thought I had all the time in the world to tackle refinishing it.
I was in a bit over my head.
A day in the summer of 2015, I decided I was going to start. I knew it was going to be a daunting task, was unsure if I’d be able to do it all on my own, but figured I needed to start at some point. Sooo……
Step One: Sanding
Overall, this piece had A LOT of water damage. I’m not sure where it came from, but there was pretty significant damage on the top and down the right side, as well as some of the pieces underneath. I started out sanding this on my own, but realized quickly, I was going to need some elbow grease to help me out; cue – my father.
After removing the top and extra pieces of trim, we got after it… for six hours.
After about six hours, without even touching the inside, we decided to take a break.
Step Two: Replacing the bottom
After MORE sanding, my parents had decided to help me out and store the piece for me in the garage for the winter. While they stored it, they replaced the two bottom rails with new pieces of wood. The ones that are shown here are basically rotten & were doing nothing to help support the rest of the piece of furniture.
Step Three:
Paint, paint, & more paint.
I didn’t grab any pictures during this step, but we had to fast forward to this spring. My mom and I spread out our materials in my parents garage, & we painted, painted, painted.
After I left, my parents spent even MORE time painting and staining for me.
Step Four:
I was still very undecided on what to do with a top replacement, so in the meantime, my mom flipped the original top over, sanded it, stained it, and sealed it. It currently works as a great place holder. I really like the color and the ‘old’ look it adds to the piece overall, but it unfortunately still has a smell that bothers my sensitive nose. 🙂 Others tell me they can’t smell the ‘musty’ smell I claim it has, but eventually, I have to figure something else out.
Step Six: Admire
Overall, I LOVE the character this adds to my kitchen, [not to mention the extra storage – score!]. I’m currently figuring out some kind of vinegar, lemon, cleaner mix to mask the smell that drives me nuts – but you can heart eye emoji all you want over my cute, new little buffet!