This was the first piece I acquired with the intention of painting and selling. The "before" picture was your typical vintage serving buffet with bullnose pull handles. It was in pretty good shape and I didn't have to do too much to it in the prep department.
I learned a lot of valuable lessons with this piece. First, don't pay too much for it (I did). Secondly, start with a protective coat of shellac on mahogany before you paint or you will experience "bleed through" (I didn't) or you will have to paint MANY coats of ASCP Old White for even coverage. And finally, when you fall in love with a piece and decide to keep it and move it in your house by yourself, your neck will go out (it did).
But these weren't the biggest problems with this piece. The biggest problem was that while I was painting it, I fell in love with it and "named" her. Now I will be the first to admit that I "lifted" the naming of furniture idea, and I honestly don't remember where I read this. And frankly, I thought it was a little corny when I first read this idea. But something happened to me when I started working on this piece. When you spend so much time on a piece alone, you start to talk to it, and before long I was imagining its previous life and owners (and yes, my family thinks I'm crazy). And so, this buffet became "Buffy".
It eventually went to a good home. And I'm still constantly on the lookout for similar pieces because these old buffet pieces can be beautifully repurposed to transition to today's homes and lifestyles. They can be used as a dining room buffet, a media console, a bedroom dresser and even a changing table. I'm sure there will be another "Buffy" or two in my future!
I'm linking up to the Metamorphosis Monday Party at the blog, Between Naps on the Porch.
Nice clean white lines. Perfect anywhere in a house. You did a nice job. Many lessons learned so that each next project is better and better! Thanks for sharing. Stopped by via Miss Mustard Seeds Linky Party.
ReplyDeleteOh Beth it gives me great joy to see another blogger who talks to her pieces and falls in love with them. And yes, you risk other "non furniture refinishing/non bloggers" thinking you've gone a little coo coo. I hear ya...I get it!
ReplyDeleteMarie@The Interior Frugalista
A kindred spirit! I knew I couldn't possibly be the only one. This will be a great source of comfort to my family!
DeleteThat is really a gorgeous piece. I read Furniture Makeovers by Barb Blair, and it may be her that you got the naming furniture from, I like it. Its a great read and helped me a lot!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check this out! Thanks!
DeleteI have bleed-through problems and painted shellac over an already painted piece and it caused the new paint that I applied to peel in some areas...like a chemical reaction. I now have a vanity with bleed-through that I am going to redo and try the shellac method again.
ReplyDeleteHi Terry. Sorry you're having so many problems. I've found that mahogany and cherry are problematic with bleed-through. I always prime over shellac - did you try that? I love the spray shellac...it dries really quickly and with a minimum of mess and drip marks. Good luck and feel free to send pics if you need anything else!
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