Tuesday, September 29, 2009

My Buffet

I have a couple of touch-ups to do, but other than that – my buffet is done! Now I just need to buy some white candles. :)

Before:

After:

Painting furniture is actually really easy. I have been painting furniture since I was a kid (Yes, seriously. I could never decide what color or pattern my dresser should be – so paint became my friend at an early age).

The Process
My best tip is to find furniture that is structurally in good condition, and the rest can be altered easily. I do a light sanding on whatever I'm painting (just rough it up), and then a thorough sanding to the top of the piece (that's the area that usually receives the most wear). Once all the sand dust is off your furniture – paint away.

I'm a no primer and no oil-based paint kind of girl myself. Oil-based paint definitely has it place, especially when painting tile, but other than that I would prefer something less smelly. Plus, latex is just so much easier to work with. Primer also does have it's place. I would recommend using primer if you are going from black to white (or any other extreme changes), because it will save you time in the end.

Paint anywhere you have to use a small brush first, then do whatever rolling is needed. Doing it the other way, can start altering your rolling pattern and look sloppy.

Paint
For the buffet, I used Glidden's Black Onyx. This is the first time I've used Glidden, and I thought it covered wonderfully. My best tip for picking paint is to keep it all the same. No matter how many coats you do, at some point paint will chip – and you want to know exactly what you used, so you can just do touch ups, and not an entire new coat. This also makes it easier, when you find additional things to paint. That way there's no confusion later on. Everything that is black is just one color.

Finish
There really isn't a wrong answer for what type of finish to use. I personally perfer satin, because that's the shine most store-bought furniture has.

29 comments:

  1. That's awesome! can you tell us how you did it? What products you used?

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  2. Holy crap!! That's amazing!! Congrats on getting it done!

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  3. I love it! You're so good at finding details on Craigslist...I need some tips!

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  4. That is disgusting how awesome you are at this! I need to learn from you... ;) It looks GREAT!

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  5. Wow — great look, and a really wonderful blog. Wish I had something PRACTICAL to write about. you're a real pro, A-Bomb!

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  6. OMG, it looks FABULOUS! Great job. I love the accessory on the left, what is that? Kudos!

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  7. Thanks. It's a canister that I got from Pottery Barn last year when they introduced their tile pattern.

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  8. Looks great!! I have a similar piece that my mom gave us. Thinking of putting it in the living room and painting it some shade of white. Thanks for the inspiration =)

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  9. Thanks for the direction! Getting ready to embark on a bunch of furniture painting myself and this is helpful!

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  10. Great redo!! I love the black and the hardware, good work!!

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  11. That looks great! Fantastic transformation ~ it looks like a different piece altogether.

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  12. So much better! It's amazing what a little bit of paint can do for an old piece of furniture!

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  13. What a fantastic transformation! I really enjoyed looking around your blog! What great ideas!!
    *Eliza’s blog*

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  14. Breathtaking! I will definitely be using this! Thank you!

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  15. wow! I love this piece! the perfect blend of old and new. thanks for sharing it!

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  16. Hi!
    I followed your makeowver from BetterAfter.blogspot! I have a similar sideboard/buffet that I refinished as well. Have a look: http://www.thediyspot.com/2009/06/a-sideboard-reborn/#. I love how you put comtemporary handles on such a traditional piece. I was toying with the idea of doing the same for some time. Your makeover definitely convinced me it's the way to go. Thanks.

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  17. Beautiful. Great job and the paint looks wonderful!

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  18. This is great... Everything looks great in black and what a cute buffet!

    ~Whitney

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  19. I think using modern handles really makes this stand out--great job! And thanks for the tip about primer because I never considered doing anything (even black) without it.

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  20. LOVE this makeover! I recently purchased the exact dresser for my master bedroom redesign! I have two blogs and I would like to feature this on my Swoon Worthy blog if you don't mind.

    www.swoonworthyboutique.blogspot.com

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  21. Wow!! That looks great! I have a dresser that I would like to repaint - thanks for the tips!

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  22. You probably won't see this, since it's such an old post, but I HAVE to know where you got the candle holder above the dresser!!! I am in love and can't help it! Every time I log onto your home page, it urges me to find one and bring it home. :D

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  23. I have THE EXACT same dresser and painted it last year hoping to sell it. No dice to say the least. Now that I see this, I am definitely going to paint it black and keep it!
    thanks!

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  24. this is BEAUTIFUL!! I was hesitant about painting furniture with Latex paint because I saw Piece that had a semi gloss finish, and it was "sticky".. i love the satin suggestion. I will give it a shot to vary my spray painting ritual. thanks for the tip!!

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  25. I think that is so nice, when it comes to furniture hope it can make a better place for dreams to come true.

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  26. I truly like to reading your post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a nice information.
    The Oak Furniture Store

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