2009 July 12 | Beneath My Heart

goodwill furniture

I found a piece of furniture that I loved at, of course, Goodwill. I had actually been “eye-ing” it for a couple of weeks. But it was marked $125.00, which was nowhere near what I would pay for it. But it was so darn cute, and it kept calling my name every time I went to visit it.

It eventually began to get “trapped” behind new incoming furniture pieces. This week I went by to say “hi” to my beloved piece of furniture, and I noticed it had been marked down to $55.00. Now, that’s more like it!

Of course, I had to ask the manager if she would mark it down even further, and she politely said, “No.”

Can’t blame a lady for trying, right?

Anyway, I could see her beautiful potential (the buffet, not the manager!) , so I told her to pack her bags, we were going home! (Yes, my buffet is a girl!)

Here she is:

Isn’t she a beaut, Clark?

I love the detail on the front drawer. It’s missing some knobs, but I will take care of that!

At first, I thought it might be a large desk, but I noticed some old writing on the back that said it was a buffet. It also had this neat metal tag inside the front drawer.

It had some charming details…

And lots of little nicks and scratches that added even more character…

I think older pieces of furniture are so interesting, because you know they would all have a “story” to share if they could talk!

Now, I know it looks good as it is, but I had other plans for it. I was tempted to leave it alone, but I kept picturing it a little more “shabby.”

Since I had so much fun re-doing my guest house bedroom furniture, I thought I would try the same treatment on this piece.

So my first step was to give it a good sanding.

And BOY, did I have some good help!

The child labor laws in Kentucky are very vague…

This little face makes even the most boring of tasks so enjoyable!

(I usually use liquid sand paper, but today I felt like going with the good old sanding sponge!)

Then I got my supplies ready to paint: Valspar white paint, a brush, a small roller, and a paint tray.

Yes, that IS duct tape on the paint tray. It was cracked, and my ingenious husband fixed it for me. We do things professionally around here, ladies!

I gave my new BFF (buffet friends forever) and new coat of paint.

Then sanded her down real good…

goodwill furniture makeover

Then I prettied her up with some makeup. Well actually, it was Valspar Mocha glaze.

I have no idea what the correct way to apply glaze is. On my guest house furniture, I used a sponge brush and paper towels.

This time I mostly used an old washcloth. I put it on thicker this time because I wanted it to look a little more brown. I put a thin layer on smoothly, then let it dry for a bit. Then I used a slightly damp paper towel to go back over and take a little of the glaze off until I got the look I was after.

The glaze is pretty forgiving. If I messed up, I would wipe it off with a wet paper towel and start over. Thank goodness!

Here is the front with the glaze on it…

I was able to keep the original hinges on the piece. They are old and worn out, and I LOVE them. It adds to the piece.

I do not have the knobs that I want to put on the doors, but I added some knobs I got at Home Depot to the drawer to give you an idea of what it will look like.

I am so pleased with the results!