Dining Room Buffet

Studies show it's hard to hold a glass and open a bottle of wine at the same time. That's why horizontal space is so important. Also, I'm tired of the dog eating the pieces of broken crayon that my daughter leaves all over the house. Storage for supplies is also important. Enter the solution: Half buffet, half dresser, half wine fridge: 100% improvement!

Befores

A craigslist find for $75 included all three pieces of a vintage 1973 Sears and Roebuck "Isabella" bedroom set. I loved the pulls. My friend said they look like Shogun sword grips.

This set needed some serious cleaning. It had spent many years in close quarters with a heavy smoker. Also, it isn't made of real wood. The raised parts are plastic.

I decided to try an antique finish for the pieces because of the funky faux wood detailing. Deglosser, TSP, scrape, brush primer (x3 coats), Rustoleum Spray finish paint in Antique White (x2 coats), Van Dyke Brown Glaze coat, water based poly coat. Whew! That's a lot of coats!

Next I had to raise up the dresser so it would be even with the fridge. Creative use of 2x4s and some appliance feet got everyone level.

Added a 96" birch veneer top. I did this leaf motif design on the birch which took a couple hours. Me, not so good with the leafy-hand drawn stuff. Sigh. I decided it looked horrible and ended up covering it with a brown kraft paper decoupage top instead. That came out pretty well and will be durable. Then I cleaned and polished every single handle, screw and back plate. Painted the frames to match the rug, moved in some lamps, dusted and wiped and presto! Place your hands on your hips, stand firmly akimbo and smile. Say, "I made this," and feel proud.

Afters

Dresser to buffet:

Storage Chest:

Nightstand--now with Plant!

And the room: