Well we're not exactly having a heat wave just yet, but at least it was warm enough to paint in the garage this past week. I still needed a heater and only opened the garage doors a bit for ventilation. I tried painting in the driveway, but it was just too windy. But I completed four projects and I'm feeling pretty darn good about that. First up, this pretty charcoal gray buffet.
This one was a curb side find, thanks to a phone alert from my friend Peggy. And funny little story ... this particular house has a somewhat questionable reputation in the neighborhood with some odd comings and goings. When I saw the huge stash by the curb, I actually felt the need to ring the doorbell to be sure the furniture was really up for grabs. As we were waiting on the porch, a car pulled up with five young guys. At that moment, I was really glad I wasn't alone. But I have to say, they were as nice as could be and even helped us load this piece (super heavy) before jumping back in the car and disappearing again. Three trips later, I had two buffets, a farmhouse table and four chairs in my garage!
I bought this color last fall when a client requested black for another project. It ended up being a little too charcoal gray, but I knew it would be perfect for this piece. It's my favorite paint - Behr's Paint and Primer in One. The color is Cracked Pepper and I just love it!
I went over the entire piece with a sanding sponge, then washed it down with TSP.
I used two coats of paint and distressed lightly.
Then I finished up with two coats of Minwax Wipe On Poly. And be sure to follow the directions and use steel wool between coats, it makes all the difference!
I just love the slightly curvy drawers ...
and the pretty doors.
The pulls were classic and perfect for the style of the buffet, so I just freshened them up with a little Rust-oleum Hammered Metal Spray Paint in Dark Bronze.
The door knobs were missing, so I just pulled some from my stash of old knobs and gave them the same finish.
The hardest part was moving this piece. Pictures in front of the garage doors was as good as it was going to get. Then we barely got it loaded back up and delivered to Main Street for our upcoming tag sale. There was no way we could get it up the steps and into the house without help, but thankfully we have some very nice (and strong) neighbors there!
So there you have it, my first piece of furniture in quite a while - woohoo! There are some showers in the forecast this week, but we might actually see 70 degrees. I feel a painting frenzy coming on!
