new again

i am a bit of a thrifty girl, partly because i have to be and partly because i love the challenge of finding a piece and bringing it back life. i have been on the hunt for an olf buffet or sideboard to transform into a tv console. you know the kind...lots of character, all wood, something that will really stand out. well, wouldn't you know it, my mil (mother-in-law) had just the piece and was willing to part with it....score!!

here she is before, i love the doors and the harware and it is perfect for our small room off of our kitchen...just needs some love to be beautiful again! this was my biggest project yet and i was a bit nervous, so i went to my trusty guide for some diy instruction...pinterest. seriously if you

have not checked it out yet, you need to!

i started by sanding the top. i planned to keep the top wood but darken the stain quite a bit. next step, primer. i love spray primer...much much faster. i primed the inside and outside because i was painting both, it only took 2 cans of spray :) did i mention fast dry time as well!

while the primer was drying, i spray painted all the harware a beautiful oil rubbed bronze. seriously they make all kinds of things in spray paint and it is so much easier and faster!! a good tip, i stuck all the screws into the cardboard box so they wouldn't roll around :)

prior to paint

next step, paint. since we have done many projects, we own a paint sprayer...a must if you plan to do several projects and save lots of time. here is my sweet husband helping with this part (did i mention he does not like projects as much as me) and doing such a great job :) we did two coats to make sure all was covered and let it dry. i also sprayed a second coat on the harware. stain time...a small can goes a long way. i went with a beautiful ebony stain. i used an old clean rag to apply the stain and then another clean cloth to rub it off. i did this several times and ended up with a nice deep color. if you want it lighter, less coats are needed, or it can be darker if you do not rub the stain off...whatever you prefer!



late that night once all was dry i distressed the piece and focused mostly on the door fronts. this is the prep for the glaze and can be done with sandpaper as little or as much as you like :) day one complete!

i have never glazed anything before, so this last step made me rather nervous...again pinterest to the rescue. i bought clear glaze from lowes and added some black craft paint.

a little goes a long way so i have lots left over for other projects (don't worry josh, none too soon). my goal was to get it in the cracks and around the frames of the doors. with a brush and none to nicely, i squished it into the areas i wanted. with a damp cloth, wipe off the excess and wallah, you get an antique look. check out the difference, door on left is with glaze, on right just distressed.

i wanted to keep the wood top nice for many years so i went ahead and used polycrylic to protect it. i chose this instead of polyurethane because it has a very low odor and does not yellow white paint over time. this also come in a spray paint but is rather pricy so i opted to brush it on.

this took me one and a half days to complete, not too bad for the savings of doing it myself. since the piece was given to us, the entire project cost about $25 to redo...WOW, that is a good deal!!

i absolutely love this piece, it is prefect for our little room and a great storage for the kids homework items, games and plenty of things! i think it was worth it, don't you?