DIY

I found this antique buffet on Facebook marketplace. I had been searching for a piece like this for months. When I saw this listing I couldn’t type “I want it” quick enough! Let’s get to the fun part. I started off by sanding the top of the piece to see if it was all solid wood or veneer. Like most pieces made in this time period it was veneer. I lightly sanded the top and tried to just get the top layer off and leave the veneer. This left a really pretty natural wood color. I didn’t mess with the top much, because I didn’t want to mess up the veneer. I sealed the top with polycrylic and that’s all I did with it. The pictures below show the top once it was sanded. After I finished the top. I brought it inside and started working on the bottom portion of the buffet table. The photo below show the different paint samples I liked, and then the two paint colors I mixed to get the exact color I wanted. That perfect gray blue color! I used Waverly chalk paint. You can find this brand at Walmart. I painted 2-3 coats on the buffet. It is important to lightly sand after each coat with 220 grit sandpaper, this helps remove lines/brush marks and smoothes the surface. After I finished painting the last coat, I very lightly sanded it with 320 grit sandpaper just to make sure it had a smooth finish. Once that was done, I decided to use Valspar limewash glaze on the bottom part of the buffet table. Pictured below are the products I used for the limewashing process. The lime wash can take a little bit of practice, but once you get the technique down it’s so pretty. I used this brush (in the pics above) to apply the glaze. I found this bristled brush at walmart in the painting section. The glaze is like a melted marshmallowy substance that you smear on to the paint. I brush it on and then quickly with a rag wipe it off the raised areas. This will allow the glaze to sit down in the detailed areas. This buffet has beautiful details on it and I wanted the glaze to highlight those areas. In the photos below you can see the process. I brushed on and wiped off and then let it completely dry and then repeated the process. I did a total of two coats. Make sure you brush on each area entirely, it can get streaky and have bad transitions if you break up an area into sections. This product doesn’t fade well together. Below I will show some pictures of the process. After the glaze dried, I sealed the whole buffet with Annie Sloan clear wax. I have used this wax for years and I love it! Below I will show all the products I used. I am so happy how this buffet table turned out! I love restyling the buffet and the open shelving we added for each season. I added before and after photos below. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how I refinished this antique buffet table. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!