Thrift Store Buffet Turns into Entertainment Center

Karli and Brent needed a home for their big screen TV, but not anything boring or the usual entertainment center from a "big box store." I found the perfect piece at a Thrift Store in town. It was an antique buffet c. 1930's -1940's. It did have some real problems and the finish was beyond horrible, but it had style and the price was right...$25.00. The clerk informed me that it was marked so cheap because "it was haunted" and they wanted it out of the store! I told her I was not afraid of it...I would probably be praying the entire time I refinished it, anyway.

Here is the "Haunted Buffet." It doesn't look too scary, does it?

It definitely had issues with the doors. Someone had tried to repair them with wood putty, but I was planning to remove them anyway. In fact I didn't even need the drawers since the Karli and Brent would be using that area to store the electronics. I sanded the piece and added a floor to one drawer area. I then spray painted the buffet with Krylon Flat Black (2 coats), distressed it with a sanding sponge, dusted it well, and finished with Minwax Spray Polyurathane in Semi Gloss (2 coats.)



The finished beauty! (You can also see Karli's ladder for blankets in this picture. Learn more about that here)



An up-close of the drawer floor I added



Here you can see that I painted the inside since the doors were removed.

  I proudly delivered it to Brent and Karli. "Look what Mom brought you...a stylish entertainment center that is supposedly haunted."  Now, Karli takes over with the rest of the story.

"We really love using this as our entertainment center. It houses all the components as well as magazines and some baskets for more junk. We often joke with people that it's haunted. It is all fun and games until we hear someone walking around in the bedroom above the family room (when we're all downstairs). Eerie, right?"  

~Kandy

From Trash to Treasure...Salvaged Closet Becomes Entertainment Armoire

I don't know if I am all alone out there, but, I really don't like the T.V., speakers and electronics to be the main focal point of my living room. Of course, it is "in style" now to have the big screen exposed and husbands are especially proud to show theirs off!!!  Nevertheless, I prefer all of that stuff to be hidden away. You see, my husband plays an electric bass guitar (was in a rock band in a previous life) and has a large bass amplifer as well as speakers and an assortment of components. 

The above reasons lead me on a search for the perfect, huge entertainment center which could accomodate and conceal all of the pre-mentioned items. For years I searched but to no avail. I knew with my husband's help we could probably build it, but I really wanted something older with character. Finally I found what I believed to be the perfect piece...an old beadboard closet salvaged from the dump. It was outside leaning against the wall of an Antique Store. It had great bones, great crown moulding on the top, and the right measurements to accomodate all that stuff. It came out of a home in the area, probably around the 1920's. I knew we could make it work...we only had to "tweak" on it.

It was a closet, made of fir beadboard and had a center support, a rod inside and two doors. It was a little wobbly but we were able to remove the center support and widen one door by adding a piece of wood trim so the doors would meet. We replaced the hinges and added old door knobs and plates.

I don't have a before picture. I wasn't thinking about ever wanting to see it in that shape again, but this shows the hinges and old door knobs we added.

We also added square wood feet that I ordered from VanDykes Catalog. We built shelves to accomodate the components, amp and speakers and made drawers to house the CD collection.

Just look at all this storage....

We made drawers to house the CD collection.

Since the closet had never been painted, refinishing was a snap...after sanding and cleaning the old wood I applied a coat of Briwax in Tudor Brown. With the doors closed, the old closet gives you no clue as to what it holds.

Getting this huge beast up stairs to our living room was no small feat (we had to get the help of two strong male friends, plus me and hubby). After all the trouble, we decided this piece will never leave...it will be sold with the house.

This project just shows what thinking outside the box (or closet) can get you!!!

~Kandy

Be Brave, Be Daring...Paint That Furniture

Over the years I have refinished literally hundreds of pieces of furniture...some for myself or Karli, some for friends, family or customers, and some for resale in the Antique Shop. I must admit that there are times when, after working days to remove the old paint or finish, you discover underneath it all...it is indeed ugly wood. Then, I have fun and paint the piece, saving it from being a shade of boring brown!

Be brave, be daring. Make that ugly duckling the focal point of your room. As I always say, "It is only paint, and can be repainted if you really don't like it."

This hutch, which belonged to another dealer, is maple (probably my least favorite color wood...yellow/orange.) I painted it for her using Sherwin Williams 6712 Luau Green, in satin. I distressed the edges with a sanding sponge, then applied a coat of clear Briwax.
The piece sold, but not before it was admired and coveted by the majority of shoppers.

The painted green hutch as displayed in the Shop

                                        
Another piece which found new life was this dresser. It became a "Turquoise Taos Treasure" with a coat of Sherwin Williams 6487 Cloudburst. I distressed it heavily to show the raw wood underneath and applied a coat of Tudor Brown Briwax. It sold right away in the shop. I guess that's a good thing because otherwise I was going to take it home and have to "redecorate" a room around it. I was already planning my "Cowgirl Room."
                                                       

The Turquoise Taos Treasure

I like using a coat of Briwax on top of my distressed painted pieces. I really like the character and patina it adds, but another good top-coat is Minwax Polyurethane Spray in Semi-Gloss. The Semi-Gloss finish is easy to apply in a well-ventilated area (garage, with no cars in it.) Just follow the directions about temperature and don't over-spray.

~Kandy

Grandpa's East Lake Dresser

As a child, I have fond memories of the time I spent with my Grandpa Ray playing in his parts and machinery shop. I spent hours ringing up "pretend" sales on the cash register, searching through boxes of nuts and bolts, and exploring the attic. The attic was accessible only by ladder, all the big stuff it contained had been brought up with an old rope pulley. Hidden in dark corners were a strange collection of antiques...an incubator for chicks, an old embalming table (creepy, right?), and an old dresser filled with an assortment of papers, letters, and photos. I was thrilled to find old love letters Grandpa had written to Grandma tied up with silk ribbon in one drawer. 

After Grandpa and Grandma were gone, my parents gave me that dresser from the attic. I was thrilled to take possession of that fond memory, even if it was in rough shape.

It had decades of dust and debris on it but had never been painted, so restoring it just involved cleaning it up, tightening and regluing the joints, and a coat of tung oil. Only one original knob was in place when I got it. I searched antique stores high and low to find the old ebony ones that matched. 

I did leave the drawers in the shape I found them...complete with baling wire on the back...that was Grandpa's way to fix anything!

After I had refinished the dresser and proudly brought it into the house, Karli, (being about 9 or 10 years old) asked me what I thought it was worth. I went into a long "schpeel" about its age, missing glove boxes, etc. and told her that considering all, it was probably worth about $300. I then asked her if she liked it. She informed me that she was just curious so she would know what to sell it for someday!

I think Karli has decided that she does like "old things" afterall. She has grown to have an appreciation for character pieces and especially one with family history. The East Lake dresser now resides in our entry way, but someday it will be Karli's. 

The old photo sitting atop the dresser is one of Grandpa Ray as a child.  

~Kandy

Oak Ice Box Makeover

In March of 1986 I purchased this oak ice box for $175 at a shack of an antique store in southern Colorado. The ice box had been sitting in a shed with its legs under water and had severe damage to the bottom of the structure. Below Karli is pictured with the "prize."

Karli's daddy, Dwight, got involved in the makeover project and decided it was a complete rebuild.

In the process of rebuilding, we reglued all the joints, cut off the damaged legs and put it back together. I then refinished the exterior, bringing it back to its golden oak glory. I painted the inside with a high gloss enamel and added new glass shelves.

Two months and many hours later, the ice box had found a new life as the bar--holding liquor and barware.

~Kandy