Throwing back to when I refinished my Grandma’s Gorgeous Buffet

With these throw back posts every month I am confronted (every. single. time.) with how I never took enough pictures back then. Its such a shame! I guess my brain just hadn’t fully switched over to digital yet and I was still trying to “save film” every time I took a picture?! Who only takes ONE picture?! I so wish I had more before I started work on this piece because it was quite a bit of work and the result was pretty dramatic. I love those claw feet! SO, I may not have taken enough “before” picture but I at least have some pictures now that do this beautiful piece justice!

Its pretty amazing to read back and realize how much has changed here at Grandma’s house! This post came out back in November of 2015. Here is the original post:

Eleonora’s beautiful buffet refinished into my entertainment center.

This post is actually not about the Grandma I talk about so much (the wonderful lady who inspired this blog, who lived in this beautiful old farm house before her passing a few years ago) No, this post is about a different Grandma, my dad’s mom Eleonora.

When she passed they gave us grand kids full run of her house with the notion that we needed to take something to remember her and grandpa by. To say the least, none of us really wanted to do anything let alone go through Grandma’s far too quiet house.

But, of course, we did, and we’re all glad that we did. I chose this gorgeous old buffet with the stunning claw feet and the amazing mirror with only an inkling that it may be my entertainment center some day. It was missing knobs and one of the feet was danging by a screw, it was also in pretty rough shape all in all.

It needed love, it needed me.

I refinished this old beauty at the same time that I did this one: The Ancient dresser from nowhere. Side by side I went from one to the other, sanding my arms off. Since then I have seen many other alternatives to removing the old, sludge-like finish on these ancient pieces, I have also been yelled at for removing it at all.

But, the truth is, after so many years with the old coats of stuff on them, these pieces (like this buffet) really get just totally covered up with grime. Once I started to see the grain on this one I got really excited and knew I was on the right track!

I chose a black stain that turned out a lot less black then I had thought it would be, later I realized I had chose a gel stain that had settled to the bottom and had been using a brush where I should have been using a rag. However, I am very happy with how this piece turned out.

I used a satin poly on it so it would shimmer instead of shine.

Then, for the first time since I refinished this pretty old thing I got to put the mirror back on! I did a little dance, I really did!

So, the old velvet lined, divided drawer, made just for silver, now holds my wii remotes and console controllers and remote controls and if that’s not a direct example of how one generation has changed to the next I don’t know what is.

This old buffet was up in my Grandma’s attic, almost totally covered up, I love that she’s out now as my entertainment center for everyone to admire when they come into my home. The other two finds I got from my Grandma Eleonora are the rocking chair I upholstered and the white leather tufted hassock that graces my master closet.

I see and use all three of them every day and every day I remember her!