Pretty little buffet

Score! 

I have been looking for a small buffet for my little dining room for a while now.  I have scoured the flea markets, junk shops, ebay, antique stores...you name it.  Why no furniture stores you ask??  Because I am cheap love a bargain!  And I wanted something with a little character.

After months of searching I came across this little beauty on Craigslist..

I was totally in LOVE with the barley twist legs on the base and the posts on the upper piece, the pearl bead moulding in a diamond pattern on the doors and the old mirror on the top were just extra special.  I, however, was NOT loving the cheap black latex paint someone slopped on her or the cheap silver knobs. 

But with a little elbow grease and a ton of stripper, I knew I could bring her back to her former glory.

So the long painful slow process of restoring her began.  [Why a "her"??  Just look at those legs...pure beauty.]

I

 First I had to clean out all the years of dirt and grime.  She didn't smell very good after years of sitting in the garage of the guy's house that I bought her from.  A little Murphy's Oil Soap and warm water got her all cleaned up and smelling great! 

I taped off the mirror and put on a heavy layer of paint stripper!  Yuck!!!

Looking better already!

A little before and after all in one piece.

Look at those GORGEOUS barley twist legs...and the feet!!  I could die!

She is looking so good.  LOVE!!!!

 

 

 

 

I still need to find some knobs or pulls, but I am so excited with how she turned out!  So pretty!!!  Don't ya think?

Oh and she needs some better accessorizing and the dining room needs to be repainted.  But one thing at a time.  For now, this is one project that is FINISHED!

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Common Ground

Redoux Interiors

French Country Cottage
At The Picket Fence
My Romantic Home
Not JUST a Housewife
Southern Hospitality
House of Hepworths
Thrifty Decor Chick
 

LET THERE BE LIGHT!!

My south facing house is dark.  VERY Dark!

We have covered porches on the front and back of the house, so direct sunlight is very hard to come by.  And I had originally decorated with dark colors.  I love chocolate brown and deep red.  So, any and all natural light was being sucked up by our dark paint colors.

I had tested out a lighter color on the right of the office doors...still in the brown family, just much lighter.

See...ummm.  Way.  Too.  Dark.

So, I got a can of paint and my trusty paint roller.  And ta da!!!

 

The first dark pictures were taken during the middle of the day and these updated lighter pics were taken at 9 p.m.!!  And notice how much brighter the room is! 

 

It is crazy how much more light there seems to be in the other rooms of the house too, just by painting the entry way.  Who knew??? Certainly not me!  Or I would have done it sooner.

 

I can't wait to continue to lighten and brighten other areas of the house.  Add moulding to the dining room entry seen in the pic above.  Change out the light fixture to something a tad. bit. bigger.  And DIY some things to decorate this space.

 

But for now, LET THERE BE LIGHT!