This mustard yellow buffet was a fun little teaser when I showed you all my living room makeover challenge. I figured you should see this lovely lady before I freshened her up with leftover paint from this project.
I love this buffet. It was my great-grandma's dining room buffet before it was handed down to my mom. She recently inherited a piano from my grandpa and didn't have room any longer for this so she offered it to me...on one condition: I must not paint it!
I explained to her that in it's current condition (above/before shot), it was disrespectful to leave it as is. It has years of neglect, a broken drawer, faded spots, rings from cups being left on it, missing hardware, etc.
After making some small repairs, (knobs from Michael's dollar bin) I was left with a pretty buffet but not pretty cords...
Want to see my secret solution?
With the help of my dad/next-door-neighbor (hubby was at work), I cut the drawer apart and added hinges so we could tuck our cable box inside and simply close the drawer when the tv is off. Brilliant, right?
I'm not going to lie, this project was way out of my league. I'm so glad my dad is handy and took over for me. All I had to do was screw in the hinges, and I stunk at it! My hubby came home and dremel'd out the space for the hinges so it actually functioned, LOL! So I stink at turning regular drawers into hinged drawers, but at least I can paint decently. Right??
I ♥ the chippiness. It doesn't scratch the actual wood, just chips away the mustard yellow paint so if I ever do refinish it back to it's bare bones, I won't have to repair anything.... thanks for the tip, Stories of a House!
Anyway, I'm glad to inherit this lovely buffet turned tv console. I purposely left the top alone to keep a bit of my great-grandma in my home. And I love that it's both pretty and practical (:
So let me have it: my mom says I should prepare for some backlash...would YOU have painted your great-grandma's 100 year old buffet?? Or am I insane?
I LOVE it! It's still sentimental even though it is now yellow! I say don't feel guilty!
ReplyDeleteI would have painted it. LoOVE it! My grandpa had one almost exactly like it...wonder if I could get my hands on it?..
ReplyDeleteLOVE that hidden drawer thing - genius!
ReplyDeleteyes, I would have painted it! I have a couple of pieces in my home that "I'm not allowed to paint!" ...and I'm embarrassed of them, and can't wait to get something to replace them! If I could just paint them, I'd LOVE them! Be Proud of them, even...I'm glad you were brave! I'm not brave enough to defy my MIL!
ReplyDeleteI love vintage pieces like this and this one turned out great. I especially love the hinged drawer. I think that making old vintage pieces (even heirlooms) relevant and fresh is better than leaving them old and neglected.
ReplyDeleteI have this rule: "I can paint anything I buy, but not furniture passed down in the family" BUT in your case, with it really in need of help, I probably would have painted it, too! Your grandmother would love the bright cheery yellow! Well done!
ReplyDeleteYou did an awesome job! I love your solution for the cable box. I inherited my grandparents' buffet that I'd love to paint, but I'm scared to take the leap.
ReplyDeleteYEP! I just got one last summer from my Grandmother and you better believe that puppy is going to be painted as soon as we move into our own home so I know what color I want it. And funny thing... We did exactly what you did to the top drawer! FABULOUS! We also did it to the bottom drawer for our video game console!!!
ReplyDeletelove it.
ReplyDeleteI love your buffet! I have one almost exactly like it that was already painted green when I bought it in a little cottage furniture shop. But I was never crazy about the green color. A little dark. You have inspired me to paint mine and I was just thinking tonight about doing it, and then saw this post! I am excited!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad you're inspired!! (: And I'm happy no one has berated me, LOL!
ReplyDeleteI love that old furniture can come back to life with an affordable option, paint!
(: Kelli
I love it and I think it looks GREAT! I follow your blog and I can't get over how much our rooms are similar. I'll try posting a link of my front room... Scroll down in the post a bit!
ReplyDeleteJill
http://blessednest05.blogspot.com/2012/03/side-tables.html
It looks beautiful! i'm not sure I would've had the guts to paint a piece that old, but you did a great job! :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! This piece further feeds the yellow mood I have been in - gotta paint something yellow now!
ReplyDeletePlease stop by my linky party happening now to link it up - I would love to have you there!
Stacey of Embracing Change
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com
Oh, I LOVE it!! I love that you left the top the same (only because I am totally a sentimental person) but, you picked the perfect color and honestly, I bet your great grandmother would love that you put some love and care into it. It is GORGEOUS! I wish you lived closer and could help me as I am slowly redoing my front room. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteOh! It turned out beautifully ! Go bold or go home with that yellow!! It's perfect!
ReplyDeleteI've got a similar piece my mom is pushing me to take now- which would make it a tv console- cause I just don't have the space for anything else.
Annnd, I used to have the couch set to match the leather chair you have in the corner! Funny!
xo Becca
I love how this buffet came out!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely did the right thing. And I bet your great grandma would agree. Sentiment is ok, but that thing needed some tlc, and you gave it that. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful! I love the bright yellow.
ReplyDeleteI saw your granite eggs on Its Overflowing. They were awesome! I'm a new follower. I'd love for you to follow me back, but no pressure!
Gorgeous! The mustard yellow looks like it belongs on this piece. :) I have some similar wood pieces inherited from my grandmother that I'm semi-terrified to paint (I'm not as good as you, Kelli!) but I know ultimately she would be okay with it because she always wanted me to be happy. ;) I love that you left the top alone to help keep her spirit with you!
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE it! Yellow is so gorgeous on that piece! Wish it were mine :)
ReplyDeleteOh no...this is perfect! This hutch would smile if it had lips! lol I LOVE what you did, I wish you were closer, I need a 1940's Queen Anne bedroom set re-done.....:) Sandy
ReplyDeleteOld furniture gets new life with paint!
I LOVE this console!! I personally would have no problem painting my Grandmother's 100 year old buffet - it has a whole new life now! Great job! Love the little hinged drawer!
ReplyDeleteYou have rescued this 100 yr. old dinosaur and turned it into something of beauty and interest! Had it stayed the way it was, it would have been relegated to your attic or basement to collect dust and eventually die.
ReplyDeleteLove the yellow! Am getting reaady to do an old family dresser for a guest room. Would you mind sharing what shade and kind of paint you used? Thanks for the inspiration and the nudge to go yellow!!
ReplyDeleteFYI: I write back every.single.person that comments but a good handful of you are no-reply bloggers. Sad! So if I ignored your cute comment, it's not on purpose (: Promise!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the love, guys. I'm so glad Great-Grandma hasn't haunted me out of anger thus far (;
Love the yellow and the little door! My philosophy is that if you are giving a piece new life and new love, then it's all good!
ReplyDeleteHow sweet to have a piece of your family right there with you! This color is magnificent! Love the hinge idea - brilliant! I also love the top staying wood...gorgeous makeover.
ReplyDeleteKelli, it's gorgeous and perhaps your great grandma would agree. The main thing is that y'all can enjoy it and be thankful to have it. This is making me think it's yours to enjoy and otherwise you might have been ready to sell it. Your project is making me rethink some of my inherited pieces, that we are afraid devaluing! Thanks! Helen
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it! It is so YOU. I am sure your Grandma will love the fact that you took something that she loved and turned it into something just as beautiful. ♥
ReplyDeleteThis turned out gorgeous! The color choice was perfect!
ReplyDeleteStopping over from 30 Handmade Days :)
Just beautiful! I love it! Megan
ReplyDeleteThis looks awesome Kelli!!! The bright yellow really brightens the room. I love how it stayed in the family too :)
ReplyDeleteNo backlash here. I'd paint it in a minute. Now you have something that you love AND it has sentimental value. Perfect! It looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteNope. You did good (ok, awesome is more like it)! And I like how you left the top the way it is! Saw your post on TT&J!
ReplyDeleteGabby
The...Late, Young Family
I love it!! SO clever with the hinged opening! And, the color?? LOVE!
ReplyDeleteI've totally pinned this! :)
Drop dead gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThe color is beautiful! I never wouldve though the before and after were the same piece.
ReplyDeleteTHis is so darling, it makes me want to redo my family room.... in something yellow!
ReplyDeleteCarlee
www.ladybirdln.com
Love the color on this piece! Fresh and Fab! I have an antique buffet that my husband wanted to hinge like that, I told him no way. I have a dresser he's going to do it to though. :)
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS. And, yes, you did right and you did good. I'll bet Mom is even proud of the makeover that her Mom's buffet received. Every old girl can use a little makeup now and then.
ReplyDeleteI found you at the Bloghop posted on my page, PICKINandPAINTIN.blogspot.com. Im now following you and hope that you'll follow back.
It is 100% better! I'm not gonna lie, I would be more than a little nervous about painting such an heirloom, but it did turn out pretty fabulous!! Plus, you left the top to respect the piece, and I think that's a nice touch. All in all, great job! Oh, and by the way, I love the use you found for it -- way cooler than buying a regular old media console :)
ReplyDeleteI did some painting this week, too -- my first big piece ever! I'd love for you to come check it out: http://homesweetsnl.blogspot.com/2012/03/sunroom-redo-part-2-painting-laminate.html
this is soooo pretty! I love the color! I recently redid a buffet and I painted it white- seeing this makes me ready to do it again, only in yellow this time!
ReplyDeleteThe buffet was gorgeous as is, but now that you painted it, it is stunning! I am in love with it!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely featuring it on Tuesday!
Thanks for coming by to link up...I would love to have you back this week!
See you there!
Stacey of Embracing Change
I absolutely love the yellow, and it looks so great now!! I re-did a vanity for my daughter and painted it bright pink http://sewsweetcottage.blogspot.com/2012/03/antique-vanity-redo.html and I think painting antiques a bright color brings them back to life!!
ReplyDeleteStunning!
Shannon@SewSweetCottage
I am totally in love with the buffet and the color! I am getting ready to finish up something in that color as well..I must say I felt a little intimidated by the color, just alone make a really strong statement. I like the little distressed it, it looks complete like that! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I have been wanting a buffet for an entertainment center for a long time. I love the hidden compartment for your cable box.
ReplyDeletehttp://lexmallabooks.com/
Looks great!! I wouldn't have thought twice about slapping some paint on the mamma jamma. Lol. I recently scored an awesome vintage buffet from the thrift store that I plan to use for the same purpose as a TV stand. And it has tons of storage for the kids stuff!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see a pic of it, check my blog and click on the tab "Upcoming Projects." The buffet is there, along with all my other thrift store goodies just screaming for paint and fabric! Lol
Serena
www.ThriftDiving.com
Oh, and I meant to add, I paid $70 for my buffet and hauling costs, and I was going to resell it on Craigslist "as is" without paint and stuff, and someone offered me $180 for it!! Whoa! But I fell in love with it and couldn't think to sell that baby!!! Lol
DeleteI think you are Insane-ly Talented. Great Job, don't you love it when a plan comes together.
ReplyDeletefabulous! i love the color! it's gorgeous!
ReplyDeletewould you mind shooting me an email with what color of yellow paint you used? Thanks! camillelindquist@gmail.com
ReplyDeletewould you mind shooting me an email with what color of yellow paint you used? Thanks! camillelindquist@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteColor is Jackson Square by Sherwin-Williams (:
ReplyDeleteI adore that mustard yellow paint...who would have thought!
ReplyDeleteI'm about to undertake the restoration of a dressing table to make a office desk. It has sweet curved drawers, lovely legs and a square front that I am not even sure what call it! Best of all, it has original glass nobs to die for!
I'm trying the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the first time. If you care to see the "before" check out my blog smallhouseunderabigsky.wordpress.com
Small House / Big Sky Donna
I can't believe I found this blog! I don't know if you remember me but I used to be in your ward. I'm happy to be a follower!
ReplyDelete