Thursday, April 7, 2011

Finally Bought a Buffet! (Unloved & Rough)

So yesterday I went out to some thrift stores looking for a piano bench for my girlfriends new keyboard that she bought. I found a perfect one that we are going to repaint and re-upholster. It's not mid century really but I'll still post a detailed rebuild of the piano bench at a later date. While I was out, I spotted this wonderful looking buffet sitting on the outside of a local junk shop. I knew it was beat up and wasn't a name brand buffet but I just fell in love the with way the drawers were designed. I asked the guy how much He wanted for it and he told me $30. I wasn't sure if I wanted it for $30 so I offered him $25 and he said sure. He helped me load it up and I knew my dad wasn't going to be pleased I bought this rough looking buffet. There isn't hardly any room left in the house. Sure enough, he wasn't very happy. I have decided that I will modify this thing for use as a TV stand. It's pretty cheap anyways so no big deal if I drill holes in the back or anything. I may paint it someday but I'm not sure. Maybe some funky colors? I quite like the wood veneer though so I'm not sure. I'f I can't get it looking any better I might have to paint it. Just think of the possibilities! Anyways, Here is my new project! Hit the link for more pics!

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This thing definitely has its bumps and scrapes but It needed a good home and I will use it whenever I move out. If I ever find a better one for a great price, I already told my girlfriend that I will be more than willing to part with this one to get the better one. I found one similar to it over on apartment therapy that was $100 and in much better condition so I think I got a good deal on it. You can see that one here. Here it is stuffed into my car. Its a tad bit longer than the Love Sofa I bought last Saturday but It still fit in pretty easily after I unscrewed the legs.



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The Buffet isn't too heavy which is probably because it isn't exactly the highest quality. I vacuumed all of the dust out of it but It does smell like smoke which I will have to take care of later. It's not too hard to get rid of a smoky smell. I hate smoke smell so the quicker I get rid of it the better. It looks pretty good from a distance but when u get closer to it you can see its flaws.


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You can see the chips and scratches on the bottom corner and the top has some stains and scratches on it but I think I can make those disappear with a little elbow grease. We will see how that pans out.


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Here you can see the most notable damage. All of the legs have a fair bit of damage to them but this one is the worst. I think I can sand them down and re-stain them to bring back its former glory. The other terrible part on it is that it is missing quite a large chunk of veneer on the front right of the buffet. I may just replace that whole strip. That shouldn't be too hard but we will see. This is why I think it might be better to just paint it. If I can fix it for cheap I'll just do that though.


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The drawers are pretty nice but there are a few nicks on them. I think I can cover them up with a bit of stain though and the back is just some cheap board that I could drill through to put wires for a TV in. the possibilities are endless! I can't wait until I can modify this thing to my likings! It will look pretty cool as a TV stand so I'm pretty sure that will be its future use unless I find a better one like that Kroehler Buffet.

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8 comments:

  1. A lot of potential. The style is really cool. I'd probably paint it but then I have no patience and would want to see it done up as soon as possible.

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  2. Yea I'm leaning more towards painting it... I think that would be a much better option and I can used wood putty to fill in any missing chunks before I paint it. I think it would look great painted with a glossy coat.

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  3. Paint the "body" a cool glossy white or orange but leave the drawer faces natural wood. It'll look great! Check out Design*Sponge for ideas. BTW, it's not a buffet but a nine drawer chest of drawers. You'll figure out all these names eventually. There is probably a more specific name for this type of dresser too, but I don't know it off hand. You did good! Look on the Chicago craigslist for what these go for up there!

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  4. Very nice! I'm sure it will look great whether you paint it or keep it natural.

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  5. I never paint anything unless it's complete junk. Like the late 60's early 70's Colonial Revival crappy small dresser I got about 20 years ago which was an ugly dark stained wood, poor construction, and did not match anything I had, nor did it look "mid-century". That I painted recently (already showed pics on my blog), and the shelves I had bought about 10 years ago.

    Otherwise I wouldn't touch it with paint, but that's just me. =)

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  6. That is the nice thing about a piece that is not pristine....you have the freedom to either restore it or take it in a whole new direction...without guilt :-)

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  7. Mr. Modtomic - Yea I was thinking about painting the body white but now that you mention orange that might also look really good. I was also thinking about painting the drawers and the legs a different color but I might just put some touch up stain on the missing chips on the drawers to keep them looking natural wood. Thanks for the info! I'm sure I will figure all of these names out eventually :) I thought I did good too but my dad thinks otherwise lol.

    Krazy4Mod - Yea I think it will amazing after I paint it! I can keep the best of both worlds if I just paint the body and leave the drawers the way they are like Mr. Modtomic suggested.

    1950sAtomicRanch - Yea this think is pretty junky. I would never paint anything really valuable like my Milo Baughman chair. This dresser is pretty beat up so I think it would be best to paint it.

    MovieMag46 - I know! I'm excited to be able to sand this thing down and paint it up! It will be great to not have any guilt painting this thing!

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  8. I found a dresser quite similar to that. This is what I did with mine, sorry the picture isn't the greatest quality, but you get the general idea.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/94091419@N00/5640566894/in/photostream

    Rachel

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