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Black Distressed Buffet Makeover

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover by The Thinking Closet

Our black distressed table and chairs have a new best buddy: a black distressed buffet!  Look at them hanging out together, all matchy-matchy.  All they need now are friendship bracelets!

Black Distressed Table, Chairs, and Buffet via The Thinking Closet

Now, the story of this buffet makeover begins with a problem…a printer problem to be exact.

You see, our house does not have an office; and since we spend most of our laptop time in the living room, it only makes sense to have our printer nearby.  However, a printer prominently displayed on a folding table next to the couch is nothing short of an eye sore.  Not to mention the rat’s nest of cords underneath it for our modem and external hard-drive.  We even tucked printer paper and ink cartridges down there, too…because we didn’t think it was enough of a dust-bunny magnet as it was.  And while I’ve managed to cut it out of most of my photos, it’s also known for its sneaky photo-bombs…like here:

Our printer problem "before...."

Upon reflection, a buffet seemed like the perfect solution for providing storage to hide our mini-office, while simultaneously serving as a surface to use when entertaining.  Hooray for multi-functionality!

The Hunt

It took us a while to track down the right piece.  We had our eyes peeled on Craigslist and frequented some resale shops in the Orlando area, but nothing really had the look we wanted or the depth of cabinet space we needed to fit our Epson printer.

Then, on Father’s Day weekend, we drove up to Ocala to visit my in-laws and decided to hit up the resale and consignment shops before heading back.  I had heard great things about The Carriage Trade from my MIL and SIL; they’ve both had a lot of success in finding items there, as well as selling them, so that was our first stop.

Lo and behold, near the end of our stroll through the store, we found her: the buffet of our dreams.  Though we had to use our imaginations to envision her without a mirror, with a different finish and new hardware, we both really loved how she looked.  And upon further examination, she was well-made, too.  She had a mid-century modern vibe going on with a glass top perfect for handling hot dishes.  And although the piece was originally intended to be a dresser, we said, “potato-potahto” to that!  It wasn’t anything this D.I.Y.-lovin’ couple couldn’t handle with a few tweaks!

Buffet...before! via The Thinking Closet

Now, I’m not sure if it’s the New Yorker in me or the Scottish, but I thrive on the process of bartering for a better price.  So, I thought it’d be worth asking The Carriage Trade to contact the owner of the piece to see if they’d give it to us for $200 instead of $295 since we did not need the mirror and were planning on putting more money into refinishing it.

Let's make a deal!  via The Thinking Closet

The owner agreed to drop the price to $250, but no lower.  We gave it about two seconds of thought and decided to jump on it!  And I even managed to sell off the mirror for $30 cash to a gal who was checking out at the same time as us!  So, when all was said and done, we got a solid walnut retro buffet for $220.  Here it is on our wooden roof rack, strapped atop our Camry for the journey back to Orlando.

Road Trip! via The Thinking Closet
via Instagram

The Makeover

Mark surprised me by refinishing this piece while I was out of town on a trip this June, so I only have a few photos of the makeover in process that he took on his phone; however, we did the exact same finish on our Target table this February.  So, be sure to check out that post for more details and pics.

Black Distressed Table Makeover by The Thinking Closet
Click here for the tutorial!

1.  Step one was to remove the hardware and drawers.

2.  Then, Mark sanded the piece by hand using a fine-grit sandpaper (approx. 220 grit).  While the piece is walnut, it had a veneer-like finish overtop the wood that needed roughing up in order for the paint to adhere to it.

3.  Next, he flipped the piece on its back and used 1 can of black semi-gloss spray paint on the inside.

4.  Then, he hand-painted the exterior of the buffet, the cabinet doors, and 3 of the drawer fronts with two coats of black Behr paint-and-primer-in-one.

Black paint!

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover | The Thinking Closet
Can you spot our adopted stray cat, Mangey, who is sitting in the same spot in both pics on different days?  Mark’s faithful companion in my absence.

5.  We had decided to keep the three drawers for table linens in the left cabinet and empty the right cabinet of drawers in order to house the printer; however, there was enough vertical space on the printer side to accommodate a shelf, which Mark painted and installed.

6.  Then, he cut a small hole in the back of the buffet with a sawzall (reciprocating saw), so that we could run cords out of the buffet to be plugged into the wall.

8.  Next comes the fun part: sanding the edges of the buffet and using a stain pen on the exposed wood.  This gives it that distressed look that is so Pottery-Barn esque!

Use a stain pen on the distressed edges of your piece of furniture | The Thinking Closet

9.  To seal the piece, he used a Polycrylic protective finish in clear satin.  This is probably the trickiest part of the process, and Mark’s recommendations are to apply the finish quickly, side to side with long brush-strokes in the direction of the grain, cleaning up any runs as you go, and then leaving it be.  Don’t go back to fix any imperfections.  If a bug lands on it while it’s drying, fuggetaboutit.  It’s too easy to really mess up the finish if you go back over it while it has started to dry.  He did two coats of the finish on the top and only one on the rest of the exterior and called it a day.

Polycrylic finish | The Thinking Closet

10.  During a Home Depot run, we picked out new hardware for the cabinet doors.  The winners were Martha Stewart cabinet knobs.  The copper edges peeking through the bronze finish really mirrors the same effect of the black distressed paint and stain.

Martha Stewart Living 1-3/16 in. Discus Cabinet Hardware Knob

11.  Lastly, we picked up some clear rubber bumper pads to lay at 8 points around the top to keep the glass from touching the surface.  After laying the bumper pads down and cleaning at least one surface of the glass, we gripped the glass with rags to protect it from our fingerprints and laid the glass down on top of the finished buffet!

Glass bumpers to protect the finish!

The Finished Piece:

Annnnd, here she is!  Flexing her buffet buffness with a Pottery-Barn inspired makeover.  But instead of spending over $1000 for a piece like the Essex dresser, we only spent $220 on the buffet, plus minimal additional costs of some paint, protective finish, and a stain pen for around $70.  At a total cost of $290, that’s my kinda deal!

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover | The Thinking Closet

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover | The Thinking Closet

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover | The Thinking Closet

Buffet Organization

Our table linens and accoutrements are no longer in a messy heap in the closet; they’re neatly organized in the drawers behind the left cabinet doors on our newly made-over buffet!

Table linen organization!

And our printer problem is now solved!  Instead of the eye-sore beside our couch, our mini-office is now covertly hidden in the open space behind the right cabinet doors.  In fact, it even fits sideways, so that it can print while the doors remain shut.  And the shelf on top is key for storing our paper and ink cartridges.  No more rat’s nest of cords, either, with our modem and external hard-drive tucked away, too!  Cue “The Hallelujah Chorus.”

Hide a printer and other office supplies inside a buffet cabinet!

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover by The Thinking Closet

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover by The Thinking Closet

Black Distressed Buffet Makeover by The Thinking Closet

We’re really starting to build a posse of black distressed furniture!  Who knows what unsuspecting piece of unfinished furniture will be our next victim….  Mwah ha ha!

Dear reader, I’m curious to know what you think of the finished buffet!  Have you tackled any furniture makeover projects of late?  If so, I’d love to hear about it!

And I’ll be back tomorrow to share how I tackled organizing that messy closet you caught a glimpse at!  That project has been a long time coming….  See you then!

{Linking up here.}

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82 Comments

  1. You’ve inspired me! My style is vintage/Victorian but downstairs hubby has a home theatre/rumpus room that is more modern. I have known for a while it would be difficult to match the furniture we had with the extra pieces we need but now I am thinking it doesn’t have to. I can find something similar…do a paint finish like you’ve done on this buffet, change out the hardware and voila! matching furniture!

    Love what you’ve done….and thanks for the ideas 🙂

    1. Thanks, Lisa-Maree (coolest spelling ever)! I’m glad to know that this tutorial me have inspired you to flex those DIY skills you most certainly have! And it’s true–some fresh paint and new hardware can work wonders for furniture transformations. You’ll have to keep me posted with what you do….

    1. Ha ha. Mangey is the queen of photobombs! She’s just so cute, you can’t really get frustrated with her for it! And thanks, I’m glad you like our matchy matchy dining room set. We’re loving it.

  2. I love it!! I’ve been trying to find an old buffet and I wanted to paint it black and distress it because my kitchen cabinets are that way. Thanks so much for sharing your project with us. You have inspired me to get back and there and start looking for that piece again.

    1. Awesome! We really do love the look of it. And in a room with bright walls, it really doesn’t darken it too much (if that was any concern). Hope you can find the right buffet for your space, Gayla. Happy thrifting!

  3. Saw your buffet on Shabby Creek Cottage, and had to come see the makeover. Loved it! We’re renovating a double wide mobile for our senior years, and totally need more storage. This is a great makeover! I’m Scottish too, adore a bargain!
    Thank you, Theresa @ Finding Grace, Going Mobile

    1. Aw, thanks for stopping by and for the warm words, Theresa! Wow, I’m sure you’re getting creative with storage solutions with your double-wide renovation project. Best of luck with that! And hooray for Scottish bargain-lovers!

    1. Why thank you, Megan! Love it when functionality is a byproduct of our d.i.y. projects! 🙂 And boy, did we need some functionality when it came to that printer and our table linens….

  4. I have to get to a consignment store and find one of these! It looks amazing and what a great storage space! Pinning and just became your newest follower via Bloglovin! Hope you’ll stop by and visit me sometime!
    Corey from tinysidekick.com

    1. Thanks for the kind words, Corey! And for the follow! Love your blog’s color palette, by the way. It’s the perfect balance of soothing yet fun!

  5. Wow! It looks so great! You would never guess it wasn’t all bought together! Your featured this week:) Have a good one! Tori

  6. love it! I’m also so impressed that Mark got it done while you were gone. What a neat surprise to come home to! I would not have guessed it was originally a dresser. Looks like it was a buffet from the start. I keep thinking I want to do a similar makeover to some of my furniture but I just haven’t been brave enough to mess with the original wood. You and Mark made it look fabulous.

    And since a comment from me wouldn’t be complete without a random thought, are you a fan of The Little Einsteins as evidenced by the thermos, or did you have some little mini friends visiting?!

  7. Wow, that buffet is beautiful! I love diy projects. My husband and I made a farmhouse table and bench and we’re working on painting and distressing our chairs. I want to make sure the paint is not going to chip off of the chairs and I’m nor sure what the best thing to do for that is. We thought maybe SC Johnson paste wax would Bo nice but I’m nor sure if that would prevent it from chipping. Do you think polycrylic would be a better bet? I’d love your imput!

  8. Wow! That turned out so well! I love being able to hide all my craftiness. I was thinking of that last night when I was able to simply shut the door on my new craft room instead of clearing off the dining table. I love shopping for deals when it comes to the big purchases. Your new-to-you buffet looks like it was made to work with your table. Speaking of table, I especially like the book and sippy cup vignette 🙂

    1. And THAT’S why I need a craft room…so I don’t totally take over our living room with scraps of fabric and bits of paper and glue everywhere. (You know what I’m talking about because you were here!) And good eye in spotting that familiar vignette. Ha ha. It was one of the best photos of our printer “before” it found its new home. Would have included the one with us in it, but we’re just so gorgeous, our glowing faces would have totally distracted from the printer. 😉

    1. Thanks, Jennifer! Yes, I think that’s what took us so long to find just the right space. We needed cabinets that were both deep and wide (kind of like the song!). Ha ha.

    1. Thanks for the high praise, Abby! Wish we could have you and your sweet family over for a meal served on this buffet…sigh. Maybe someday!

  9. WOW – WOW – WOW!!! I am impressed AND inspired!! We need a table to go behind/alongside our “L” shaped couch – and I just feel like we’ll never find one! Clearly I need to open my eyes – I’m amazed that you saw the potential in this dresser to become a buffet!! Awesome with a capital A!! Looks great 🙂

    1. Your three “wows” made my night, Amy! Thank you. Don’t give up on your table search, Amy! It can take a little imagination to see the potential in pieces, but Mark has helped me a lot with that. As long as a piece is the right size and well made, the rest can really be tweaked and changed to your heart’s content! Let me know when you find the right table for your space. I’ll do a happy dance on your behalf!

  10. Love it! I’m so jealous. I want something similar to hold all of our fancy serving dishes and linens but we just don’t have the space!

    And was that your ikea hack I saw on Censationalgirl… Congrats on the shout out!

    1. We didn’t have the space in our condo in Ohio…just turns out that the home we’re renting now has a huge living room! (The kitchen is another story.) But the size of the living room is definitely spoiling us; hopefully, when we buy a home, we can find something that will fit all of these pieces because I’m growing rather attached…ha ha.

      And thanks for the congrats! I was floored to see our IKEA hack featured there. Huge Centsationalgirl fan, so of course, I blushed for at least an hour. Have a great week, Berennisse!

  11. Looks great! What a smart solution. And with that table and chairs, it looks like an expensive matching set! We’ll be moving to our new (much bigger) house in a few months and won’t be able to afford much new furniture to fill it…I’m excited to try to tackle some refinishing projects once we have a need – and space – for more furniture!

    1. That’s exciting that you guys have a big move ahead…and you are SO going to have fun revamping furniture pieces and tackling d.i.y. projects to help decorate and fill your new space, I just know it. Can’t wait to follow along with it all on unOriginal Mom! 😉

  12. Okay, I think, I need to share my “Furniture-Transformation-Queen”-title with you and Mark. (Or maybe Mark would like to be called King instead of Queen?).

    It looks just awesome what you two made out of the old boring buffet!
    A great new friend for table and chairs 🙂

    Love, Midsommarflicka

    1. Ha ha! That’s generous of you to offer to share it! And yes, I think King would better befit Mark…although if you’re the Queen, then maybe we could be the Duke and Duchess? 🙂 Basically, any type of royalty would be fine by us. Tee hee. And you were right about the buffet being old and boring beforehand; however, now that I’ve seen the miracle that paint can do to transform drab to fab, I see so much potential in those “old and boring” pieces. They don’t stand a chance around us! (I know you know what I mean, Queenie.)

      1. If you mean that you want to buy all the nice-shaped wooden furniture you see in thrift stores and flea markets and need to own all kind of paint and wax and stain they carry at the home improvement store and you need at least three more rooms to store them all… yes, then I know what you mean! 🙂

          1. And I have to say that it takes real intelligence to be verbally witty and humorous in a language that is not your native tongue. Basically, I think you are a genius.

  13. Amazing job, Lauren! I love hearing of pieces that are restored to a new (and awesome) life! I’m also jealous of the great storage you have! (You should see my home office – yikes!)

    1. Thanks, sweet Tara! We’re finding that once you start restoring old pieces, it’s addicting…because you can’t help but see potential in every shabby, old piece of furniture. It’s dangerous! 😉

    1. I know! It was such a sweet surprise! (Though I did get some in-process pics while I was gone to build the suspense.) I’ll pass your kind words onto “the man” himself. Thanks, Danielle!

  14. Lauren,
    That is beautiful! {Can you hear me singing the Hallelujah chorus for you!} I have a table I want to do in chalk paint but have not been brave enough yet to tackle it! My theater major {aka my baby girl} is off to college in a few weeks I figure that I just might need to take the time to tackle it then!
    See you tomorrow!
    Hugs,
    Sandra
    The Adored Home

    1. I hear your melodious voice singing loud and clear, my Florida friend! Thank you, Sandra! And I hope you tackle that chalk paint project so that I can learn from you…I hear great things about that medium, but have yet to try it myself.

      And hooray for your daughter being a theatre major! Is her theatre experience in musical theatre, straight plays, Shakespeare, or all of the above? Soak up these last few weeks with her.

      Hugs back!

      1. She is music and theater. She graduated from a performing arts high school where she had the lead in every musical theater show in high school! She really has a talent. If you look on my Pinterest board I have a board called my daughters music and you can see a little of her. She has been a worship leader since she was 16 {and sung on TBN} and that will be her major with a minor in theater. I am very excited for her. She will be attending college in close to your backyard so I am excited for her! {ok enough proud momma stuff lol}
        Have an awesome day!
        Sandra

        1. Music and theatre: a great combination! As a musical theatre fanatic, I’m so curious to know which shows she did. I got to play Sarah Brown in our high school musical production of Guys and Dolls as a sophomore, and I was forever hooked on musical theatre after that. And now, I direct it! Right now, I’m on a team that’s working on an original musical of The Prodigal Son for our church…it’s slated for next summer, so we’re really getting a head start! And isn’t that funny, I also led worship at our home church in NY for many years…and was a theatre minor in college. Crazy! I think you, your daughter, and I need to meet up at Disney Boardwalk for ice cream and conversation sometime!

          Yes, you should be proud! The fact that she has the confidence and creativity for music and theatre reflects a lot on the people who raised her. High five!

  15. It’s beautiful Lauren, I love how you both transformed it into a beautiful and practical piece! I already loved your black table and now I love it even more, these two pieces look great together
    & now your mini-office with printer looks so well organized! 🙂
    glad you were able to bring the price down and then sell the mirror for $30; proud of you girl!
    wish you a great week Lauren 🙂

    1. You are quite the furniture transformation queen yourself, so your approval means a lot to me, Ingrid! I’m still thinking about your cute IKEA hacked crates on wheels…. Might have to go all black-distressed on some crates of our own now that we’re mastering the technique, ha ha! And I’m glad you were proud of my saleswoman skills; I can’t take too much credit, though. It was really just so fortuitous that the woman who overheard our conversation about selling the mirror happened to be looking for a mirror for her salon. Wishing you a wonderful week, as well, friend!

    1. Thank you, Justine! I’m really thankful to have a hubby who enjoys tackling d.i.y. furniture projects as much as I do…and knows how to operate power tools to boot! (I would be lost without him.)

  16. Great find! I love the cabinet doors and drawers – you could put sooooo much crap (er-I-mean-treasures) in that thing. The paint job isn’t so shabby either (except, of course, in the way you intended). I bet you guys have that buffet forever and repurpose it a gazillion times (and probably make it over a gazillion minus one times).

    1. Ha ha! Imagining the gazillion makeovers makes me think of “the rock” that sat outside our high school. It was a tradition for sports teams at our school to paint the rock and spray paint team members’ names on it after a victory. The tradition had gone on since the 70s, so there were a gazillion layers of paint on that thing. We joked that the original rock was probably the size of a small stone, but it had grown to be 8 feet tall because of all the layers of paint. Makes me wonder if our buffet will grow as well over the years as we repurpose it and make it over! (Random aside, I know…but I figured you wouldn’t mind, Laura. Ha ha.)

    1. You and me both, Kelly! Usually I can master the “hidden” part…but organized takes a bit more time and thought. An area for growth, for sure, but we’re making progress as this buffet can attest! #slowandsteady

  17. Love it Lauren & Mark! And love the fact that every piece you two come up with has a beautiful story of a dream, an adventure, creativity galore, lots of elbow grease and well-deserved pride in a job well done!
    Great job to both of you and way-ta-go to my thoughtful, full of surprises, wonderful son!

    1. Aw, thanks, Mom! I passed your sweet message on to Mark today, and he grinned from ear to ear. Thanks for the rec. on The Carriage Trade in the first place and for helping us process whether or not to “go for it” with the buffet. You may have recognized that I used the pic I texted you in this post! Next time we have a need for a piece of furniture, we’ll be Ocala bound. Your furniture resale shops put Orlando’s to shame.

    1. Thanks so much, Kara! Now the key will be to keep it that way. Whenever I have a flat surface nearby, craft supplies and the mail and receipts tend to find their way into a stack there. But so far, so good!

  18. Well done! I had no idea this project was in the works! And I agree, how thoughtful of Mark to do it while you were away! Love the glass on the top so you can use it as a serving surface!
    I may just have to hire you and Mark to do some make-overs in our home! 🙂 But honestly, you’ve inspired me to try some myself…like the bedroom set we have from the 50’s.

    1. We like to surprise you sometimes! (As Mark likes to surprise me with furniture makeovers while I’m out of town.) And I’m glad you feel inspired about some furniture makeovers of your own. Though sometimes it can be nice to start afresh…especially when you’ve had a piece around for over 30 years! 😉

  19. Oh my goodness, Lauren! I love this piece. (I really need to get on my dressers that I want to have this look.) I am impressed that you and Mark were able to make such a transformation, but I am mostly impressed with the fact that you hauled this all the way back to Florida. (Were you coming from NJ?)

    Great job! It really looks great.

    1. It’s actually remarkably easy to achieve the look of the distressed edges with some sandpaper and a stain pen…it’s like magic! Are the dressers you’re hoping to refinish in your glorious gold master bedroom?

      And actually, Ocala is in Florida…about 1.5 hours from Orlando, so we didn’t have too far to haul it. Although we did haul a jon-boat on that very same roof rack from Ohio to Florida! That was about 1 year ago that we made that epic trek.

      Thanks for the high-five, my friend!

    1. If it weren’t for Mark who loves to “get ‘er done,” I’d probably be in the same boat, ChiWei! Furniture projects can feel intimidating, especially when there are multiple steps and multiple power tools involved. What’s your furniture project, if you don’t mind me asking…?

  20. It’s gorgoues and looks like a million bucks! I’ve been hoping to find a similar piece to use as a media console. Right now we have an end table underneath our wall mounted flat screen tv to hold the surround sound, directtv box, and dvd player. It’s a mess! Perhaps when school starts, I’ll start making the rounds of thrift stores and scouring craigslist to find a piece of furniture to repurpose.

    1. We actually saw a bunch of really nice media consoles at The Carraige Trade! Any chance you want to make another trip to Florida this summer? Ha ha. But seriously, I’m sure you could find something between Craigslist and the thrift stores in your area…especially if you’re willing to do a little d.i.y. action if necessary. Thanks for the high praise, Cindy! And I hope your week is off to a great start.

  21. Oh Lauren! That buffet looks fabulous!

    I think I need a guy like you have 🙂 How sweet of him to do this while you were away! I think it was your table that brought me to your site to start with and I am so glad to ‘know’ you for all the lovely things you share! This looks awesome and certainly did the trick for your printer 🙂

    1. Thanks so much, Bev! And I get the sense you’re doing an awesome job on your own. Your furniture transformations are always spot-on! That’s so funny that it was my black distressed table post that allowed us to first “meet.” Crazy to think that was back in February; time sure is flying! Guess that means we’re having fun, right, Bev?

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