Ebony & Brass Buffet Makeover

So several months ago, a woman in my neighborhood contacted me about buying some furniture from her.  I am always in the market for furniture especially when it finds me...and is only a mile away.  A dining set that includes a buffet, china cabinet, dining table and 6 chairs was part of the purchase.  Originally I thought about keeping the buffet for me and using it as storage/dresser in our bedroom but it isn't the right piece for that.  Fast forward a few months and my mom expressed some interest in it.  She is currently trying to furnish their apartment in Houston and rearrange/change the furniture in their Mid-County home.

After some discussion, measuring, planning and trips to the storage unit, she decided to take the entire set!

Just a little note about the furniture:  The set has Max Barnett stamped on them.  Max Barnett was a well known furniture store in New Orleans that occupied the Art Deco building at 600 Carondelet until the 1970s.  The building was recently purchased and is currently being renovated into a hotel.  The licensing info I can find on Max Barnett says it started in 1908 but after the 1970s I am not sure what happened.


The furniture is great quality, heavy and well built.  It has been neglected a little over the years but I am hopeful all the pieces can be beautiful again.

The buffet had its makeover first and the result is stunning.  This is definitely one of the best before and afters of Fisherman's Wife Furniture.  I love that my mom wanted it stained (I didn't really give her a choice) and the wood was preserved.

Here are the before pictures.

Obviously the piece is in decent shape and is a pretty design but up close you can see the wear and tear its had over the years.

The pulls are brass so they were polished back to their bright, clean finish.  (See my How to Polish Brass Tutorial here.)

The entire piece was stripped and sanded before stain could go on.  Almost all the imperfections were fixed with sanding and I only had to fill a few places where the veneer damage was extreme.  Thankfully my mom helped out on this project!  Thanks, Mom.

She loves to paint furniture black.  Its a thing.  We don't even ask anymore what color she plans to paint stuff so I wasn't shocked when she said she wanted the piece stained ebony.  HAHA.  Of course.  The thing I love about Minwax Ebony stain is the rich, dark color still shows the grain.  The ebony stain and the mahogany wood are a perfect pair.  It took two coats of stain to get the rich color then I did 3 coats of clear coat.  

Pictures do not capture how beautiful this finish is.   

Here are the after shots.

Gorgeous! It has been given new life.

I mentioned before she bought the entire set.  So guess what I am working on this week?!

This guy was stripped and sanded today.  I am so excited to see its transformation.

SHARING AT:

Monday - Inspire Me Monday (Sand & Sisal,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Domestically Speaking, Sweet C’s Designs)  Made by you Monday (Skip To My Lou)

Tuesday -  Show and Share (Coastal Charm)

Wednesday:Wow Us Wednesday (Savvy Southern Style), Inspire Me Wednesday (Seven Thirty Three, Happiness is Homemade) Be You tiful (Art is Beauty)  Wednesday Before and After (The Dedicated House)

Thursday: What To Do Weekends (Crafts ala Mode ),  The Best DIY Party at the Handmade Hangout (A Glimpse Inside, Christina’s Adventures, From Gardners to Bergers, Redoux Interiors, Too Much Time on My Hands), Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode, and The DIY Village)

Friday:  The Party Bunch (The Idea Room, 30 Handmade Days, Whipperberry, The 36th Avenue),  Anything Goes (Bacon Time),  Be. You. Tiful Link Party (Chic California), Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode)  Fabulously Creative Friday (Jennifer Rizzo Blog)   

White & Brass Modern/Art Deco Dresser

Hey, Hey.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Friday, I took the day off to hang out with my brother and sister in law.  They made the drive over to visit for the day!  She starts her new job today (good luck) along with many of my other teacher friends beginning the new school year...already.  Where did summer go?  Saturday was filled with work and so was much of Sunday.  Tons of projects going on around here.

There is so much to share with y'all this week!  Three dressers were updated recently and today I am sharing the first makeover with you.




This dresser had a horrible paint job.  Globs, drips, obvious brush strokes were all present.  And lets not even talk about that color.  Ew!

Friday Update ~ 08/14/2015

Do y'all ever have weeks when you just can't get in the grove and be productive?  I had two of those in a row.  Yuck.  Then all of a sudden this week, I was on.  I mean, really on.  Things got done this week and it felt good.  I had help though....my mom worked with me two days this week.  Having two set of hands working really makes a difference.  :)

FURNITURE

Many of you know that my parents have been living in Germany the past year.  Now that they are back in the States, my mom is trying to get some projects done.  She has been using a mix of furniture for years and now she is wanting refinish or paint the pieces she likes, and replace the pieces she doesn't love.  I mentioned I had a dining set in my storage unit and things snowballed from there. This week the buffet was stripped, sanded, prepped for new stain, stained, and clear coated!  It is drying today so tomorrow I'll put the pulls and doors back on.  Here is a sneak peek:

Friday Update ~ 08/07/2015

Hey, hey.  Another week has flew by and somehow it is August already.  AHH!  Blittle and I both have been dealing with major sinus headaches since we got back from the trip.  It has killed my productivity.  Apparently, I am now allergic to Texas and need to live in the Caribbean full time.  HA!

Read about our Antigua vacation adventure:  Part 1 is about our time on a sailboat and Part 2 is all about the resort.

Antigua ~ Part 2

Click here to read Antigua ~ Part 1.

In Antigua, we had our five day adventure on the sailboat then went to Blue Waters Resort for a few days.  The reason for this was we weren't sure how well we were going to sleep on the boat and it gave us some time to do nothing.  Sailing can be hard on the body.  In part 1, I included a map of where we ventured so you can see how busy we were.  The resort was to give us a few days to recover and actually vacation.  :)