New buffet!

 

Happy Friday!!

 

 

I have been in the process of slowly changing up our dining room.  We do not use this room much, but it is one of the first things you see when you walk in our front door.  It is right out there in the open! 

 

One of the things I changed out was the buffet. 

 

 

 

 

This was our first one. I had bought it at a furniture store and picked it out way to quick. I had never really liked it and ended up selling it on craigslist.

 

 

 

 

This was the second one. I actually loved this one.  I had found it at the flea market.  I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence Blue.  The problem is I then found one I liked even more.  I was not sure which one to keep but ended up selling this one. 

 

This is the buffet that caught my eye. After negotiating a really good deal on this (after all I am a real estate broker, I love to negotiate! :)  I brought it home with me.

 

 

I was not sure which one to keep at first.  I loved the size and the lines of this one.  I decided to keep it.  I also decided not to paint it.

 



 

The only thing is I thought the wood was a little to striped looking for me.  The vendor said he had sanded it down and added some torch marks to give it the black marks on it.  (never heard of that technique and probably will never try it!)

 

I wanted it a little darker and abit more even.

 

 

After cleaning it up really good I got out my Old English Scratch Cover for dark woods.  This stuff is AMAZING!!!  You rub it on with a soft cloth and then buff it to a shine. This wood was not protected with anything so the Old English worked really well.

 

 

It darkened the wood perfectly.  After I buffed it I applied two coats of polyurethane to protect. 

 

 

 

The only damaged spots were on the sides. 

 

 

 

I had left over wood from another project so I had it cut down to fit both sides.  My husband was at work and I am not that handy with a saw, soooooo I brought it in to Home Depot where I had purchased the wood and they cut two pieces for me!!  :) I used liquid nails and attached both sides. 

 

 

Here it is after one coat of stain.

 

 



after

before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this buffet.  I am so happy I decided on this one!!

 

A few more changes in the dining room and it will be done.  (I think.....)

 

 



Randolph Street Market, Chicago, IL

Another one of my favorite flea markets is the Randolph Street Market in Chicago.  My sister and I checked it out last summer.  We loved it!  It is not as large as some other flea markets, but it has some really COOL stuff!  We left that flea market with a car packed of really original things. (my sister bought an antique wash tub and made it into a coffee table, I will post pics of that soon!)

Here is my daughter, her friend, and my niece.  This flea market is fun for younger kids too because it has vintage jewelry and purses etc.  There are also great places to eat when you are done shopping!

This little chair is just one of the many things I found that day.  I love the wood carvings on the back of it.  I knew the minute I saw it I was buying it, and I was painting it yellow! 

  ***As you can see by the turquoise paint on the bricks behind the chair this is one of my spray painting spots!  I am a messy painter!

The yellow I decided to use was Rust-Oleum Satin Strawflower. 

This chair was very easy to spray paint. It took 2 quick coats.  I wanted the wood to show through so I sanded it quite a bit once it was dry.  

Here is a close up of the fabric.  I got it at Hobby Lobby for $3.00. I unscrewed the chair seat and removed the old fabric.  I did leave the padding, it was in good condition. I used my staple gun and stapled the new fabric on, reattached the seat, and it was done!

This project cost me about $22.00. (the chair was $18.00)  I will always look at my little yellow chair and remember our fun adventure that day!  And if I ever get tired of the yellow paint and the fabric it is a very easy fix!  BUT for now I am loving it!  :)

On to the next room......

This is our family room.  It is for sure the most used room in our home!  This room has gone through many changes through out the years.  It started out very brown, then moved to red, then back again to very brown.  If anyone would have ever told me I would add BLUE I would have said no way!  Now I can not get enough blue!!

My sister and I had a war over this antique lamp at the flea market.  I won! :)

 

My favorite thing in this room is the dresser turned TV stand. 

If furniture could talk that little white table would sure have a story! It started out sad and worn and was almost forgotten at the flea market. (and did I mention it was brown!)  I bought it and planned to go back for it when our day was over.  My sister and I totally forgot where the table was and spent hours searching for it.  FINALLY the vendor found us because he wanted to go home!  All that for a $20.00 table and I just love it! 

Old crate for fire wood!

This little table was a fun project too!

Thanks for looking!!

One of my first projects and my first trip to a flea market!

It all started last summer.  I had never been to a flea market before.  The idea of looking at other people's stuff did nothing for me.  Nothing.

I started hearing some people talk about the flea market that is near my home.  It is one of the largest in the state and people drive from quite a distance to go there, I live ten minutes away. I decided one weekend to check it out.  I have no idea what compelled me to do so!  I made asked my teenage son to go with me.  (poor guy was the only one home) I did not want to go to my first one alone!

We paid our $5.00 to get in and off we went. It took a matter of seconds before I realized how cool that place was!!  From the very first dusty isle I was in.  I did not know where to look first!  We walked around the entire place to get a lay of the land, then doubled backed to look again.  At this point I knew my son was loosing interest fast.  It was hot & dusty and I am sure very boring for him! 

On that first trip I found an antique mirror that I love! It was my first flea market find and it will always hold a special place in my heart! :) 


As we were leaving the man at the gate asked if we wanted our hands stamped.  He said if we get a stamp we can come back the rest of the day for FREE.  SO I drove my son home (grateful he was a good sport and checked it out with me) and drove right back to the flea market!  I spent the rest of the afternoon there.  I must say I was hooked! 






My flea market bench-$18.00.  I love the fabric that was already on the bench, but my vision was for a white simple bench.

 




Here is the bench after.  I removed the seat and back and spray painted all the wood areas white.  Then I sanded them to rough them up abit.  I decided to go with drop cloth fabric.  Nothing fancy.  I washed the drop cloth first in bleach to whitened it and soften it.  Then I used my staple gun and stapled away.

 



I even attempted nail heads on the back!

 




This little bench has come in quite handy!

 

 

I will always be thankful to my son for joining me on my first adventure to the flea market.  Lucky for him I have found a partner.  My sister came with me to the next one and she is as addicted as I am.  Every single thing we buy from a flea market has a story to tell!