Step up to the Buffet

Usually my estate sale treasures are smalls, items I can resell and ship across the country, but one spring day I couldn’t pass on this 1950s buffet. It called to me. And it doesn’t hurt that it was half price day and they were willing to negotiate. For $40 I got this beauty:

I had been searching the used furniture stores and estate sales for months looking for the perfect entertainment center. The genius we bought the house from knocked a square hole in the wall to recess the entertainment items and it looked fine, but my chiropractic bill was climbing from constantly looking to the left to watch the TV. The TV needed to move.

Our living room has to be functional, so I immediately dreamed (with great excitement) how I could rearrange the room to work comfortably. The couch flipped to the opposite wall, the recessed entertainment hole became a bookshelf and the now-couchless wall became the entertainment hub. But it needed the perfect piece.

Enter the lovely unit above.

One of the handles was broken (another one was removed before this pic was taken), but otherwise it was sturdy and in great shape.I knew I wanted to cover the fabulous woven texture on the doors with fabric and I scored this beautiful fabric at Savers. The inset panels were screwed on the backs of the doors, so they were fairly easy to remove and I hot-glued/trimmed the fabric so it hides mostly between the inset and the door. I didn’t know they had fabric, but indeed, Savers has everything. I also knew I wanted a little old lady bling on this piece, thus the vintage-style crystal knobs on the doors.

I found the knobs for the drawers at Savers, and once again, who knew? They are vintage and ceramic and I adore them. I love replacing large old drawer handles with knobs. It’s so easy and fast! Our living room walls are a light chocolate milk color, so I knew I wanted a splash of color on this piece and I’m in love with all things robin’s egg blue. Besides that our used chairs are blue and there are hints of blue in the couch, so I say it works.

And the finished piece is below. I decided to tackle this project to be done in time for my son’s first birthday party. It was a good deadline but nearly killed me. I’m so happy I got it done, but I may be a bit more realistic in the future. And I will admit this is not the perfect entertainment unit. The DVD player nor the receiver fit in the side shelving units and there’s nowhere to put the speakers, but since we have a 13-month-old we rarely used the speakers anyway and as long as the DVD player is set up to the side to play Baby Einstein, baby is happy. The DVDs and some other precious items fit well inside though and I’m glad to have them concealed.

For a total of around $80 I have a one-of-a-kind entertainment center/buffet that I had so much fun putting my heart into. This was my first grand undertaking and where I hope my life goes in the future. I would love to wake up every day and restore/recycle things people would otherwise discard. I love the creativity and the way it makes my mind work. I love the inspiration I receive from others who do this sort of thing. I’m a hunter, I rarely say no to a good deal and my passion I believe lies in this area.

For now, my next project, a vintage shelf/desk unit from Craigslist sitting in my garage. It’s a beat up beast and I can’t wait to tackle it. I’m more than a tad skeptical that I can handle it, but it was only $25 so we’ll see how she goes. I’m seeing yellow and teal in this next project. Oh and a new belt sander…

More restorations to come…happy hunting!

Finito!

Linking to
Domestically Speaking
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Remodelaholic

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