This honker of a piece was donated to me by a friend. It is BIG. I mean…BIG. And heavy.
Nonetheless, it was free and it was beautiful in its day. Today, however, is not that day. It was badly scratched on the top and the old polyurethane was flaking off, revealing a red stain beneath. But as indicated by its size and weight, it is a solid piece. Believe it or not, it only needed some cosmetic updates.
First things first, I sanded the top down. Unfortunately, in doing so, I discovered and exacerbated a damaged corner and a chunk broke off. Since I was planning on staining the top, the repair would have been visible and would have detracted from the wood grain. After some creative expression of my frustration (thank God I work alone) I regrouped and found a solution. I would add a decorative wood accent over the damage that would tie into the rest of the piece. Problem solved! I stained the top a medium brown and sealed it with a matte polycrylic.
I love the depth and interest that multiple colors and tones add to a piece. I already had the stain in play, so I decided on two neutral tones to paint the body of the cabinet. I felt the cabinet was too large to take on a color commitment, so neutral seemed like the way to go. By painting the inset panels a darker tone, I added interest and dimension. Finally, I spruced up the original hardware with oil-rubbed bronze paint. I think the door pulls are GORGEOUS!
Now back to that damaged top. I originally painted the wood accent the lighter tone, but it just didn’t look right. I repainted it the darker tone and was so pleased with how it tied the entire piece together.
It really does go to show you that no matter how damaged a quality piece of furniture gets, it can almost always be revived with a little love and TLC.
Hold my wine, I’ve got this…
Amy
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