This post contains information about products sponsored by D Lawless Hardware,
however rest assured, all opinions expressed are my own! Also, you will likely find affiliate links which means I will earn a small commission if you shop through them.
Sweet Mrs GB. Upon selling her New York apartment she had many things shipped down to keep. One of which was this buffet,.. almost completely built by hand by her dear daddy.
Several repairs had to be made and we weren’t quite loving the diamonds on the front of the doors,.. we decided those would be removed.
Yuck! That’s the old glue. Once I had that all sanded and cleaned we decided appliques should be added. I was happy to see my favorite hardware shop had added appliques to their line up of products!
They carry SUCH a huge array of items to customize my work and these just up-the-ante! As I began perusing the options and narrowed down a few designs I felt would suit the piece, I decided to run them by Mrs GB to sign off.
We looked at the Large Round Medallion in Birch that was 3.75″, another Large Round Birch Medallion that was 5″ and a Birch Wood Flower Medallion that was 2″. I also decided to add a lovely 5.5″ Birch Wood Applique across the top. Now the trick would be showing her the size,.. how could I really show her the sizes proportionate to her buffet?
Using my favorite photo editor I simply created a document with each of them sized to the real size shown on the dimensions online! I cut each of them out, tacked them to the buffet in its place, and took a picture.
Perfect! She was able to check out the style as well as see how it fit! We would end up choosing the one in the middle. Not too big-Not too small. Just right.
Then the waiting game came! …. ok it wasnt bad. Actually I have always been SO impressed with how fast D Lawless is able to get their products to me! One time it took,.. wait for it, One Whole WEEK! …and I was met with an apology letter inside the box. If you ever have a need feel free to call them-I have always enjoyed their down to earth customer service!
In less than a week they arrived,.. each one was wrapped with care. Of course the wrapping wasn’t as fun to photograph tho..
It was time to get to work so, applique in hand I went and measured to find the center point of each door. I drew a line indicating where the center point would be to make applying the applique easy peasy!
Using an inexpensive artists brush, I spread wood glue along the back of it, careful to not miss a spot! I didn’t want to over saturate it but I actually want a little to ooze out from the edges to create a nice seal. The excess would be wiped away with a dry cloth.
Carefully using a brad nailer, I tacked each applique in using 4 brads. (Be sure you have it turned exactly as you want! I actually had to remove and re-apply mine. Ain’t no-one got time for that!)
I knew at some stage I wanted to distress, so I used a penetrating stain to stain the applique. (It ended up staining a bit darker than I wanted-but this didn’t prove to be an issue in the end)
Finally it was time to paint so the first thing was to seal everything up! Using my nifty Can Gun and my spray shellac I applied 3 coats all over. After each one I allowed a few hours of dry time.
Next it was time to PAINT! We would be using Benjamin Moore Advance paint in Chantilly Lace,.. and you may have guessed it, I sprayed it. Something that makes spraying SO simple is using these nifty Shur Line Pour and Store Tops cover my paint my Homeright Super Finish Max Extra which generally needs no thinning! I was able to just pour the paint right in and spray away!
You may recognize it from those awesome Flamingo Chairs I just finished! You can check those out {HERE}! Once I was done I took to distressing just a tad,. I actually did a live demonstration on my Facebook Page! (If you aren’t already you should be following me! I host giveaways there and show live tutorials among other things. So are you ready to see how it turned out?? I only have one picture for now, I will be able to update with more later this week,.. but lets look back at the before again!
And after,..
I should tell you, I will be distressing a tad more on the appliques when I go back for touch-ups,.. but I was thrilled with the outcome,.. and my sweet client was brought to tears. Its beautiful when you can take a sentimental piece of furniture and make it your own again,.. Its funny how sometimes new techniques take me longer than it should to try because of the unknowns,.. not because its that complicated but because I end up putting off what is easy to learn to do. I am so excited I was able to conquer this little unknown so I can use these lovely details in the future!!
Curious about the products I used? Here I have linked to all of them so you know exactly what they are! Of course you don’t HAVE to buy them through Amazon! BUT if you do, I earn a small commission.
Be sure to let me know if you have any questions! Im always happy to help. Thanks so much for joining me here at That Sweet Tea Life!
Thea Osborne is a celebrated blogger renowned for her expertise in DIY and paint techniques. With a keen understanding of Southern culture, Thea’s commitment to producing engaging and informative content, coupled with her detailed tutorials, inspire her readers to embrace their own creative pursuits.
Thea’s passion and creativity have left a lasting impact in the DIY community, transforming “That Sweet Tea Life” into a thriving and cherished resource.
Beverly Stamp
Monday 9th of October 2017
Thank You for sharing. Love this little Sideboards. It looks absolutely Lovely.