Wednesday 8 April 2009

Lame-o buffet needs a facelift

Around the time Abner started cruising through the apartment on hands and knees, I picked up this rather...how shall we say...'understated' pine buffet from JYSK [I like to think of it as the Danish cousin to all of my Swedish furniture]. It's sole purpose in life is to contain or elevate all of the miscellaneous crap that Abner likes to mess about with. We've even installed a rather crafty hair tie baby proofing device on two of the doors!

I'm not a huge fan of plain old pine so I'd like to do something to jazz it up a bit. Got any ideas? I think I can change the feet and knobs easily enough which is a good start, but what else!?!?! Please send me links, pics, or descriptions of what I can possibly do to make this look a little less lame. If I go with your suggestion, you'll win my undying gratitude [eh? eh? good prize don't you think?]

In hind sight...I probably should have started this more than a week before the end of mat leave. D'oh!
Posted by Kim of Milkybeer Handmade at 13:09
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6 comments:

  1. Unknown8 April 2009 at 15:49

    I hear they look FABULOUS stained red :)

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  2. miranda8 April 2009 at 16:31

    ok, i don't have links or photos, but i would paint the doors with chalkboard paint n(or magnetic chalkboard paint, even better), put a little ledge along the bottoms of the doors to catch the chalk dust and then paint the top and sides something freaky, like orange. or something sedate if that is too weird in your place... hello - abby will be so amazed at the exterior she'll never need to know that it has ingestibles inside. ;-)

    ps - the word verification for this post is 'abblers'. how fitting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. jerome8 April 2009 at 20:58

    Kim,

    My $0.02...

    1) Removing the front feet is a good idea. A set like the back ones would be ok. the rounded ones look too much like giant bannister spindles.

    2) For extra fancy points, you could get (make) an extra set of back feet, add a small board across the two blocks and add a 1-2 cm-thick (but half the length of the board)shim on top of the board, and screw the cabinet back onto that contraption. That would resemble the other buffet you guys have. I may be remembering this incorrectly. The idea is to copy the leg style of the one you guys have already.

    3) I'd replace the knobs too. You could simply drill a large hole trough the door in place of a knob. 3/4-1 inch bit should do it. Put a piece of masking tape on both sides of the door before drilling so that the wood doesn't splinter and fray. Pine is bad for that, especially when a big drill bit exits on the back side of the door. Masking tape is easier to remove than packing tape. Sand lightly for finger-pleasing door opening.

    4) If you are ambitious, cut out a centre panel, bevel the inside edge and put a nice piece of glass (frosted or otherwise) behind the door.

    5) For the finish, the Danes are quite fond of a wood stain that creates a whitewashed appearance. They use it on floors, counters, furniture. It's super easy to apply with a clean rag, you let it sit a few minutes and wipe off the excess. It protects the wood, keeps it from going yellow with the sun and some are waterproof. I think Ikea sells it.

    6) Colour stains are nice too. Do yourself a favour and buy the stained varnish... easier to apply and fewer chances of paintbrush strokes showing up on the final product.

    Med venlig hilsen (as they say here).

    Jerome

    ReplyDelete
  4. jerome8 April 2009 at 21:09

    One more idea... Danish oil. $20 at Home Depot, different stains included so you can the 'pineyness' of the buffet. Super easy to apply and it looks nice. protects the wood from going yellow as well and you can add varnish to it (or not).

    J.

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  5. Alanna9 April 2009 at 02:32

    I think you should cover it in funky wallpaper or fabric...something bold and retro.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kim of Milkybeer Handmade10 April 2009 at 09:39

    Wow...brilliant ideas all around!

    ^Booger...I wouldn't want to be a copycat now would I? ;-)

    ^Miranda...love, love, love the chalkboard paint idea. I hear it comes in much better colours these days...will have to track some down.

    ^Jerome...first off - your memory for the details of my furniture is a bit freaky. I had to get up and look at my other buffet to see what kind of feet it had, yet you could remember perfectly without having seen it in a year and a half. Replacement feed and knobs are definitely in order. I like the idea of the stained varnish...a subtle colouring might be nice. Glad I am able to benefit from your woodworking experise even though you are on the other side of the globe.

    ^Alana...love the wallpaper idea...for the inside shelves perhaps?

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