{Kitchen Buffet :: DIY}

So I had this brilliant idea to buy a cheap, old, ugly dresser and re purpose it as a buffet for my kitchen. Let me start off that I HATE DIY projects. I know I do them a lot but I curse them the entire time and then fall in love with the finish product. I suppose THAT is why I keep doing them.  I know I am a bit crazy. This project ended up taking WAY more time than I thought it would. The biggest problem with this project was that I bought it from a smoker {I drove 40 mins to Tennessee to buy it}and didn't think to ask if they were smokers before making the drive to buy it. So lesson #1 learned one on this project - when buying furniture off Craigslist ask if they smoke. It will save you hours and $$ on your project.  

 Here is the ugly duck before. 

I had to sand tons of "smoker goo" off and it was so gross. But that was not the worst of it. The top had a bunch of water damage so I bought a piece of thin plywood and made a new top for it. It was quite simple actually. I attached it with wood glue and nails and then covered the nail heads up with putty and filled the upper edges in with wood fill. Then I had to paint every surface with 2 layers of Kilz to get rid of the smokey smell {Remember why I said you don't want to buy from a smoker}. Next I tried {failed miserably} to use a paint sprayer. After 3 attempts and a HUGE mess I pulled the brush and roller back out.  Lesson #2 learned add floetrol to your paint to make it dry slower and leave fewer brush strokes. Lesson #3 learned use roller to quickly apply paint and then smooth out with paint brush. If you only use roller you will end up with a bubbly finish.  Oh and I painted the inside of the drawers gray. They look good but I forgot to snap a picture. After hours of sanding, two coats of Kilz, three coats of yellow paint and one finishing coat of polyurethane for the high gloss finish this is what we have.

 Love.

I can't wait to use it for Grayson's birthday party this weekend. 

DIY projects are not always less expensive than buying new but you will get that "one of a kind" look everyone desires in their home and feel proud that YOU made something beautiful. 

Dresser $40

Paint $27

Kilz $8

Sandpaper $8 {I had a bunch but needed even MORE}

Plywood $12 {I didn't use the whole sheet so I can use the rest for my next project - if there is one}

Wood fill $5

Floetrol $5 {will have it on hand for my next project now}

New roller $5 {thought the bubbling was because of the roller I was using - nope all rollers leave that}

Drop cloth - had

Polyurethane - had

Paint brush - had

Hardware $36 {a LOT more than I had planned on. the pull holes were an odd length 4 1/4" so they were pricey and I had to have them shipped. knobs from Hobby Lobby and 50% off.}

Total $141 

{I was planning on $100 but this was still WAY less then the one I wanted to buy new for $600 + shipping}

I hope this helps you on your ugly duckling adventures.