1920s Jacobean Buffet Makeover: BEFORE AND AFTER

BLOG and AUDIO: 100-Year-Old Jacobean Buffet Makeover Using Acrylic Chalk Paints and Stencils to Create a Stunning French Chateau Style Statement Piece

BEFORE AND AFTER: Estate sale find transformed into a stunning French Chateau style statement piece!

by Kim Hansen, Co-Founder and Artist, JK Hansen Studios

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In this blog, I’m going to explain how I transformed this forgotten 100-year-old Jacobean buffet into a stunning French Chateau style statement piece using acrylic chalk paints and stencils.

Look at this beautiful 100-year-old Jacobean buffet/sideboard! Okay. She didn’t look that beautiful when we found her, but I was able to look beyond all the yuckiness! And I love a good estate sale or thrift store find? How about you? Take for instance this long-forgotten piece we found at an estate sale in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. The area boasts multi-million-dollar homes. The buffet was being stored in the owner’s horse stables. It was in very rough shape when we found it–neglected for years, covered in dust, loose laminate on the top, back and front; knicks and dings; scratches; cobwebs; and partially cracked and broken bun feet on the bottom of two of the front legs.

DECISIONS. DECISIONS.

As with each piece, I try to envision the process of transforming it from beginning to end–but, I wasn’t quite sure about this piece. I was concerned about it’s two broken feet. Was this piece too badly damaged for me to repair? Two of the bun feet had missing pieces. Would I be able to fix them? What would I use and how would I repair them?

I’ve always been fairly creative–and overall this 100-year old piece was very detailed, extremely sturdy and well built. So we decided to buy it.

PREPPING THE BUFFET FOR ITS TRANSFORMATION

I began by hand sanding the top and the rest of the piece with 100 medium sandpaper. When I was finished I wiped the entire piece down with a soft damp cloth. I glued all the loose laminate with wood glue.

HOW WILL I REPAIR THOSE BROKEN BUN FEET?

That night, I tossed and turned thinking to myself — ‘how am I going to repair the broken feet?’ I pictured myself actually walking through the process step by step. I thought about cutting off all of the bun feet and replacing them with new ones. No. I don’t want to do that. Maybe I should just cut off the broken ones. No. I just want to replace the missing pieces. If I could find a round piece at the hardware store I could measure and cut off the pieces I need with my miter saw then glue the new pieces to the part of the feet that were missing.

As soon as I woke up the next morning, I measured the circumference of the feet and headed to the nearest hardware store. I was in luck! They had just what I was looking for.

GATHERING THE PAINT AND MATERIALS

Now that I was confident I could repair the feet, I removed all of the hardware and gathered my supplies together to start the transformation –Wicked Finishes Riverbed, Burlap, and Warm Glow Acrylic Chalk Paints; Wicked Finishes Chocolate Gel Stain; Wicked Finishes Champagne Metallic; Gold Rush Metallic Lustre; Rust-Oleum Chalked Protection Top Coat Wax Matte Clear; Antique Brown Wax; rags, and 1″, 2″, and 3″ paint brushes.

TIME TO PAINT!

I used Wicked Finishes’ Riverbed Acrylic Chalk Paint for the base coat. It was pretty thick. So I added about a tablespoon of water to thin the paint. Following the grain, I used my 3″ paintbrush to apply the paint with back and forth and up and down strokes — being careful not to completely cover the details with the paint. I wanted a bit of the original wood to show through around the edges, corners, and details. I applied two coats of the Riverbed and allowed the first coat to dry before applying the next. I let the second coat dry overnight.

The next morning I applied the second color — Wicked Finishes’ Burlap — using the same technique I used to apply the Riverbed. The original teardrop hardware was beautiful and in nearly perfect condition. It just needed a bit of sprucing up. So I added a kiss of Silver Metallic paint to each piece. I always try to use the original hardware.

BROKEN FEET FIXED!

I measured, cut, glued, sanded and painted the pieces to the two broken feet!

TOP

As you can see from the before photos above, the top was in really bad shape. The laminate was coming up on the top and backsplash, water marks, deep scratches, and dings. After three coats of Wicked Finishes Chocolate Gel Stain, I was able to make it shine!

HIGHLIGHTS and BLING!

I added highlights to the piece by using a two-inch paint brush to apply Warm Glow to the center of the drawers, cabinet doors, sides, legs, feet, and details. I mixed equal parts of paint and water — and by laying the brush flat I used a dry brush technique to lightly paint over the Burlap — almost like dusting.

Next, I used my 1″ paintbrush to apply Wicked Finishes Champagne Metallic and Gold Rush Metallic Lustre to the details for the added BLING!

SURPRISES ON THE INSIDE!

The outside turned out so beautifully that I wanted to add something extra special to the inside.

The two small utensil drawers were originally lined with dark green corduroy, but they were worn and in terrible shape. So I replaced them with a ribbed faux marble drawer liner.

The two large center drawers were in very good shape. They just needed a little sprucing up. So I re-stained them using one coat of Wicked Finishes Chocolate Gel Stain. For the added WOW factor — I hand painted a French Patisserie stencil on the bottom of the top drawer then sealed it with a clear matte wax.

The inside of the cabinets and doors were in relatively good shape for its age. They just needed a good cleaning. For the WOW factor here, I hand painted a French stencil on the inside of each door then sealed it with a clear matte wax.

FINAL STEP!

The next morning — to protect this beautiful 100-year old piece — I used an unbleached cheesecloth to apply three coats of Rust-Oleum Chalked Protection Top Coat Wax Matte Clear over the painted surfaces and top.

FINISHED!

I am thrilled with the way this piece turned out! She is absolutely stunning — truly a one-of-a-kind piece. I love being able to breathe new life into something that someone else didn’t think was worth saving. This piece could easily be around for another 100 years!

Once again, my thirty years’ experience as a commissioned artist, muralist, and faux painter have certainly helped with my vision and creativity to transform this long forgotten antique piece. It took me a few weeks, imagination, ingenuity and patience to complete this project, but it turned out absolutely stunning! In fact, this piece sold within a few days after I put her up for sale and is setting in its brand-new home in Illinois.

Thank you for visiting our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, or leave a comment below. Your feedback is always appreciated. I hope I have inspired you for your next DIY project!

ARTIST: The Jacobean buffet and ‘Tuscan Hillside Farmhouse’ wall mural in the background were hand painted by artist and muralist Kim Hansen.

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