A Revived Buffet Table - Love Your Abode

See how this piece went from old and nasty to a revived buffet table with a second life.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I have a thing for transforming old things. I’ve shared my childhood breakfast table, a bunch of furniture that I repainted for our guest room, master bedroom furniture transformation and smaller projects like this dumpster nightstand. Months ago, I bought an old dining room table with a matching buffet table from one of my friends. I knew that it had a lot of potential with a bit of elbow grease and I’m finally getting around to blogging about it. I’m so happy with my revived buffet table!

BEFORE

I could tell by looking at this initial photo that there was a bit of damage especially to the top of the table. This is made of MDF but it’s a lot heavier than it looks.

I took her home and got to working. I took out my Ryobi sander and had to really sand down the top and some of the edges. The water damage was severe on some parts and it made some areas bubble like crazy. When water hits MDF, the wood fibers swell and create these bubbles that stick out. I quickly realized sanding wouldn’t fix these problem areas but it did help level it out some.

Can you see the fuzzy areas that are popping out? The con to working with MDF is that when you sand, you’ll grind it down to more fuzzy areas because it’s not real wood but engineered wood product.

I tried to get it down as much as possible but it was difficult making it completely level. When it was the best I could do, I cleaned it off with some tack cloths.

Be sure to wear a mask when sanding because you don’t want to inhale this stuff. After sanding, I realized white paint wasn’t going to work because it would show too much of the bubbled areas that I couldn’t completely remove. So, I used glossy black paint on the top and gave it a nice clear coat of poly to add a nice protective cover. I also gave the rest of the body a couple of coats of cream chalk paint for a nice refresh.

AFTER

The black paint gives the whole piece a nice contrast. I think it also add a bit of a modern update to the whole piece.

Here she is all styled and pretty in our foyer area.

I hung a vintage mirror and styled the area with some books, candlesticks and faux greenery.

What do you think? Paint is a cheap and easy way to update any piece of furniture. I recommend trying a small piece of furniture first and going from there. You may just get addicted! I’ll share the matching dining room table soon along with the reupholstered chairs.