Do you have a piece of family furniture that you dearly love and wouldn't part with, but just doesn't fit in your décor aesthetic? A piece you can see the potential, but in it's current state ends up in storage or hidden away in some "off the beaten path" spot? Well, here's my story of a lovely piece of antique furniture that had been relegated to the basement for years.
Hi Friends and welcome to our April gathering of the Lifestyle of Love group, where we take a look at how we use vintage and antique items in our home decor, as we all love to decorate our homes and spaces with antique and vintage items. Thanks to our hostess of this gathering, the fun and fearless Cindy from County Road 407.
Our topic this month is our favorite piece of antique furniture, and I immediately knew which one it would be. I have quite a few antique and vintage furniture items and several of them are actually family pieces, but this is by far my dearest one. A dining room sideboard that had been in my great aunt's home back since the early 1900's. My grandparents were older when they had my dad and this piece was from the late 1800's and my grandparents had it in their home. By the time I first saw it, it had turned black with years of buildup of stain and varnish.
Above is a pic of the sideboard when we were first starting to move into this house 4 years ago. It comes in two main pieces with the back/mirror as a separate piece held in place from cross bars in the back and held secure by the two supports at the front of the mirror. Below is a pic from our previous home where it lived in the basement family room.
When we first got married we took this piece to be commercially stripped and since it was oak, I let that determine the stain, so used a Homer Formby kit in a natural oak stain and polyethylene as a sealer coat. We used it for many years, but it soon started turning this "orange" hue which I've found out is common with that refinishing method. I would have enjoyed it more as a darker stain or even a lighter one, but the orange was just not my thing.
When we bought this house and I realized I would actually have a spot for this and a few more pieces, I got busy and decided to use chalk paint to transform it into one of my favorite looks. In the early years of the 20th century many people (especially for rural, cottage and farmhouse kitchens) began giving their wood furniture a coat of white paint to clean it up and bring all the random pieces together for a cohesive look. White, greens, and light blues were often used, so there's a historical concept for the "chippy/shabby white" look.
I used an off-white chalk paint so that it would blend in with my other white painted antique pieces. The hardware was not cleaning up well, so I decided to just paint it white also. I like the look of all one shade. I gave it a light sanding for a distressed look and finished it with a light poly sealer. You can read about that HERE
At this house it's located in our Hearth Room against a wall that is a "walkway" from the front door Entry area through the hearth room and on into the kitchen. The owners before us took out a wall to make the hearth room and kitchen be an open concept area. That makes for a large spacious open area where we gather around the fireplace and cozy up to watch TV on the slipcovered furniture set I bought before we moved in.
The above photo is this year's hearth room with the sideboard holding a vintage wicker floral basket filled with faux forsythia and a vintage reproduction eggshaped Easter Rabbit graphic. As you'll be able to see, I never met a flat surface that I didn't fall in love with!!!
This is where I keep many of my seasonal tablecloths and vintage linens. The drawers are a little wonky after all this time, but they surprisingly hold a lot.
This is such a fun spot to decorate seasonally. Sometimes I just keep a white ironstone tureen centered here, but more often it holds some kind of seasonal or holiday centerpiece basket or decor. Since it's April I'm sharing pics of different spring and Easter decor from the last four years we've lived here.
This display got a little more "oomph" when I added the wooden wheelbarrow...
One of my favorite things about this large mirrored backpiece is the small shelf along the top. It's the perfect spot to add smaller items for display.
Do you have a piece or two of antique or vintage furniture that you've been holding on to? I'm encouraging you to hang in there and hopefully you can find a time and place for them, even though they might need a little tweaking.
Here's some inspiration from similar painted pieces when I was refreshing the sideboard... You can find them and other gorgeous antique pieces HERE
If you're coming from Ann's Blog, Dabbling and Decorating, thanks so much for coming by and we hope you'll take a minute and visit the other's in our group who are sharing their fave pieces of antique furniture. If you haven't been by Cindy's at County Road 407, please be sure and click on the first image below. Thanks again, and I hope you're having a wonderful and blessed Easter Weekend!
Debra your sideboard is fabulous. I recently repurposed an old dining room table that was my parents into a sideboard too. Such wonderful ideas. Happy Easter my friend!
ReplyDeleteDebra, I love the sideboard. The white paint really sets off all the beautiful details. Have the best Easter.
ReplyDeleteDebra,
ReplyDeleteI really love the piece! While I loved the stained look, I can so relate to the orangeness over time. The white really fits your French country style. Just gorgeous!!
Oh my goodness! I've never seen a piece like this. I love the details - painting it white, the shelf on the bottom and the columns with the shelf on top. It's seriously stunning and I can see the fun in decorating it each season. Love where you have it sitting too. I've added this little cutie to my long list in treasure hunting. Thank you so much for sharing it with us and joining in this month. Loved this post! pinned
ReplyDeleteLove these old sideboards and all the decorating possibilities! The seed box display with the majolica pitchers is my absolute favorite, but I always enjoy seeing your vintage finds and how you beautifully display them. Can't believe you've already been in your house 4 years; I remember when you moved in!
ReplyDeleteDebra, your buffet turned out really beautifully with its new paint job! I'm glad you've linked up for next week's Share Your Style so I can look to feature this post. :) Great job and I know you are sooo happy to have this beauty in your home to decorate again. <3
ReplyDeleteI do have a couple of pieces I think about painting. My dresser, for one. It's really a commode meant for holding linens, but when I found it while antiquing with my brother in Capistrano, CA (we drove up to see the mission there), I was in awe when I found it!!! 34 years later, I've reglued the drawers, but now the top pieces need glueing and part of the case itself. Might be time to finally paint it, though I do love its dark brown S-graffito faux stain and painting.
Love this piece Debra, so many different components. Straight legs, curved columns to hold the shelf, added carved details, so unique and staged perfectly. The shelf is like the icing on the cake to hold all of those small precious pieces.
ReplyDeleteDebra, I love the collection of buffets you've shared plus yours with its transformation!! I thought I'd left a message but guess I thought about it the other day... ;) Anyway, happy to share your post for Share Your Style #385 this evening, plus your Bunnies in their Easter Cupboard for a double-header. I do love painted furniture!! Enjoy!!!
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