a total heart purchase…

by | Apr 11, 2017 | All Things Home, Antiques, Favorite Finds, Furniture Makeovers | 18 comments

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With milk paint and distressing and the right combination of techniques, one can give a pretty convincing aged look to a piece of furniture.  But, none of that can compare to what time can do.

And time did a beautiful job on this piece…

It’s perfectly dented, scratched, cracked, crazed, and worn in all the right places.

And this was a total heart purchase.  Not a head one.  I probably won’t make any money on it and it might not even sell, but that’s okay.  I just knew that this was a special piece.

Oh, that blue/gray paint!!  It was probably the paint that did it for me.

It does have a few unfortunate spots of spray paint on the interior of the doors and some superfluous nails that need to pulled out of the back, but a little TLC will remove those “modern additions” and let the old girl show off her age properly.

In addition to that beautiful primitive cupboard, I have several other furniture pieces to work on.  This empire dresser is one of them…

…and this buffet, also an empire piece…

Everything I’m finding seems to be massive!  Well, not everything, but I’ve set out looking for small-ish dressers and chests of drawers twice and I keep bringing home hutches and cabinets!

I have been finding some great smalls, though.  Ironstone, crocks, scales, baskets, crates, totes, stools, and the like.

We’ll get it all unboxed this week and I’ll try to take some pictures once I get it all organized.

The last piece to arrive at the studio was this old cabinet base.  The doors are in rough shape, but the rest of it is sturdy and just needs some cosmetic work.  It was so ridiculously cheap that I couldn’t pass it up and I think I have the perfect plan for it.

…but more on that later.

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    18 Comments

    1. Donna

      OMG….that cabinet is awesome! Yes, I am looking for a spot, there isn’t any, but I’m still looking, count down to Lucketts….can’t wait!!!

    2. Marsha Kern

      I love that color!!!

    3. Sue

      This cabinet is gorgeous – a coat of tough coat would be all it needs to make me happy 🙂

    4. Monica

      Oh my, I do love those empire chests! And that base cabinet would made an awesome kitchen island 🙂

    5. Kim

      Marian, do you do anything special to those mahogany Empire pieces like the dresser you show here to prevent that red mahogany stain from coming through the paint? I’m curious because I have a piece to paint that is mahogany, and I’m scared to try because other people have had terrible results with red bleed through when painting mahogany. I don’t want to ruin the very large piece that I am contemplating painting a soothing white, and pink blotches are not what I’m after! 🙂

      • Chloe

        Call me crazy, but I want to say at one point she recommended doing a layer of tough coat before painting. I’d love to know if that’s right because I also have a similar piece I need to paint.

      • Marian Parsons

        Yes, we use Tough Coat to seal pieces like that.

      • Jenn

        Tough Coat makes a fantastic sealer to prevent bleed through!

        • Kim

          Okay, great to know! Thanks!

    6. Lauren

      Ohh such great pieces, and how I wish I lived closer to visit Luckett’s market.

      xx

    7. Kristyn

      Oh my goodness! That cupboard is amazing! And I can’t wait to see what you do with the other pieces! I know you are moving and closing your studio and I’m so happy for you as you see where your next home is! But I have to admit I sure hope there will still be lots of furniture makeovers! I love them! ? It will be exciting to see you decorate you new home too that’s my other favorite aspect of your blog! Wishing you the best!

    8. Marianne

      Marian, I love that white cabinet ! This could easily be a keeper.

      The empire pieces are beautiful . I cannot wait to see what you do with them!!

      Wish I could go to Lucketts . But I live too far unfortunately .

    9. Debee

      Everything looks scrumptious!? Where is Lucketts?
      You have quite the eye for picking pieces and generally I am a purist with antiques but have to say you make things look warm and inviting!!
      Debee

    10. MaryLisa Noyes

      that Cabinet is absolute joy! The piece just says it all!

    11. Pamela

      I DO NOT believe it. This is the first time I have EVER seen a buffet like mine which you say is Empire. Mine has one small difference. Under the two thin drawers I have one thin drawer the entire width of the buffet and the same height as the half side drawers. I do have the bottom drawer missing in yours. Plus, mine has a back piece on top with a mirror. It is one of dozens of pieces of furniture I grew up with in my great-grandparent’s home and which I now have. Only a few pieces were taken out. One is my great-grandfather’s large rolltop my “baby” brother has in his home office. At times I regret it but it was the right thing to do. In all honesty, I haven’t a clue where I would put it. The room where it sat is now my formal dining room. But I’m tickled to see the buffet. Just used it Sunday in serving a big dinner to my parents, that lucky brother and his adult children (and dates). I keep some silver in the one small drawer, serving pieces and entertaining pieces in the other. A few of my napkins and placemats in the small long drawer. I have a weakness for entertaining items, especially antique linens. In the cabinet I did keep tablecloths for years. However I’m in the middle of changing that. At the moment, for lack of another place the dozens of liqueur bottles I use in baking are in there but its to eventually hold my one grandmother’s china given to me last year and still boxed. I’m creating a tablecloth closet to keep my dozens of cloths hung in a way they won’t wrinkle as demonstrated by Martha Stewart in her homes. This isn’t easy to do in a 200 year old house with two closets in the entire house. I’ve had to turn small rooms into storage areas. I had everything organized and then as life changes my needs change. Now the house is all in a organized chaos in the middle of changing lots of things. I never got the original to-do list finished. I LOVE old homes but the tax man sure did mess them up. Did you know that’s why old houses have no closets? Taxes were based on number of rooms in a house. A closet (stupid people) was considered a room. So, people didn’t add them. A closet in each room could skyrocket your tax rate dramatically. I wonder when they finally realized just how stupid this was? I have a feeling it wasn’t until the 20th century as a Victorian I own has no closets either. Now my first section was 1795. That’s a LONG time for this ludricious law.

      • Marian Parsons

        Actually, I do have the bottom drawer, but it’s sitting on top. It needed to be repaired, so I pulled it out to work on it. I also have the top piece, but the mirror is broken.

        Anyway, I agree that it’s always fun to see “your” piece out in the world!

    12. Bonnie

      I have the Tiger Wood empire buffet in my home and I love it. When I purchased mine, it came with a piece that sits on top with glass. I think it’s beautiful.

    13. Pat Watson

      So love the ‘heart’ purchase. It’s gorgeous. I was looking for a cheval mirror today but bought a little old wall shelf/cupboard instead. No idea where to put it of course, but who cares!

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