The Marbled Buffet

In early November I found a beautiful dresser/buffet on Craigslist.  Of course the only photo I have is the one I printed off CL when I went to buy it.  It was your average brown veneer, nothing special.  I was looking for a piece to try the homemade chalk paint recipe on & this was perfect.  It had a little bit of veneer damage on the top but if filled that in with some wood putty, sanded it & was ready to paint. 

I chose a creamy white.  I mixed some plaster of paris into a Behr paint/primer & poured it thru one of those nylon bags to get the clumps out. A little tip my painter friend taught me, works pretty well.  I painted on two coats & loved how it covered.  I have used the Annie Sloan chalk paint before & I have to say this covered just as well as hers did.  It still felt alittle gritty but after a quick sanding it was just as smooth & chalky feeling as the real thing.

I decided to marble the top, so I gave the top two coats of a glossy black & did a grey & white veining.  This part was very challenging due to the weather here in Michigan.  We had a nice warm spell that allowed me to get the base coats painted but as soon as I was ready to do the fun part the weather turned cold & I was faced with trying to marble the top in cold & windy temps that makes it difficult to use glaze.  Here is how the top finally came out.

I ended up bringing it into my living room to do the coats of varnish on the top.  I used a black glaze on the beautiful details to make them pop, distressed a bit, then I applied two coats of clear wax & buffed. 

Sold

I just love how it came out.  Couldn't you just see this in a dining room or the guest bedroom?  I have this for sale at Sassy Fabrics (V Trading) in Grand Blanc, MI.