This is a new piece of mahogany veneer that The Builder laminated back to the top. The wood grain is just beautiful, and while it was a little pricey, it was well worth it.
Yes, for those that know me, that is my Downton Abbey tea set. I wanted the tea set the first year it was out, but it sold out quickly. When the brought it out again before the last season, I was quick to buy it (to the dismay of my friends and family who had thought they might buy me some pieces for Christmas...oops) I think it looks SO pretty out on display.
You may remember the photo where the bottom was all scratched up and just a mess. That was carefully sanded out. The Builder suspects that at some point, someone did a repair, and the bottom was 'painted' to match the original finish. That to some work to get it sanded down, and then to color match it since it took stain differently than the rest of the piece. The Builder spent days applying layers of stain to get it to match the rest of the piece. I think he did a wonder job!
I can't believe I contemplated painting any of this initially! The wood on this is just beautiful. I'm so happy we were able to restore it.
What we spent:
Buffet - $45 + sales tax
mahogany veneer - $55
spray paint for the hardware - $8
pewter rub to tone down the SHINY paint after we painted the hardware: $5
Total: $113
Now to be fair, we already owned the two stains that we mixed, Rustoleum/Varathane Provincial and Cherry. We also already had the clear varnish we used on the body and the wax paste we used on the top, as well as the wood glue. These things would have run us another $25-$30. We also bought a multi pack of sandpaper. And we used it ALL.
You may also notice in the last photo, that it matches our existing dining room chairs perfectly. I wish I could say this was intentional. But it was a total fluke!
I still have some styling to do on this wall. Currently there is a shelf that is now too small for the scale of this piece, that holds a few of my most used cookbooks. It's now complete wrong for this space, and I'll have to see if there's anywhere else that it would work. That means I either need a longer shelf for the scale of this piece, artwork, or a cabinet of some sort. Or even a combination of some sort, to finish this off. But I've already stored my good china and my decorative plates in the lower cabinets, and I'll start putting my tea towels and table clothes in the drawers.
My heart is happy.
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