Coup de Coeur

I have to admit that I almost titled this post Coup de Grace, which is not what this post is about. I am not delivering a death blow to anything...other than the spider I found in my sewing room this morning, but I digress. Death is the exact opposite of what I want to allude to. Love. Love is what I want to convey. The feeling of euphoria when you find that perfect whatever.

coup de coeur

loving something impulsively. 

to buy something just because you love it on first sight.

to fall for something or somebody. 

So my love that I found has now been in my house for 2 weeks, and the spark is still there. I am talking about the newest addition to my dining room, a lovely buffet!


Here she is!

She didn't have great color and it certainly doesn't work with my dining room, but the details! Oh the details. I'm a sucker for details, but she's needs a coat of polish. Not to forget but has she got storage! The top drawer is a silverware drawer that is felt lined and has a soft cotton blanket for said silverware. The bottom two drawers are deep and also felt lined. Score. The two cabinets have a shelf inside and are very deep. 

Oh and did I mention that she was at the Salvation Army store in Manassas for $150. I bought her on a Wednesday, which means she was an additional 25% cheaper. Amour!

So I'm off to Lowe's for some {polish}. After a quick wash in vinegar and warm water, she's ready for primer and paint. I decided to do a test run on the oil-based penetrating primer I was going to use on the windows. I'd never used oil-based paint before so it was an experience. First, its a lot thicker than regular paint, and two, it smells a lot worse than latex. :) It was hot and humid outside (106 degree days here in VA that week{end}) and I didn't want to be out there, so I placed a drop cloth underneath her legs and went to town inside the house, with fans blowing on her and into the dining room to keep the smell down. I don't know if it worked, but I couldn't smell the primer from our family room which is across the hallway from the dining room. So here she is after a coat of primer:

I ended up putting another coat of primer on her, just to be safe. Then I busted out the enamel black paint. WAIT?!?!? What?!?!?! Enamel? What the frick? I bought enamel? Crap....I didn't notice that the rustoleum paint was enamel black. Well, I'm not putting this paint job off any more. I need this buffet done so I can move furniture around and we can have more table space in the basement. So I call Bet and tell her the mistake I'd made, and she made me feel better about it because she reminded me that oil-based paint is more durable than latex. Yay! Now I'm back to work! 

So after letting the paint dry for 24 hours or so.....I start putting back on the hardware. I spray painted the hinges aluminum, because I could not find  suitable replacements, and attach pretty glass knobs to the doors. No more brass adornments. Then I go to put on some sleek updated handles. They're called butterfly handles, but I don't know why. They don't resemble a butterfly anymore than I resemble a squirrel, and they don't fit. What the frick!?!? I measured! Twice even!! 

{insert quiet rant here}

I remeasure the original, ugly brass handles.....same size as what I bought. 

{insert slightly louder rant and start questioning my sanity}

I decide to go slow as I reattach one of the original handles. Maybe I can see what I'm doing wrong. Yes, because, Heather, you've never before attached handles to a piece of furniture. But ho! I do discover something. Those ugly brass handles flex and move to accommodate the shape of the drawer and that's why they fit inside those idiotic little screw holes and my newer, much prettier, and more modern handles don't. 

{Yell for Dev to cover his ears while much louder and non-child friendly rant ensues}

The aluminum spray paint comes back out. 

The newly painted, but still slightly to ornate for my taste handles remain on the buffet, but I like them. I like them a lot. They look good with the new glass knobs on the doors. Je l'aime!

But there's a lot of wall above her tabletop.....I know! I need more shelves. So back to Lowe's I go. I really think Lowe's should start sponsoring me. :) 

So here she is now. All gussied up and pretty-fied!

I have decided that I put the shelves up to high. As I am wont to do...I put the shelves up where they work for me....at 6'2". This does not work for my 5' 8" husband. I'll move them eventually just not now. My great-grandmother's glassware looks mAr.VeL.oUs. with my grandmother's china.

You can see my brush strokes in the paint, but I think it adds character, and honestly you can only see them with the flash on, so I'm not to worried about it. :) 

Some more of my great-grandmother's glassware, and a silver pie server that my parents got me  from a local shop in Warrenton. Picadilly, you should definitely check out Kathleen's wares. She's a wonderful woman with two adorable little boys, and the most wonderful shop ever.

More glassware. I love how glass reacts to light. Even if its not leaded crystal. Glass is just such an amazing element to any decor. :) 

This little owl is sitting next to my Jefferson cup. My parents picked this little beauty up in Greece. 

Here's my Jefferson cup. My initials used to spell HAS. Mom has always told me that if your initials spell a word that it means good luck. :) 

This is Stephen's silver cup. I love the patina on it. :) 

This is one piece of my grandmother's complete china set. The set is from Japan, but I can't for the life of me remember what its called.

This pitcher was from my mother-in-law and inside it, attached to the spout, is a plastic cylinder that holds ice. I love this piece, and when I wouldn't let my mom take it, she started hunting for one of her own. She now owns two of them, and we found them at the local consignment shop, The Very Thing in Haymarket. :) 

This pewter pitcher also came from The Very Thing and it is heavy! I loved the lines of it tho so the $10 I paid for it was money well spent, IMO. :) 

This is my great-grandmother's salt glazed bowl from England. The bottom of this piece is stamped, but I've forgotten what year and town it came from. I love this piece. When we move and the china and all is packed up, I write threats on the box to warn whomever is moving it to be careful with it. :) So far this tactic has worked and usually garners a few laughs. :) 

This is where my old buffet was. I have moved the picture down so it's not floating in the upper echelons of the space. 

I am very impressed with the oil-based paint and primer, and I may have to start working with them more often. I hope you guys enjoyed this photo-laden post, because I had a lot of fun with this project. It was a long time coming. Now if only I can get the rest of the dining room done. I have chairs to update and a ceiling to enhance. It doesn't help that I also just found the purrrrr.fect chandelier at Lowe's while shopping for the bar materials either. Oh well.....that's enough for today! 

Have a wonderful day and enjoy yourselves!

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