MomB's buffet — Ellie & Elizabeth

This is MomB, my grandmother. I know, she was a hottie, right? We called her MomB because her name was Beatrice and she was way too hip to be 'Granny'. So, MomB it was. She was one of the first people in my life who caused this whole house obsession because her home, well, just wow. It was a huge, two story southern home with a wrap around porch with stone columns nestled in a tiny town surrounded by the enormous mountains of Kentucky. The town was home to formal southern belles who served their snacks on silver trays and dressed for dinner. She was something else. It broke her heart when she had to sell the home due to poor health. She generously gave several pieces of her furniture to family members, which is how I ended up with the Willett buffet:

I was reminded that this was a cherry buffet and she couldn't understand people painting furniture, especially cherry. 'As you know, you and I would NEVER paint a CHERRY piece of furniture! HEAVENLY DAY!' (She used that 'Heavenly Day' phrase often, as in OH.MY.GOODNESS!)

Oh dear. She had a way of including you in her opinion even if in your mind you were thinking, "I would love to paint that cherry buffet!" But, at the end of the day, you wouldn't DREAM of painting that cherry buffet.

Well, folks, I painted the cherry buffet. Oh, Heavenly Day.

And here it is.

the painted cherry buffet — the painted *cherry* buffet

I used Annie Sloan chalkpaint in French Linen and then Annie Sloan's soft clear wax. Once the clear wax dried overnight, I used Annie Sloan's soft dark wax to give an aged look. This was my first true attempt to chalkpaint and wax furniture. (We won't talk about that other time...) I was told to use the wax sparingly, that if you wiped your finger over the waxed area before it dried and you could see a finger mark that you had too much. So that's the method I used. Wax on, wax off, yep, I felt like the Karate Kid. Probably the best tip I received was that if the dark wax wasn't quite looking the way you wanted, take a little clear wax and go over it. It almost acted as an eraser, which believe me, I needed occasionally throughout this project.

Once the dark wax dried, I accented the trim around the drawers and the spiraled corners with gilding wax by Cire A Dorer (found at the same store that sold the Annie Sloan paint, so I guess it's as easy to find as AS paint?). It was pretty neat because I literally dabbed my finger in it and just swiped it wherever I thought might look good. It was so easy to use that I got a little carried away and started walking through the house, dabbing gold accents here and there. I ordered new gold handles from Ebay and slapped some paint on them, not really taking care to completely paint the handles so some of the gold peeped through.

Since I'm the type that would, in addition to doing a terrible paint job, accidently spill the paint then step in it and walk through the house, I was pleasantly surprised this project turned out pretty good. Even the hubs like it. Heavenly Day, I think MomB may even approve.

Nah.

My dear MomB has passed on, and although painted cherry would have NEVER been her cup of tea, at this point I think she'd want me to enjoy her furniture, however I need to, in her honor.

How do I get myself in these situations?

Thank you, MomB. I love it. And you.

Oh, Heavenly Day.