"New" Dining Room Buffet

I've been searching Craig's List for a few months looking for a large dresser that could be used as a buffet in our dining room.  The thing about buying furniture on Craig's list is everything has to be just right...the timing (you snooze you lose), location (I won't drive more than 40 minutes) and of course the price. 

When I found this dresser and saw the price I thought maybe it was a mistake. The owner was asking $35 for this beauty!

The size was perfect and the drawers all glided nicely. The veneer was in excellent shape with some minor dents and scratches but nothing that a little sanding wouldn't take care of. Since I wanted it done before Passover I had to get going with the rehab weeks before.

I usually replace old knobs and pulls but I loved the original hardware--it just needed some sprucing up...

First I tried soaking them in some Tarn-X. Bad move. The brass became discolored and looked awful!

So it was plan B: spray paint...

I used a primer first, then enamel since I wanted to be sure the paint would adhere with daily use.

For the dresser, the first step was sanding...it's not necessary to sand down to the bare wood, but just enough to get the glossy finish off so the paint will adhere.

After the sanding it's time to paint. The guy at the paint store told me that orange is one of the hardest colors to cover and he suggested a tinted primer.

Even using a tinted primer it took about four coats of paint to cover!

The top coat is Benjamin Moore's Festive Orange in a high gloss oil paint. When my husband came home and saw the color he thought I was crazy! But with all the gray tones in the dining room and kitchen I wanted a pop of color and I've been obsessed with orange lately.

The drawers are great for storing napkins, tablecloths, shabbos candles and more...

The orange looks great against the gray walls.

Was I hesitant painting this orange? Oh yeah. But sometimes you have to go outside your comfort zone and do something a bit daring to get that wow factor!
Linked to:
The Shabby Nest 
Suburbs Mama 
Miss Mustard Seed