A Buffet Better Than the Golden Corral

So it seems like lately every post I have written starts out with this statement: "Sorry I have been MIA. . .". Follow this up with some excuse as to why I couldn't blog and you have the first few words of my latest posts. Well today I am going to put a stop to that. I have to get back to blogging regularly. I really miss it.

So for today I am going to share with you a little project I completed about oh a month ago. You see back in the spring before Jose went to Washington we laid claim to a buffet that was my grandparents. When we brought it home (in the Prius I might add) it then proceeded to sit in our living room for a few months with no progress made. While searching pinterest for ideas on what to do with this new gem I decided to just do it and get started.

Well unfortunately for me I thought this would be an easy peasy quick project. You see the original wood veneer had been water damaged and needed to be removed. I searched online and found several tutorials that basically said the best removal method was to use and iron and a damp cloth. These said tutorials also said that this would not take very long and that the veneer would come up in sheets. Well I am here to tell you that they lied! I mean that may be a little harsh because I believe that it truly only took them a short while and they did in fact peel up large sheets. I however was not smiled upon by the DIY gods and this process took me several couple hour sessions. (Also I had so many more pictures of the process but my laptop is dying and I think it lost some of them.)

 I persevered however and once I had a shiny clean slate to work with I decided to paint the top of the buffet a nice glossy white. My original inclination was to go for a bold color to offset our greige walls but then I got to thinking that this furniture piece will be with us indefinitely and the last thing I wanted to do was paint it every time we moved/redecorated. I have to say that the rest of the process was fairly painless. My only complaint is that I should have bought some kilz primer to go over the water spots first because they of course show through. However I am taking the advice of the Nester and saying that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful and beautiful it is.

I think it is so special to have a piece of my grandparents in our home. I am very much a family person and I cannot wait to tell our future children where this buffet came from and about their great grandparents.

What about you? Any projects take way longer than expected? What about family heirlooms are you a collector or do you prefer new and modern things?