The transformation of the"throw away" Winter Lake Buffet and my Intern Krista

Awhile back a young lady named Krista contacted me and asked if she could be my intern.  I was in shock and honored that someone one would like to be my intern, and I of course said yes!  Krista is in finishing up college and plans on enrolling in design school after she graduates.  She is also a professional photographer and I had met her at one of my "Home Decor" sales I have at my house when she was looking for props for photo shoots.  We started talking and hit it off and she would come by to borrow things for props when she needed them.  We developed a friendship and she took our family photos during the holidays.  I was honored when she asked if she could learn about painting and decorating from me as an intern.  We have been working together now when we both have time for a few months.  
       The reason I bring Krista up is that this buffet was one of the first pieces we worked on together.  I had found an ad. on CL about some furniture and so Krista and I went to check it out.  This buffet was in BAD shape and was basically a throw away piece from the seller, but I fell in love with it and had to have it.  The seller wanted it gone so badly, that she had her son delver it to my house that afternoon!  
Before:

I could see that the piece was well built and had lots of potential,  but would be a LOT of HARD work.  

The top was peeling off and needed to be removed.  I asked Krista if she was up for the challenge and she said yes.  We removed the layers of veneer by using a spackle knife and a hammer.  We tried the damp cloth and hot iron method, but it did not work, so out came the tools.  By holding the sharp spackle knife at a slight angle under the edge of the veneer and tapping it with the hammer, the veneer slowly and painstakingly came off! During the middle of this removal I was really wondering if I was crazy for taking on this project!  
After the top stuff was removed, we sanded it down and started on the front. 

We removed more veneer, but decided to just go with the character of the pieces and paint over some of the issues.  The other issue we had to fix was that the inside of the cabinet was  missing some of the drawer supports.  Finally we were ready for paint!  I pulled out Winter Lake by The Urban Rooster and since the buffet was so dry it soaked the paint up fast.  I thought the details were gorgeous and wanted to high light them, so I got out white paint and hand painted the details.  After distressing the piece, we sealed it with dark wax and tung oil.  

( photo disclaimer here-I was planning on taking good staged photos for the blog, but with my move in to my new remodel I just do not have time.  These photos are just quick ones snapped so Krista could show her friends her first piece.) 

Great details 

Such a pretty Blue! 

How gorgeous is the hardware?

I have worked on many BAD pieces of furniture, but this was one of the worst pieces I have taken on.  I am glad it turned out as pretty as it did! 

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