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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

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Our Refinished Midcentury Buffet

June 4, 2012

You know, I really wasn’t sure of the fate of this $15 mid-century modern buffet by Bassett Furniture. It was an outrageous yard sale find, that I knew, and that’s why I swept it up, but after taking some measurements I realized that it wouldn’t fit in our dining room without knocking down walls. Or our living room, where it could have had potential as a sideboard. Or in the office, where it might make for nice storage. Our house is actually… small.

Brand old-new Bassett buffet! Win for me.

Permanent placement aside, like I showed you last Wednesday, it was in pretty rough shape, particularly the buffet top which had both heavy scratches (I’m talkin’ deep) and bad water stains.

Damaged surface? No biggie, still a worthwhile piece. I think.

Those damages didn’t really factor into my decision to buy the piece, and that’s partially because when I said “SOLD” the whole buffet was still covered with other for-sale items like light fixtures and vinyl records, but also partially because I didn’t mind a nick here or there; so what, it looks weathered and loved, so does half of the stuff in our house right now. But after getting it home, and cleaning it down thoroughly with a triple-threat of bleach spray (to take care of some mold inside the cabinet door), Goo Gone (for a sticker that had been long adhered to the top), and Murphy Oil Soap (to see how much I might be able to buff and polish it up myself), I figured I had nothing to lose if I were to sand down the flat surfaces and re-poly it.

So, sand it down, I did. I started with a fine grade sandpaper and Pete’s multi-cutter with the sanding attachment (the same do-gooder that I employed when I was sanding down the kitchen cabinet sample). The fine paper was OK for breaking the finish and curing the shallow scratches, but it wasn’t nearly enough oomph for the larger scratches and barely made any improvement to the serious water stain on the buffet top.

Starting the mid-century furniture re-finish with a fine sandpaper. Not strong enough.

Deciding to use the super heavy-duty high-grit sandpaper, the job went on much better. I took it easy, applied even weight to the multi-tool, and was intent on moving only with the grain to keep the finish looking neat; I’ve found that when you start to go perpendicular to the grain, the sandpaper leaves perma-scratches that are perceivable to the eye and to the touch.

My, my, those hands look manly. They’re mine, I swear, but check out those bulging veins and forearm muscles? Girl needs a DIY mani.

Massive sand-down of the buffet. Going with the grain!

In hindsight, mochas at 9AM in 90-degree heat are gross. Barf. But I was making good progress, right?

Massive sand-down of the buffet.

It was apparent pretty early in the sanding process that if I sanded the top, I really needed to sand the sides, door, and drawer fronts too for consistency. An hour and a half in, I stepped back for a moment to try and get my hands to a non-convulsive state, and the sight was pretty impressive. It was one of those “there’s no turning back, and we also better go pick out some new stain” moments.

A massively sanded buffet.

With the flat drawer fronts also then sanded, we made a concerted effort to buy stain that was as close to the original finish as possible, mainly because the beveled areas between each drawer and along the sides of the the buffet were a little trickier to access with a power sander, but they also weren’t in bad condition or dented, so I hoped to leave them as-is and just re-stain and refinish the flat panels.

I bought three things at the store, with some affiliate links to amazon:

  • Tack cloths ($3, as recommended to get the sanded wood particles and any dust off the surface pre-staining and finishing)
  • Pre-stain wood conditioner ($8, a product that I’ve never used, but have been advised to in the past; it’s like a primer for softer hardwoods, coating the grains first and allowing the stain to absorb over it more consistently)
  • Oil-based stain in English Chestnut ($4, decidedly the closest we could match the existing wood finish based on a poorly-lit iPhone snapshop, ooh, smell the foreshadowing)

Preparing to refinish the mid-century buffet.

For the record, in doing this project I also used on-hand materials:

  • Sandpaper (both rough and fine, power-tool-based and hand-based)
  • Gloss Polyurethane (a Rust-Oleum Ultimate product)
  • A paint brush (for the pre-stain)
  • Rags (terrycloth and absorbent for consistent stain application)

Before I got down to conditioning the wood, I wanted to do one last round of sanding with fine sandpaper. To make the stray grains stand more upright on the wood, I dampened a rag and wiped down all surfaces.

Wetting down the sideboard to expose new grains.

After a few minutes in the heat of the afternoon, the surface had dried and exposed new fine grains that I was able to smooth down further with a fine-grade sandpaper and the multi-tool attachment. Going back over it left it in a pristinely smooth condition, so note to self: always do that, especially with the upcoming kitchen cabinets.

As I mentioned, it was my first rendezvous with pre-stain wood conditioner, a product that was shockingly red and watery when I opened the can for the first time.

Preparing the wood conditioner.

The instructions suggested using a rag or brush to apply; I chose a paint brush for ease of application after testing with a rag. Following some simple tips, I ran it on smoothly, thoroughly, and quickly, but not in a way where there was excessive pooling, just aiming to coat the entire to-be-stained surface. If you’re wondering, that entire pint of conditioner is going to go a really long way, maybe lasting the rest of my DIY-loving life, and this is how it looks when it’s applied soaking wet:

Wood Conditioning the buffet.

Also per directions, I gave all surfaces a wipe down with a clean rag about 10-15 minutes after application. It still appeared slightly wet in this picture, but was drying quickly.

Sanded, and wood conditioned. Ready for stain!

I don’t know why I’m so nervous when it comes to staining, but I was in this instance too. With the wood conditioned, I will say that the stain went on much easier than any other stain I’ve ever applied in my life (how’s that for a big fat w-o-w?), and using a rag on the entire job made it feel very controllable and consistent compared to experiences with foam brushes or paint brushes. The motions were more that of cleaning the kitchen countertop with rag than painting a surface.

There was a funny picture of me wincing and crossing my fingers for good luck as I got started, but you could see a little too far down my shirt and this isn’t that kind of blog, so I’ll show you this one instead:

Applying stain in long, even, rag-soaked strokes.

And this picture too, as I got a little further along. Let’s count how many wardrobe changes I made over the course of this day; two already shown, and I know with certainty that there was another outfit in between from when I scooted to The Home Depot. What can I say, I do a lot of laundry. But isn’t this first coat of stain going on pretty nicely?

Applying stain in long, even, rag-soaked strokes.

It’s probably the first time that I’ve really put an effort into keeping the coat of stain light. With all of the shiplap wall paneling I’ve done, I had been intent on keeping the wood really dark, and therefore was more heavy-handed and less-inclined to massage the stain into the grain or wipe off excess. This was different. And it was obvious.

Stained surface of the buffet. So pretty!

I know this post is becoming ungodly long, so I’ll skip ahead to the third (or fourth) wardrobe change of the post (although it was actually on Day 3 of the project, after I had let the stain dry a bit in the garage for two days and then moved all of the pieces into the sunroom).

I’ve used Rust-Oleum water-based Ultimate Polyurethane for several projects, most recently, when refinishing the new sunroom table, and really like it for a few reasons:

  • It’s a pinch to apply, and has serious self-leveling power
  • It’s super quick dry (<2 hours, usually, depending on humidity)
  • It has a durable finish (in my experiences)

When I’m applying it, I start by rolling it on with a 6″ foam roller (and notice how pasty white my springtime legs are, and also how there are random dog toys all over from a puppy I recently dogsat). After it’s rolled on, I then go over it with a paint brush really, really lightly just to even it out any bubbles and make it look a little more painted on:

Rolling on the polyurethane.

See how it looks a little purple? That’s mostly an effect of the poly reflecting the color of the stain, and it helps to make sure you have good coverage, but it certainly dries clearly.

Brushing down the polyurethane.

Now, as you might have noticed by now, the English Chestnut stain is a lot different from what the original finish looked like. Not that it isn’t pretty now, I just really wanted it to match. Oops.

The refinished stained top does not match the original. Whoopsy.

Because of this variance, I needed to refinish the legs and go into the beveled areas after the original staining and strip the finish so that I could re-stain them in the same color. I used a combination of common sand paper to get in the tight spaces by hand (using both rough and fine stock), but used a sanding bit on Pete’s Dremel to bite through most of the accessible finish. It worked pretty well.

Using a Dremel bit with sanding attachment for the inset bevels on the dresser.

Re-staining these crevices was easy too; using the same dampened rag technique, application was smooth, there was just one issue: it seems as though the wood used on these beveled areas is different from what was used on the outer facing drawers and large surfaces. Whomp, whomp. Can you see the difference between the lower piece of trim and the beveled edge after a few coats of stain trying to even them out?

Trying to match the stains.

Making it match as best as I could manage, I forged ahead to try and not let it get to me. After all, these pieces of trim are mostly covered in the shadows of the door and drawer. And really, the rest of the buffet looked bitchin’.

Our refinished Bassett mid-century buffet! Complete!

Remember what it looked like when I started? When the dog was making crazy eyes at me for bringing home more furniture?

Our mid-century Bassett Buffet, before.

The sunroom ended up being our favorite place for it. Against the sunburst floor and wooden walls, it feels like it really fits in and can be enjoyed in the space that we work in on warm days.

And from the left.

Our refinished Bassett mid-century buffet! Complete!

And from the right. Oohs, ahhs.

Our refinished Bassett mid-century buffet! Complete!

The drawers are still empty, but I finally have permission to buy a few nice table accessories knowing that I have a place to put them.

The drawers of our refinished Bassett mid-century buffet! Complete!

And again, now that we have a table and chairs in the sunroom, it’s really nice to have a place to put summertime dining accessories and a surface on which we can put out a buffet of food someday.

The refinished Bassett mid-century buffet! Complete!

Side note: The mounds of glass on the table? We found it at Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, NY. Best haul ever.

Lake Ontario Beach Glass, June 2012.

Mid century wood refinishing to make a sideboard rich and beautiful again.

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Being Thrifty  / DIY  / Sunroom

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

48 Comments


Monica
June 4, 2012 at 9:05 am
Reply

I LOVE how it turned out!! Great job!



    Emily
    June 4, 2012 at 11:01 am

    Thanks Monica!!

    Joanne
    December 24, 2013 at 6:06 pm

    Wow! I can’t believe that you sanded off the old finish without using stripper — you must have some serious muscle power. I have a buffet that’s very similar and I’m still in the process of stripping off the finish. Mine is from P B John Furniture Co from Portland Oregon and after hours of Internet searching, your buffet is the only one I’ve found that’s similar to mine. The main difference is that mine has one inlaid diamond shape on the front of each of the drawers (in some other species of wood that’s different from the main buffet) and my plan is to paint those in white to make them stand out against the darker wood and do the legs in white also. I hope this diminutive little piece of mine turns out as well as yours!

Mollie
June 4, 2012 at 9:06 am
Reply

Looks amazing! When I refinished my dresser a month or so ago, I had trouble with end grain and some of the trim absorbing more of the stain than the faces. Once I got the technique down, they came out really good.

Side note: what beach do you go to to find your beach glass collection? I’ve had good luck at foreman park in Pultneyville, a bit far from the city though.



    Emily
    June 4, 2012 at 9:13 am

    Mine’s from Ontario Beach Park in Rochester. If you can make it on a cool day after a storm, you’ll find a lot more on the public beach than you would on a hot busy day. Good luck!!

Stephanie
June 4, 2012 at 11:00 am
Reply

Wowzers, that looks amazing! And it does look lovely in your sunroom. Great job! And bonus points for a hilarious dog picture, of course.



    Emily
    June 4, 2012 at 11:02 am

    Haha, thanks Stephanie!

Katharine
June 4, 2012 at 11:07 am
Reply

It turned out beautiful! Nice job (and good information to know about the staining process — I’ve got to tackle two sets of stairs in the near future).



    Emily
    June 4, 2012 at 11:12 am

    Glad you liked! The pre-stain conditioner really helped a lot with the stain application, I’ll use it forever from now on. Sanding so heavily was a little hard to do because I was worried it’d end up worse, somehow, but I’m so happy with how it turned out in the end!

genevieve
June 4, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Reply

That looks really great! Your pile of sea glass looks like mine – I’m trying to find something to do with it all….I’ve collected it from all my trips around the world.



    Emily
    June 4, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    Worldly sea glass! Very special. I know someone who collects sand from the various beaches she’s been to, and displays them in separate ball jars, but together as a set, in her house. I’m sure you’ll come up something special for it!

Katrina
June 4, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Reply

It’s awesome! You did such a great job – love it. Interesting about the wood conditioner – I’m always hesitant to use it because (1) I didn’t know how the color would turn out in the end and (2) I figured it was kind of like one of those recommended things that you don’t really need. I’ll give it a second look next time though. Great project!



    Emily
    June 4, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    Interesting (1) consideration. I wonder if that’s why my stain turned out darker and more red-toned than I was anticipating (seriously, yes, I am just considering that now). Tinting possibilities aside, the stain did go on super smoothly. Glided on. Did not want to soak in super-fast. No blotchies, only totally smooth coloring.

Kate
June 4, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Reply

It looks amazing! Great job!



Urban Cholita
June 4, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Reply

It looks BEAUTIFUL! Great job. And kudos to you for choosing refinishing over painting. I like painted furniture, but it seems like it should be reserved for fake wood or wood that has serious damage. Our buffet is veneer, which is starting to peel a bit at the edges. So sad.



Carrie
June 5, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Reply

Wow, that looks fantastic! I’ll have to pass this post along to a friend who is about to tackle a similar project. Nice work!



Linda
September 26, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Reply

That looks great and I love the color, I have one that looks some thing like your’s, I have been thinking of refinishing. I have never used the conditioner but think I’ll try it. Thank you for the info. Your Dog is really cute. =)



    Emily
    September 26, 2012 at 10:37 pm

    Glad you like it, Linda! Good luck if you choose to refinish yours (I’m still so happy with how it turned out, it was a fun project).

Dave Kalyn
March 26, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Reply

Looks like a very nice piece. You did an excellent job of refinishing it.



Laura
May 23, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Reply

My parents had this same piece when I was a child. You did a beautiful job. It made me happy to see the pictures.



Laura
June 4, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Reply

Great job! I’m always looking for not advice in mid century modern DIY.



    Emily
    June 4, 2013 at 2:55 pm

    Thanks Laura!

jen
June 26, 2013 at 1:45 pm
Reply

Thanks so much for the info! It turned out SO beautifully!!



Joe
July 31, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Reply

It looks like you got a good satin finish out of that poly.



Leslie
September 21, 2013 at 2:07 am
Reply

I’m so impressed. You did an amazing job. It looks beautiful. I just bought a basset mid century dresser and want to refurbish but have no idea where to start. I’ve never refurbished anything in my life. My dresser is chipped in sever places, nothing major. Should I still do exactly what you just did or is there something I can do to fix or cover up the chipped areas? I hope you can help. Thanks so much!!



    Emily
    September 22, 2013 at 9:29 am

    Glad to hear you’re inspired, Leslie! If the chips are something that you can live with, I think you just smooth them down when you’re sanding and hopefully if you stain they won’t be so apparent. If you’re going to paint the dresser, you could fill the chips with wood filler before refinishing, and probably hide them completely. If you’re staining, you can tint a small batch of wood filler with the stain you’ll be using, and then use that darkened wood filler to try and fill in the chips before refinishing (this is stainable wood filler, available readily at the store). I’ve never actually tried to tint the wood filler myself, but it might be an option for you if the chips are bothersome!

    Good luck!!

M.W.
November 1, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Reply

This looks terrific! I love the step by step details (and humour). All of that info will come in handy for an awesome coffee table “score” which, it would seem, was previously owned by a cat… *sigh* Keep up the good work. : )



    Emily
    November 1, 2013 at 7:46 pm

    Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed :)

Z
November 11, 2013 at 3:08 am
Reply

It is a mid century Scandinavian teak dresser and it was enough to just to sand it and OIL it with teak oil or Danish oil and you would have a perfect colour match. To stain it and use polyurethane on it is rather sad…….



Tyler
February 21, 2014 at 2:31 pm
Reply

Very nice. I’m impressed and it looks better than the original–great choice on the stain.



Mirna
March 24, 2014 at 9:31 am
Reply

Dear Emily,

I loved your post about refurbishing the Bassett buffett. I recently picked up a Basset dresser of the same style and shape from craig’s list in “gunstock walnut” I was hoping to sand and refinish, but I can’t tell if the top and sides are covered in veneer — the drawers are definately solid wood — did you run across this when you were working on yours?

Thank you!



    Emily
    March 24, 2014 at 10:39 am

    Hi Mirna, I had the same concerns because my drawer fronts appeared to be veneer, even though the drawers themselves are solid and uncoated. I just treaded carefully with sanding. And, truthfully, my Plan B all along was to paint it if the sanding didn’t go as I hoped! Good luck!

Deb
March 26, 2014 at 4:36 pm
Reply

Very nice refinishing job! However…..I would have treated with Teak Oil only. No stain. No Poly. Would have looked much more “midcentury”. I am refinishing a Hugo Trued of Sweden credenza made of teak. Only stripping, sanding and Teak Oil. Teak is naturally a rich golden red and should never be stained.



    Darby
    May 20, 2014 at 11:51 am

    This is a great article. Thank you.
    Deb and Z, you are right that treating with Teak oil is the respectful and classic ‘midcentury’ way to go, but I have not had long term success with teak oil on the top of pieces that get frequent daily use. I understand many people consider stain and poly the sacrilegious thing to do to teak mid century furniture, but how do you use the teak oil to get the wood to be long term waterproof? I haven’t had long term success with it. Do you have to reapply every year? Unless you live in a home without children, follow your guests around with coasters, and do not live with anyone who would EVER put anything remotely moist on the surface, I think stain and a poly is an okay way to go, especially for the top. A poly without much sheen can give the more classic look.

    Joanne
    May 20, 2014 at 1:38 pm

    How would you feel about having a piece of glass cut to cover the top surface? At least it’d be protected and you wouldn’t have to go the route of urethane (yuk). Just be sure that your teak oil is thoroughly cured before you put on the glass top. Most glass shops will do this for a reasonable price and they grind the edges so they’re smooth.

Bree
November 2, 2014 at 6:54 pm
Reply

What a gorgeous restoration you’ve done for this dresser. Wow! I really enjoyed reading this post. I found it because I’ve just blogged today about an upcoming project in our home: restoring a mid century Danish modern teak dining table. We have never worked with teak before. I’m very nervous about sanding. Also, I’m wondering how to tell if my table top has any residual lacquer finish on it? I would love your advice!



Pete
November 10, 2014 at 9:31 pm
Reply

This is a really great restoration. My GF and I are doing one soon so I’ve been looking at other ones for good ideas. Really good work!



JEff
January 12, 2015 at 2:42 pm
Reply

This is a great restoration. The dark walnut danish teak oil might have been the perfect match and saved you the hassle of the wood conditioner and poly.



Caspiana
March 1, 2015 at 11:41 pm
Reply

Great looking drawer! It will live on! And thank you for not priming and painting it with acrylic :)



Miranda
September 1, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Reply

oh my good gracious, this was both hilarious and informative. $15 for a mid-century buffet? get. out. of. town! don’t you love when clueless people have epic yard sales! you did an amazing job! i have to say, i like the darker stain over the lighter. and the variation of colors in the wood is oh so nice!!



Marcy
December 27, 2015 at 12:47 pm
Reply

Just embarking on refinishing parents mid-century furniture. This is very helpful!



Joe
June 22, 2016 at 8:42 pm
Reply

I am planning on refinishing a mid-century dining table that belonged to my late grandfather. I like the finished piece in your project. Do you know what wood the piece is made of?



    Emily
    June 22, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    Unfortunately I don’t… Maybe walnut? Sorry Joe!

Maria
August 20, 2016 at 11:23 pm
Reply

Gorgeous! Thanks for the tips- I hope my project turns out half as well!



Kelly Carballo
September 23, 2016 at 1:22 pm
Reply

So glad I found this post! Your piece turned out beautiful. We just picked up a nice mid century hutch for a really good price and we need to re-stain it. Absolutely following the steps you took. Hopefully it will turn out just as nice.



Jeremy B.
January 21, 2019 at 12:26 am
Reply

I live in a mid-century home, several years now, and also grew up in a couple. I love the styles and shapes and I’m so glad you saved this wonder piece! Thanks for sharing!



Thais
July 20, 2019 at 7:47 pm
Reply

Looks beautiulz I’m having a difficult time trying to figure out what silupliws needed to reginishbdresser with veneer from 1950’s .but I also need it to be a darker espresso color (or as close as possible to it when finished & im so confused bc I’ve seen so many different people saying different things online. One said strip the finish off first… etc. any suggestions?



Paul
September 14, 2019 at 12:18 pm
Reply

Super cool project! Good job! This is a great tutorial for me as my wife and I will be embarking on similar projects to furnish our new home. Thank you!



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