Beachy Bohemian Buffet Makeover – Leah Noell Design Co

Do you ever wonder if sometimes furniture artists doubt their work? You usually only see my best work on social media, but I wanted to give you a behind the scenes peek at the thought process of how beautiful furniture comes to be.

Sometimes I paint pieces and they don’t take long and turn out great. Other times, I have an idea in my head and I keep changing it. That’s what happened here. I always do better work when I have an inspiration photo to go off of. But this time I started without one, only knowing that I wanted to do something emerald.

My birthday month is May, so I thought it would be fun to do an emerald green piece. So I pulled this buffet from my inventory and got to work. This is the biggest buffet I’ve ever done, so we have been referring to her as “Big Mamma.”

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Material List:

I started by cleaning the whole piece with White lightning cleaner. This buffet was in great shape so I didn’t need to do any sanding or wood filling. Love that! I gave this piece 2 coats of BOSS primer in clear. I always prime my furniture before painting.

Then I started to paint. I wanted to lay a darker color down to see how I liked it on this buffet. I blended Palmetto and Coffee Bean from Dixie Belle. Honestly, I could have stopped here and been happy!!

But then, as I was searching for a true inspiration photo on Pinterest I found a picture of the Northern Lights and thought, “OMG, that’s what I want to do!!” So I went in with Tree Frog Green and Golden Years. I did a cross hatch pattern and used Coffee Bean again on the edges. After that, I blended Lucky Lavender, Muscadine Wine, and Golden Years to the edges. I actually really love this look– it reminds me of Gamora from the Avengers!

Now for the turn! I just wasn’t feeling this look at the time. Now that I look at it, I do actually really love the way it looks. I went on Pinterest and found the inspiration photo that screamed, “PAINT ME!” Just look at it!

Photo via Pinterest. Original source unknown. Please contact me if this is your photo.

So, I got to work! It’s funny how fast you can create when you are feeling truly inspired. If you take anything from this blog, I hope that it’s some inspiration that strikes emotion in you. I also find that inspiration finds you while you are working. I don’t think I would have gotten to the point of painting this without the 2 designs I created before (and maybe a couple of other tests in between that aren’t photographed!).

So I went over the whole piece in a random cross hatch pattern with the colors Tree Frog Green, Haint Blue, Dixie Belle Blue, and The Gulf. I let this dry. Then I mixed the colors Bunker Hill Blue, Palmetto, Coffee Bean, and a drop of Golden Years until I got a rich blue. I often mix colors until I like the result. I painted this mix over the other colors and then sprayed the buffet with straight vinegar! I loved the way it looks!

As for the legs, I knew I wanted them to be rusty. I love the rust patina from Dixie Belle. It may be my favorite product ever! To use rust patina you need to paint one coat of iron paint on and let it dry. Then you will paint another coat of iron paint on and while it is still wet, spray it with the green patina spray! I let this sit and rust for a few days. I sealed it with Patina Guard, which deepened the color.

For the final details, I used eternal wax from Prima. The top is sealed with Gator Hide for extra durability and the body is sealed with a clear satin finish. I always use Gator Hide on my tops because it is heat and water repellent!

I love how Big Mamma turned out!!