Skye’s Sideboard Inheritance

When Skye sent me a picture of her sideboard and asked me if I could give it a makeover, I took up the challenge. This antique piece of furniture was inherited and so she didn’t want to get rid of it, but knew she wanted it updated for a more modern but vintage look. So after discussing colours and the look she was after, I got stuck into it.

Prepping the Sideboard

There was a water mark on top where the varnish had been removed and other stains.

The door in the pic above was jammed locked and the other door key hole was filled with dirt over time. So I had to work to get the key moving using a bit of WD40 spray and fiddling with it a bit.

And so the sanding began …

As you can see, this is a BIG sideboard!!

I stained the top with a darker walnut stain.

I actually wasn’t happy with my first application of the stain and sanded it back to start again. It was a bit patchy in places and once you start staining you need to be careful to get an even coverage. This gets tricky when you finish one section and start the next section and overlap the edge that you just did, making the stain darker in the patch where the two sections join. Grrr. Can be a gruelling process, but it was worth getting it right.

Here are the drawers, slightly sanded and ready for painting. 

Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint – Kitchen Scale

Another reason why I didn’t want it to chip too much is because I had used a darker stain on the top of this piece which would not then match the orangey wood if too much showed through when it chipped.

After ONE COAT of MMS Milk Paint, Kitchen Scale:

After TWO COATS …

MMS Furniture Wax gives a smooth, buffed protective finish, and as it goes on, deepens the colour slightly, and also deepens the wood colour coming through.

Oiling options

Leaving the inside of the cupboard and the drawers in their natural wood state, I used a Scandinavian Oil to rub in for a lovely natural finish. On the drawer below you can see the difference it makes, where I started the oil on the left. If I were doing this again, I could also use Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil, which gives an equally beautiful finish on natural wood.Again, this drawer compares the left side (oiled) and the right side (not oiled). Before re-installing all the hardware on the sideboard, I gave it a good clean with a baking soda/white vinegar combo, using a toothbrush to scrub as best I could.

Sealing

Next I worked on the top again. Remember I had only stained the top surface, not varnished it with anything. One of my favourite finishes for wood is Minwax Wipe-on Poly (available at Bunnings in Australia). I used about 3 coats, drying for the recommended time in between.And after sanding back the edges and wearing parts for a vintage aged shabby look, I waxed all over with MMS Furniture Wax, returned the handles and voila! All done!

Finished!

Skye was so excited when we dropped it off to her house and very happy with the makeover results.(Can you believe they unpacked a whole house and she only has a week to go before baby is due!?) Now Skye is looking for the perfect big mirror to go with her “new look” sideboard!

For more tutorials and makeovers using Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint, check out my youtube channel. I have a playlist dedicated to using MMSMP.