After making some small repairs, (knobs from Michael’s dollar bin) I was left with a pretty buffet but not pretty cords…
With the help of my dad/next-door-neighbor (hubby was at work), I cut the drawer apart and added hinges so we could tuck our cable box inside and simply close the drawer when the tv is off. Brilliant, right?
kate
I LOVE it! It's still sentimental even though it is now yellow! I say don't feel guilty!
CinderellaMommy
I would have painted it. LoOVE it! My grandpa had one almost exactly like it…wonder if I could get my hands on it?..
Mandy @ Sugar Bee Crafts
LOVE that hidden drawer thing – genius!
{autie}
yes, I would have painted it! I have a couple of pieces in my home that "I'm not allowed to paint!" …and I'm embarrassed of them, and can't wait to get something to replace them! If I could just paint them, I'd LOVE them! Be Proud of them, even…I'm glad you were brave! I'm not brave enough to defy my MIL!
Carrie @ lovely etc.
I love vintage pieces like this and this one turned out great. I especially love the hinged drawer. I think that making old vintage pieces (even heirlooms) relevant and fresh is better than leaving them old and neglected.
Patti
I have this rule: "I can paint anything I buy, but not furniture passed down in the family" BUT in your case, with it really in need of help, I probably would have painted it, too! Your grandmother would love the bright cheery yellow! Well done!
Chelsea @ {twotwentyone}
You did an awesome job! I love your solution for the cable box. I inherited my grandparents' buffet that I'd love to paint, but I'm scared to take the leap.
Shannon
YEP! I just got one last summer from my Grandmother and you better believe that puppy is going to be painted as soon as we move into our own home so I know what color I want it. And funny thing… We did exactly what you did to the top drawer! FABULOUS! We also did it to the bottom drawer for our video game console!!!
Katie R
love it.
Two Shades of Pink
I love your buffet! I have one almost exactly like it that was already painted green when I bought it in a little cottage furniture shop. But I was never crazy about the green color. A little dark. You have inspired me to paint mine and I was just thinking tonight about doing it, and then saw this post! I am excited!
Lolly Jane
Yay! I'm so glad you're inspired!! (: And I'm happy no one has berated me, LOL!
I love that old furniture can come back to life with an affordable option, paint!
(: Kelli
Our Little Family
I love it and I think it looks GREAT! I follow your blog and I can't get over how much our rooms are similar. I'll try posting a link of my front room… Scroll down in the post a bit!
Jill
http://blessednest05.blogspot.com/2012/03/side-tables.html
Michelle
It looks beautiful! i'm not sure I would've had the guts to paint a piece that old, but you did a great job!
Stacey
I love this! This piece further feeds the yellow mood I have been in – gotta paint something yellow now!
Please stop by my linky party happening now to link it up – I would love to have you there!
Stacey of Embracing Change
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com
Tasha
Oh, I LOVE it!! I love that you left the top the same (only because I am totally a sentimental person) but, you picked the perfect color and honestly, I bet your great grandmother would love that you put some love and care into it. It is GORGEOUS! I wish you lived closer and could help me as I am slowly redoing my front room. Sigh.
Becca
Oh! It turned out beautifully ! Go bold or go home with that yellow!! It's perfect!
I've got a similar piece my mom is pushing me to take now- which would make it a tv console- cause I just don't have the space for anything else.
Annnd, I used to have the couch set to match the leather chair you have in the corner! Funny!
xo Becca
Kara at Petals to Picots
I love how this buffet came out!
Toni K
You definitely did the right thing. And I bet your great grandma would agree. Sentiment is ok, but that thing needed some tlc, and you gave it that. Well done.
Maury Kilgo
This is beautiful! I love the bright yellow.
I saw your granite eggs on Its Overflowing. They were awesome! I'm a new follower. I'd love for you to follow me back, but no pressure!
Michele {The Scrap Shoppe}
Gorgeous! The mustard yellow looks like it belongs on this piece.
I have some similar wood pieces inherited from my grandmother that I'm semi-terrified to paint (I'm not as good as you, Kelli!) but I know ultimately she would be okay with it because she always wanted me to be happy. 
I love that you left the top alone to help keep her spirit with you!
Sassy Sites!
LOVE IT!!!
Sarah
LOVE it! Yellow is so gorgeous on that piece! Wish it were mine
Sandy
Oh no…this is perfect! This hutch would smile if it had lips! lol I LOVE what you did, I wish you were closer, I need a 1940's Queen Anne bedroom set re-done…..:) Sandy
Old furniture gets new life with paint!
Katie
I LOVE this console!! I personally would have no problem painting my Grandmother's 100 year old buffet – it has a whole new life now! Great job! Love the little hinged drawer!
Judy
You have rescued this 100 yr. old dinosaur and turned it into something of beauty and interest! Had it stayed the way it was, it would have been relegated to your attic or basement to collect dust and eventually die.
pink survivor 03
Love the yellow! Am getting reaady to do an old family dresser for a guest room. Would you mind sharing what shade and kind of paint you used? Thanks for the inspiration and the nudge to go yellow!!
Lolly Jane
FYI: I write back every.single.person that comments but a good handful of you are no-reply bloggers. Sad! So if I ignored your cute comment, it's not on purpose (: Promise!
Thanks for all the love, guys. I'm so glad Great-Grandma hasn't haunted me out of anger thus far (;
Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co.
Love the yellow and the little door! My philosophy is that if you are giving a piece new life and new love, then it's all good!
Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co.
Love the yellow and the little door! My philosophy is that if you are giving a piece new life and new love, then it's all good!
Holly Lefevre
How sweet to have a piece of your family right there with you! This color is magnificent! Love the hinge idea – brilliant! I also love the top staying wood…gorgeous makeover.
Helen's Decor
Kelli, it's gorgeous and perhaps your great grandma would agree. The main thing is that y'all can enjoy it and be thankful to have it. This is making me think it's yours to enjoy and otherwise you might have been ready to sell it. Your project is making me rethink some of my inherited pieces, that we are afraid devaluing! Thanks! Helen
DavesWife
I LOVE it! It is so YOU. I am sure your Grandma will love the fact that you took something that she loved and turned it into something just as beautiful. ♥
Megan Brooke
This turned out gorgeous! The color choice was perfect!
Stopping over from 30 Handmade Days
Our Pinteresting Family
Just beautiful! I love it! Megan
Julie
Thank You for participating in Show Your Stuff Blog Hop, You are invited to come back:
http://juliejewels1.blogspot.com/2012/03/baked-chicken-salsa-show-your-stuff-16.html
Taryn @ Design, Dining + Diapers
This looks awesome Kelli!!! The bright yellow really brightens the room. I love how it stayed in the family too
Randi~Dukes and Duchesses
No backlash here. I'd paint it in a minute. Now you have something that you love AND it has sentimental value. Perfect! It looks amazing.
Gabby
Nope. You did good (ok, awesome is more like it)! And I like how you left the top the way it is! Saw your post on TT&J!
Gabby
The…Late, Young Family
Emily @ 52 Mantels
I love it!! SO clever with the hinged opening! And, the color?? LOVE!
I've totally pinned this!
Jennifer
Drop dead gorgeous!
Kiana Spencer
The color is beautiful! I never wouldve though the before and after were the same piece.
Ladybird Ln
THis is so darling, it makes me want to redo my family room…. in something yellow!
Carlee
http://www.ladybirdln.com
Rinni's Playground
Love the color on this piece! Fresh and Fab! I have an antique buffet that my husband wanted to hinge like that, I told him no way. I have a dresser he's going to do it to though.
Candy
GORGEOUS. And, yes, you did right and you did good. I'll bet Mom is even proud of the makeover that her Mom's buffet received. Every old girl can use a little makeup now and then.
I found you at the Bloghop posted on my page, PICKINandPAINTIN.blogspot.com. Im now following you and hope that you'll follow back.
Sarah @ Home, Sweet...
It is 100% better! I'm not gonna lie, I would be more than a little nervous about painting such an heirloom, but it did turn out pretty fabulous!! Plus, you left the top to respect the piece, and I think that's a nice touch. All in all, great job! Oh, and by the way, I love the use you found for it — way cooler than buying a regular old media console
I did some painting this week, too — my first big piece ever! I'd love for you to come check it out: http://homesweetsnl.blogspot.com/2012/03/sunroom-redo-part-2-painting-laminate.html
Laura
this is soooo pretty! I love the color! I recently redid a buffet and I painted it white- seeing this makes me ready to do it again, only in yellow this time!
Stacey
The buffet was gorgeous as is, but now that you painted it, it is stunning! I am in love with it!
I am definitely featuring it on Tuesday!
Thanks for coming by to link up…I would love to have you back this week!
See you there!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Shannon
I absolutely love the yellow, and it looks so great now!! I re-did a vanity for my daughter and painted it bright pink http://sewsweetcottage.blogspot.com/2012/03/antique-vanity-redo.html and I think painting antiques a bright color brings them back to life!!
Stunning!
Shannon@SewSweetCottage
Deny
I am totally in love with the buffet and the color! I am getting ready to finish up something in that color as well..I must say I felt a little intimidated by the color, just alone make a really strong statement. I like the little distressed it, it looks complete like that! Great job!
Raysha
I love it! I have been wanting a buffet for an entertainment center for a long time. I love the hidden compartment for your cable box.
http://lexmallabooks.com/
Serena
Looks great!! I wouldn't have thought twice about slapping some paint on the mamma jamma. Lol. I recently scored an awesome vintage buffet from the thrift store that I plan to use for the same purpose as a TV stand. And it has tons of storage for the kids stuff!
If you want to see a pic of it, check my blog and click on the tab "Upcoming Projects." The buffet is there, along with all my other thrift store goodies just screaming for paint and fabric! Lol
Serena
http://www.ThriftDiving.com
Serena
Oh, and I meant to add, I paid $70 for my buffet and hauling costs, and I was going to resell it on Craigslist "as is" without paint and stuff, and someone offered me $180 for it!! Whoa! But I fell in love with it and couldn't think to sell that baby!!! Lol
debwallace5508
I think you are Insane-ly Talented. Great Job, don't you love it when a plan comes together.
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper
fabulous! i love the color! it's gorgeous!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper
fabulous! i love the color! it's gorgeous!
Camille
would you mind shooting me an email with what color of yellow paint you used? Thanks! camillelindquist@gmail.com
Camille
would you mind shooting me an email with what color of yellow paint you used? Thanks! camillelindquist@gmail.com
Lolly Jane
Color is Jackson Square by Sherwin-Williams (:
House Crazy in Michigan!
I adore that mustard yellow paint…who would have thought!
I'm about to undertake the restoration of a dressing table to make a office desk. It has sweet curved drawers, lovely legs and a square front that I am not even sure what call it! Best of all, it has original glass nobs to die for!
I'm trying the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the first time. If you care to see the "before" check out my blog smallhouseunderabigsky.wordpress.com
Small House / Big Sky Donna
Carolyn Dodd
I can't believe I found this blog! I don't know if you remember me but I used to be in your ward. I'm happy to be a follower!
tutus
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say fantastic blog!
emily
It looks amazing! Painting it was a great choice! My dream is to one day paint an old upright piano to put in my living room.
Lori
Don’t feel guilty about having painted it. It looks lovely. I would never have painted it personally. My hubby and I like the traditional look. So, your buffet would have been restored at my house along with your cute little trick! Just so you know I also have my Great Grandma’s Buffet. My Grandpa had left an iron on it and it burned right through the one inch thick oak top! It was quite the site when I received it. It has an oak veneer top and it beautiful piece of furniture again! Plus I love the storage it provides! I bet you do too!
Lori recently posted..Ombre Accent Wall
Korrie@RedHenHome
To be honest…I don’t know that I would paint a family heirloom (my mother might kill me)–but I *do* think yours looks amazing!!
Korrie@RedHenHome recently posted..French Country Dining Set
lollyjane
Hey Korrie! I know, difference of opinions, right?? The dark wood was killing the mood in our bright living room. The pop of color is so pretty and reminds me of the sunny personality I’m told my great-grandmother inhibited (:
Kristina
I love how this turned out-and the clever hideaway for your cable box. Mustard yellow has been one of my recent faves for painting furniture-and YES I would have painted over an heirloom (and have done just that). I really don’t get why some people get so upset about painting furniture?? Great job!
Kristina recently posted..Pottery Barn Knock Off Chairs
Lynette
That yellow is a breath of sunshine! My husband loves your hinged drawer. Aren’t you smart!
Lynette @ thistlebleu
michele@hellolovelyinc
just bought a beautiful dress in this shade! love it!
found you via MMS’s party where i’m partying too. would love to have you as a follower.
smiles and happy weekend.
michele
michele@hellolovelyinc recently posted..living room {a new beginning}
Tracie
I think it looks great, and you painted it a nice shade that works with the age of the piece, now had it been neon yellow I might not agree
Marla H.
I totally love it! I would have totally painted it!!!!! I love it!
Tori
I recently inherited some vintage furniture from my inlaws. A dining room suite and a bedroom suite. The furniture is from the late 70′s and has a bit of spanish flair to it. But it’s dark, and it has that ohsowonderful effect of stain splatter that was so popular. It think I might like it as is more if there weren’t those little black splatter spots everywhere. Anyhoo….if I could get away with it, I would absolutely give it all a good coat of paint! Maybe some white. The GINORMOUS china hutch is screaming turquoise at me though. =)
carolann
it’s absolutely beautiful! i love that you kept the top intact to show off its history.
Leslie
I would DEFINITELY paint my grandmother’s buffet if only I had it
I like how you’re using it as a tv stand. I have mine on an old drop-leaf table.
I am currently in the middle of a family room redecoration and have been trying to decide what to do to the table and you have inspired me to paint it! Thank you!
Leslie recently posted..In the Beginning (and a sneak peek)
lollyjane
Glad to hear we’ve inspired you! Good luck, hope it turns out amazing!!
Morgan
So I have this huge buffet that is similar to yours, also being used as a tv stand. I bought it at a thrift store with the precise intent of doing just what you’ve done – painting it and making it beautiful again. It has been two years and I haven’t gotten to it, but your post has inspired me! Thank you for showing me what I need to do. And I love changing the top drawer into a space for the electronics. You’re fabulous!!!
Danielle
You found the perfect color for this! Found you through SAS Interiors! Loving your blog! x