coffee bar/baking center part II

Part one of this transformation was all about planning and getting things in place. This part 2 is about the dirty work. Painting,repairing,replacing, and lots of cleaning. Click to continue and see what I’ve been working on and how baking soda came to the rescue!

The mirror is up and secure, I have a new butcher block top, cabinet is painted and sealed, the knobs are refreshed, and the walls are painted. It’s starting to come together. Maybe you still can’t see it, just hang in there. It will all come together, I promise!

Yesterday, I started by cleaning the furniture. As you should always start by doing when getting an old piece of furniture like this. I think that is the first thing that deters people from “junk,” the filth. It won’t hurt anyone to put forth a little elbow grease. Look past the dirt and you may find yourself a little diamond in the rough.

I….No, my husband and his friend….took this piece outside where it was sanded smoothly. After sanding I took a bleach/water mixture and started scrubbing inside and out. After it dried a little (it’s cold, so I figured bringing it back in would be better.) The piece was brought in where I started painting. After the paint dried I sealed it with a wax sealer. Just to be sure this piece was nice and clean I sprinkled the entire insides with baking soda.

Baking soda will not only help clean all of the surfaces, it will deodorize also. I let this sit for 24 hours, used the soda as a scrub, then vacuumed away.

Now that all the dirty work was done it was time to start beautifying the piece. I adored the natural hardware, but it was all gunked up in old paint. There is a little secret to remove old paint from hardware. It’s the easiest and quickest I have found to date. Baking soda! If you fill a large pot with water, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of baking soda to cover the bottom of the pan, start a boil, then add hardware. Allow the hardware to boil in the water until all of the paint has naturally been removed. If there are layers upon layers, pour out your water and start the process over until all of the paint is removed. Using a wire brush, brush away any little bits left over and any surface rust. At this point you can either paint or keep as is.

In my case, I enjoyed the tarnished look, so I left as is.

Next, the top. This will be a place where food will definitely come in contact with this surface. I wanted a new fresh top, but of course, didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I dreamed of a butcher block top. However, that’s just not in my budget. The next best thing: Pine! Pine wood is inexpensive and comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes and cuts, and finishes. Be sure to check out your local lumber store for this inexpensive option.  This piece came unfinished and in the exact size I needed for only $30. With a little sanding and this butcher block sealer I am in love with the look I have achieved.

My husband pre-drilled holes where appropriate, screwed the top to the cabinet. I then went in with wood putty and filled in the holes, sanded after they were dry and sealed the entire piece. With this product it took four coats and lots of drying time. If you have other suggestions, let me know! I do like how it looks and I think with age the look will be even better.

There is still lots more to do to this area. We are going to be adding a shelf above the counter, a towel rack on the underneath of the left side of the counter. We need to install trim, do some finishing touches, and decorate. I hope you join me for part III. Be sure to subscribe below so you can get updates in your in-box.

Click for part I – see what the cabinet, hardware, and walls look liked before and find out why this piece of furniture is special to me.

Related posts:

1. coffee bar/baking center part I
2. ice ice …coffee! Momma’s pick me up iced coffee recipe
3. Union Jack coffee table
4. iced coffee , coffee concentrate, and simple syrup
5. yellow coffee table make-over