White Sideboard Buffet With Farmhouse Style

Sometimes just a wee bit of paint is all a piece of furniture needs to be transformed. Case in point, this beech wood cabinet with a Simmons Juvenile Furniture makers stamp suggests it is for a child's room. But with the two deep drawers and middle cupboard what I saw was a whitewashed media cabinet or white sideboard buffet with farmhouse style.

The light blonde wood in excellent condition is the perfect candidate for a whitewash paint finish. Think of pickling stain but with a lovely matte chalk paint patina. I chose a highly transparent finish with just one coat of paint but it can be as opaque as you like with layers of white paint wash and I show you how easy it is.

White Sideboard Buffet With Farmhouse Style



White Sideboard Buffet With Farmhouse Style


It is Furniture Fixer Upper Day where six talented furniture painting friends come together once a month to breath new life into a piece of furniture. You can find links to the other makeovers at the bottom of this post. Last month I shared a tutorial on how to paint Arborite with my Retro Dining Table Makeover.

We are saddened to announce that our sweet friend, Larissa has left the group to pursue other blogging ventures. She will be missed but this isn't goodbye because we can still catch all her DIY adventures at Prodigal Pieces.

We are pleased to welcome our newest member, the very talented Denise from Salvaged Inspirations. If you are not familiar with her blog, you are going to LOVE her furniture makeovers!

Back to the sideboard buffet makeover. This is what it looked like before...

White Sideboard Buffet Before

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. At no cost to you, we receive a small commission if you make a purchase.

I had a clear vision for this makeover going in. Paint the cabinet pure white with heavy distressing, stain the top a medium brown, add these awesome Farmhouse decor transfers on the knobs and part of this furniture transfer to the front of the cabinet door. Sadly, they couldn't be shipped on time so onto plan B.

Whitewashed Sideboard Buffet

I added a surprise pop of color to the interior by painting the cupboard Upper Canada green. I used a mineral chalk paint which has a built-in sealer so no clear coat is required and it'll cure rock hard within 21 days.

Farmhouse White Sideboard Buffet

Part of plan B was to add pretty handpainted floral knobs to the top drawers that picked up the green of the painted interior. I decided not to use them because they took away from the simple farmhouse charm. Instead, I kept the original wood knobs and painted them white and distressed to match the whitewash finish.

Whitewashed Farmhouse Sideboard Buffet

Unfortunately, the beech veneer top was a lot worse for wear and couldn't be stained. There was some uneven coloring in the veneer so I couldn't give it a transparent whitewash like the rest of the cabinet either.

Onto plan C, an opaque whitewash with four coats of paint and distress the heck out of it with a mouse sander.

Dining Room White Sidebosrd Buffet

I added Farmhouse typography onto the top but instead of a furniture transfer, I went all old school. More about that further down in the post.

Handpainted Farmhouse White Sideboard Buffet

Here's a close up of what the transparent whitewash looks like on the lower cabinet and the opaque whitewash on the top.

Distressed Whitewashed Sideboard Buffet

Part of the deciding factor for giving this piece a farmhouse style makeover was the skirt. Even though I believe it would be considered a craftsman or mission style base to me it had farmhouse potential.

White Sideboard Buffet Cabinet

The chicken wire frame sitting on top of the farmhouse sideboard is another DIY project. You can see how I made it here in my repurposed window message board post.

The little girl holding a chicken was painted by my Mom several years ago and is one of my cherished possessions. She was a landscape artist and rarely painted portraits so this is one of just a few.

Farmhouse Style White Sideboard Buffet

Here's how I did it...

Prep the cabinet for paint

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this is the most dreaded step (at least for me) when doing furniture makeovers BUT it is one of the most important for a long-lasting paint finish. You'll find many helpful tips in my How To Prep Furniture For Chalk Paint A-Z tutorial.

How to whitewash with paint

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Old White that I had on hand. When doing a paint wash the more water to paint, the lighter the wash. Typically a 1:1 ratio is used but I thinned mine to the consistency of milk. Sorry, I didn't measure but probably closer to a 2:1 ratio.

You can apply it with a lint-free rag (old t-shirt) or brush it on like I did. Wipe the excess with a lint-free rag before the paint dries. For larger pieces, work in sections. In spots where I got more paint, I used a fine mist spray bottle and just moved the paint with the brush to thin it out.

Like I mentioned earlier in the post, I only applied one coat of whitewash but on the top, I applied four coats.

Farmhouse Sidebosrd Buffet Painted White And Green

Distressed farmhouse finish

After the paint dried I distressed along the edges and around the drawer fronts with 150 grit sandpaper where it would normally age over time. I also gave the area around the knobs a worn finish. On the top, I went crazy with a mouse sander, especially along the edges and corners.

Stencil and graphic add more farmhouse charm

Saddened I couldn't get the farmhouse furniture transfer on time but determined I would add farmhouse typography to the top, first I used this grain sack stripe stencil with pewter grey chalk paint to stencil down the middle of the buffet top.

Farmhouse Sideboard Buffet Grain Sack Stencil

Next, I found this Huge Sign Making Bundle with 40 different design sets on Etsy (not an affiliate link) and printed the Welcome To Our Farmhouse graphic in png format and set to print on legal size bond paper. Instead of including step-by-step instructions on how I applied it to the sideboard, you can find a detailed tutorial in my Graphite Paper Image Transfer Technique post.

Painted with a script liner art brush and Hurricane dark grey chalk paint. Once the paint dried I distressed both the grain sack stripe and graphics with 220 grit sandpaper for a timeworn appearance.

Farmhouse Sidebosrd Buffet Graphic Transfer

Protect the paint with wax and clear coat

The cabinet base and drawer fronts are protected with white wax applied with a wax brush and buffed with my go-to car detailing wool buffing pad (any of these would work). Mine is meant to be used with a drill but I hand buff instead.

White Sideboard Buffet White Waxed

For added protection on the top, I used a water-repellent clear coat tinted white, thanks to a genius tip I learned from Kandice Just The Woods, my fellow Furniture Fixer Upper friend.

White Sideboard Buffet Tinted Top Coat

After giving the jar a good shake, I poured some Gator Hide onto a paper plate and mixed about 1/2 teaspoon of whitewash glaze.

Applied with a damp car detailing foam applicator pad (any of these would work) in long even strokes. I applied two coats with a 2-hour dry time between coats.

So what do you think? Would you whitewash wood furniture or is a solid paint color more to your liking?

If you have any questions about this makeover, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

Whitewashed Farmhouse Sideboard Buffet Makeover

Farmhouse White Sideboard Buffet

Please join me to take a look at how my talented friend's transformed these furniture pieces. Press the links below to see the after photos and tutorials.

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Comments

  1. This sideboard is beautiful Marie. Love the "Farmhouse" detail on the top and the surprise pop of color inside is perfection. Your styling and Mums painting caught my eye. She was quite the artist!! Now I know where you get all your creativity from my friend.💕 Pinned! And thanks for the super sweet introduction. So happy to be part of this talented group! XO

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    1. You're welcome, Denise, so happy to have you join our group! I'm glad you like my farmhouse makeover and Mom's painting was the perfect touch to add to the styling of this piece. Seeing it photographed made me appreciate the painting even more. xo

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  2. Marie! This is the perfect refresh for this piece. It's fun and that pop really adds to it. Thank you for the love as well. Hugs!!

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    1. Miss having you in our group, Larissa 😥 So appreciate you stopping by for a visit, thank you! xo

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  3. quite simple looking which i think goes really well with the simple lines of this piece. and i love the stenciled top!

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    1. Thank you so much, Gwen! I'm glad you got my intent for the simplicity of this makeover 😊

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  4. You definitely made this plain jane into a real beauty. The perfect makeover for this one. Love it Marie.

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    1. Thank you so much Kathy! I was bound and determined to give this one Farmhouse style and use up the last of my can of old white paint.

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  5. A little whitewash goes a long way Marie. This piece looks like it was meant to be this way all along.

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    1. I'm so glad you think so, Mary because as soon as I laid eyes on this piece it felt like it was begging for a washed paint finish. Going so transparent was definitely out of my comfort zone and I had to resist adding more layers of paint.

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  6. Marie this is really super cool . I love the finish and that pop of color inside is fun. Looks great.
    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. Thank you Kris, stepped out of my comfort zone on this one! Happy Memorial Day weekend to you. xo

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  7. Wonderful vision for this piece, Marie. The whitewash touches on the body are so perfect. Love the stencil, too. You always do such good stencilling! Congrats!!

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    1. Thank you Susie, I'm glad you like it! Hope it goes to it's forever home soon.

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  8. Marie, I did not expect this farmhouse transformation - I love it! Beautiful job on all of it. I've also been waiting forever on a backordered transfer... (GRRR)

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    1. Thank you very much, Jen! It steered a little off course because of the transfer but I'm happy with the end results. Now I'll have transfers for another makeover. Hope yours comes in soon!

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  9. I like what you did with this piece. Especially the pop of green.

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  10. The heavy distressing on this looks fantastic. As you know I love white everything but the addition of the extra distressing makes it much more modern.

    Pinning.

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    1. Thank you Leanna and for the pin! I would have loved to use the farmhouse furniture transfers but I'm pleased with the results of Plan C in the end. Now I'll have transfers for a future farmhouse makeover.

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  11. That pop of lime green inside is such a lovely surprise and STUNNING!!!! Your makeovers are always so lovely and you really do go that extra mile to make them extraordinary. Pinned

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    1. Well you know how too start a gal's week, Michelle 🤗 Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it and appreciate the pin too. xo

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  12. So cool, Marie! I find myself getting all caught up in the details because I would love to learn how to refinish furniture this way. Your post makes me want to go out and try. Thanks for sharing at Tuesday Turn About!

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    1. Happy to hear my farmhouse sideboard inspired you Crissy! It's such fun watching an old piece of furniture be transformed with just a little paint.

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  13. Oh my goodness, Marie! I love the whitewash and the graphic you added! And you styled it so nicely, too! So glad you shared this on Tuesday Turn About!

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    1. Thank you so much, Julie! I would have loved to have used a furniture transfer on the top but going all old school on the graphic was fun too. I kind of go into a zone when handpainting graphics.

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