A sideboard is a piece of furniture commonly found in kitchens or dining rooms. It exudes comfort, exactly the one that is felt in a grandmother's house, and not in a modern apartment stuffed with the achievements of furniture production and kitchen appliances.
Buffet - what is it?
Everyday and festive tableware, cutlery, glasses and wine glasses, tablecloths and napkins are stored in the buffet. Most often it consists of 2 parts - a lower pedestal and an add-on in the form of a cabinet with solid or glass doors. The upper part can stand on a tabletop or be mounted on racks. Some models have drawers and shelves for alcohol.
The word buffet is ancient, derived from the French buffet, meaning "table". In Russia, he appeared in the middle of the 18th century, when the Russian aristocracy was rebuilding their usual life in a European way. At the same time, other, previously unfamiliar pieces of furniture and words appeared - whatnot, chest of drawers, dressing table. The buffet became popular and did not lose its position until the 60s of the 20th century, when, following new trends in the design of apartments, they began to get rid of bulky furniture infavor of new lightweight "boxes" made of chipboard. And the area of apartments of that time usually did not allow giving half of the kitchen for this cabinet for storing kitchen utensils.
Currently, the fashion for this piece of furniture is back. New buffets are being made, but old buffets are especially interesting in their spirit.
Interior styles in which a sideboard would be appropriate
For several years now, the fashion for decorating housing in Provence, country and colonial styles has not receded. It is in them, for example, that an old buffet for the kitchen will look very authentic. However, for each of them, you need to choose the appropriate option.
For example, for a colonial style, this piece of furniture made of natural wood, lacquered, with a clearly visible dark wood structure, is suitable. For the country style, all the same applies, but the tree can be used in different species, including light colors. Provence is a piece of furniture painted in pastel shades with a pattern, decoupage, artificially aged furniture.
For each of these styles, you can create an exclusive piece of furniture by donating an old sideboard for restoration.
Changing the buffet in the hands of a professional
There are many workshops specializing in the restoration of antique and vintage furniture. Therefore, most often the easiest option is to give your buffet to them. It is enough for the masters to tell about their expectations from the result and you can be sure that it will not disappoint. Specialists have a special ability and skills when working with antique furniture,they have all the necessary tools and materials for such work. All this gives confidence that the old sideboard will not be spoiled. Natural wood furniture is expensive, it is better to entrust its alteration to professionals. In the event that the old sideboard for the kitchen is also rare, this is a must.
But with all the advantages of furniture restoration in the workshop, there is one big disadvantage - the price for this service is quite high. Not everyone wants or can afford it. In this case, there is the option of restoring an old buffet on your own.
Do-it-yourself sideboard restoration
As we have already found out, the cost of restoration in the workshop is usually quite high. If it is not possible to allocate a budget for this, or the buffet itself is cheaper than the services for its restoration, you can turn on your imagination and remember school labor lessons.
First of all, we need to decide in what style we want to get an updated old sideboard and evaluate its condition. The list of necessary tools and materials will depend on this.
If the sideboard is made of natural wood and well preserved, you can remove the varnish with a grinder or sandpaper. The surface must be brought to a smooth state with the help of skins of different grain sizes. After that, the sideboard can be stained to change color or acrylic varnish can be applied in several layers. The result is a buffet in country or colonial style.
Another way to restore the sideboard by yourself
If you are a style fanprovence or vintage, it is worth using a different technique. Since the furniture used in these interiors is usually light pastel colors, you need to stock up on paint, brushes, rollers and other necessary tools, based on the chosen technique. You can decorate the finished sideboard with a pattern or decoupage. To do this, you should purchase stencils or napkins for decoupage in advance. Another option is a freshly painted, but artificially aged sideboard using the craquelure technique. This also looks great. The technology of work is approximately the same as in the first case: first, the old paint or varnish is removed, the surface is polished, and then covered with paint and varnish. If there is a desire to apply a pattern, then this must be done before varnishing the sideboard.
There are many ways to restore antique furniture, you can choose according to your taste, skill and wallet.
Where can I get a makeover buffet?
Happy are those lovers of antique furniture who inherited it. Others can only get a rare item by purchasing it. The antique buffet, which starts at 15,000 rubles, can be affordable for many lovers, you just need to set your sights and look.
