Drab to Fab: Buffet cabinet

For the longest time I have admired this room and tried to find a way to incorporate this into my house.  I scored a $25 buffet cabinet back in September from Craiglist and figured it would be the perfect piece to add that POP of color to my drab-ulous hallway and start the wheels turning on the major overhaul and redecorating of my house!!  But before the reveal....here's my story of my first experience re-finishing a piece of furniture....

Oh this buffet...the bane of my existence!!!  This is my first piece that I've ever re-done....so I attempted to gather as much info as possible...but definitely learned through my mistakes.  It took about a month (or more) to finish considering everything was done between naps and after bedtime.

In true Lani fashion, I didn't get the before picture until after I got into it.  So this is how it looked in the beginning.

You totally get the idea, though....I actually thought I did really good by only getting 2 drawers deep before remembering.  Normally it would be much later than this!  So I knew this much...I took all the drawers and doors off, took the hardware off, and sanded everything down., primed and painted.  Although I have no pics...here's some of the mistakes I made:

1) I didn't use a tinted primer.  I primed the piece white, but I should have used a tint as I was using a very royal blue color and the white kept showing through.  I felt like I was doing 500 coats to cover.

2) I did not invest in a quality brush.  Kate over at Centsational Girl recommends using an additive to reduce the visible brush strokes when you paint, but she also suggests getting a good brush.  I got the additive (called Floetrol for latex paints), a cheap brush, and skipped a light sanding in between coats.  Doing all that would have definitely helped reduce those brush strokes.

3) I wasted time painting things that didn't need to be painted: I painted the inside of the cabinets and the tops and bottoms of drawers.  Really.....no need.

4) Because of #1 and #3....my drawers and doors stick:  Yup....they stick.  So I'm expecting some lovely chipping in the summer months when its humid and they stick even more.  JOY!

Although I did make some mistakes...again...my first time doing it!  I can only learn by trial and error!  But I'm happy with the result, none-the-less....and can't wait to apply my new knowledge to my next piece!  Waiting anxiously for the final result?  It's drastic, but cool, hip, funky, and totally me!

Pretty good lookin', huh?  And I think I applied my inspiration pic perfectly.  The color is "Quiet Storm" by Behr, with some white paint I had on hand.  The knobs were a splurge from Anthropologie....but I just LOVED that subtle yet strong pop of Pink.  Now just imagine some gray walls behind it and of course some fabulous accessories on top of it......and no one will ever know its used to store extra diapers, baby wipes, q-tips, and towels!