Nick and I always discuss purchases beforehand… even the smallest things. But when when I saw this dining set for sale on craigslist while Nick was at work, I knew I needed to act fast before someone else snatched it up. Priced at a mere $25, it wouldn’t last long. We’re talking an original vintage 50’s dining set y’all. (actual craigslist pic below)
I had a lot of guilt about it buying this without Nick’s knowledge, and knew he would be more irritated by the idea of it taking up room in the garage. To add insult to injury, the clouds parted when I stumbled upon this MATCHING 50’s buffet at a garage sale a couple days later.
Miraculously, he was pretty excited about the full dining set and how great the condition of everything was (SCORE!). Of course even though the chairs were fairly sturdy, he still felt so inclined to reinforce them. Any excuse to use his Kreg Jig me-thinks. Here‘s an in-depth tutorial on reinforcing wobbly dining chairs.
NOTE: these chairs (and the table for that matter) were in ROUGH condition with huge gouges and even random nail holes and such. We completely respect the nature of mid-century furniture, but this one was in bad enough shape that we just wanted to make it usable again. Please no hate mail from the Mid Century purists!
The cushion fabric was DISGUSTING, and there was almost no padding. We dropped those suckers like a cheating husband on a hot summer’s day… (WHAT?).
I wanted to stay true to the 50’s vibe by reupholstering the chairs with a fabric that had a vintage feel to it. Yet I still wanted it to feel modern and be versatile and neutral enough to fit in almost any home (cause we’re SELLING these suckers!). I ended up choosing this Joel Dewberry herringbone fabric purchased here
We picked up some new foam and knocked these suckers out during the girls’ afternoon nap! For a step-by-step tutorial on upholstering dining chairs, check out this post.
It seemed natural to want to dramatically change the appearance of the dining set/buffet with a fresh coat of paint… but after much deliberation we decided to just restore to wood to it’s original finish. Mid-century/modern furniture is one of those styles that truly seems best left alone.
Rustoleum has a product called Cabinet Transformations that’s meant to bring back the deep luster and shine of your kitchen cabinets without sanding or pre-treating in any way, but we decided… why not use it on furniture? It takes dull/scratched surfaces and brings it back to life, diminishing imperfections. PERFECT for what we’re needing!
Here’s the original dull finish.
And then we used the 3-part Cabinet Transformation system (which we’re totally NOT getting paid to discuss… it just rocks).
I lined the drawers of the buffet using leftover fabric from the chair cushions. For a detailed tutorial, see this post.
This dining set doesn’t have the most dramatic before/after since we chose to let it rock it’s original mid-century vibe, but we think that the rich woodgrain and whimsical fabric will make this set a great addition to anyone’s dining room!
And here’s some money shots!
So what do you think? Would you have painted it? Or do you agree that mid-century furniture looks best as-is? Do you ever buy things without your spouse’s knowledge and feel instant regret? Let’s be honest.
Where did you find the original pulls for the Broyhill Sculptra buffet you refinished?
They were still on the buffet when we bought it. We got so lucky, huh?
I kid you not, my dad has this dining set from when he was in his 20s and I am currently restoring it as well! I got inspiration from this post on the upholstery choices.
That’s crazy! It’s such a pretty piece isn’t it?! Good luck with your transformation!!
What color Cabinet Transformations did you use?
My set, bought by my parents in 1956, has metal (brass caps on the chair legs. The finish is discolored and rough-looking. How did you handle this on your set? Were you able to rejuvenate the caps? Or did you replace them? If replaced where could I find caps?
Hey Heather! We were lucky enough that our metal caps on the legs were in good condition. I’m not sure where you would find replacements, but you could check a local salvage yard perhaps? There may be a product out there that would clean them up nicely though. I would do some googling. 😉
I love what you did here. I have a similar piece. Can you provide more info on the restoleum product and your three part process? You just sort of breezed through that IMPORTANT part on this post. Maybe you have another link…
Unfortunately, it’s been 4 years since we wrote this post, and they have changed the way they manufacture and label the Transformation product, and I no longer know which color is the one we used. And I was fairly new to blogging and wasn’t as thorough at explaining my process. I’m so sorry! I just don’t remember all the details of this furniture restoration. If I were you, I would have your local Sherwin Williams color-match a stain for you!
This is my DREAM SET. I have been looking everywhere for this dresser/buffet for my living room to sit in front of a navy blue wall. And the chairs would have really brought it home. ALAS!! I will resurrect this old post anyway to say NICE JOB!!
Looks great! Which color did you use for the cabinet transformation?
Unfortunately, it’s been 4 years since we wrote this post, and they have changed the way they manufacture and label the Transformation product, and I no longer know which color is the one we used. If I were you, I would have your local Sherwin Williams color-match a stain for you!
Does anyone have any info on refurbishing some Broyhill Saga chairs? On mine, the tops finish has rubbed off, it doesn’t look or feel like wood, not sure how to treat it?
I keep stumbling this page so I am going to comment :). I love the fabric you chose and I found similar on spoonflower. I was just looking for how new fabrics look on dining chairs. I have the Broyhill Saga. I don’t have a problem with using the cabinet restoration but I am so happy you didn’t paint it. You did a beautiful job. I tried just using steel wool on mine and it wasn’t sufficient. I lightly sanded with a fine grit sandpaper 220 and the veneer is in tact. Next I’m going to have Sherwin Williams custom tint a stain for me. Then I will put new fabric on the chairs. Maybe the a coral chevron! http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1843764-chevron-coral-by-misstiina
Ooo I love that coral chevron!
I just bought a buffet similar to yours but mine has the sliding doors in the middle. I thought it wasn’t real wood because it was marked down front $35 to $10!!! But it would be a perfect piece for my son’s TV/X-Box/entertainment stuff. When we went to pick it up it weighed well over 100 lbs! Now trying to decide if it stays as is or getting chalk painted….or maybe really glossy.
Oooo! If it’s genuine mid-century, I wouldn’t paint it! It might be worth a LOT of money! 🙂
I think you did a wonderful job and let’s be honest you have a rocking sense of humor! I actually read everything, normally I just skim through. 🙂
PAINT IT! It should be illegal even to ask!!!!!!!
Hi!
What you did with the dining set and buffet looks wonderful! I stumbled upon your site doing some research on how to restore a mid century dining set. I just bought a set similar to yours and have some chairs that are a little wobbly and was wondering if I could get some information on how to reinforce my chairs. It would be much appreciated, thank you!
Hi Sarah… you’re in luck! We JUST did a tutorial on reinforcing dining chairs. Here’s the link!
https://realitydaydream.com/2014/08/how-to-stabilize-reinforce-dining-chairs.html
I would love more info on making chairs sturdy please! We just bought a table and six chairs to refinish! They are pretty sturdy, but I intend on keeping them for as long as possible! They are already 30 years old!
Hi Amanda! We’re actually planning on putting together a tutorial on stablizing chairs soon! Stay tuned!
This set is beautiful (and $25?? wha?) but I seem to be the only person HORRIFIED that you would take a Kreg jig to it. Plus, that cabinet transformations stuff was not necessary to restore the wood (and could possibly be harmful). Some #0000 steel wool and teak oil would have been a better wood cleaner/conditioner. Honestly, I really don’t like leaving a less that encouraging comment (because, YAY, you didn’t paint it) but there seem to be a lot of people who follow what you do but I urge you and them to look up more appropriate MCM restoration techniques so you don’t do more harm than good. Of course, if you don’t really care about the original heritage of the piece and just want a quick fix (and not all MCM style furniture is fantastic quality and worth saving forever of course) then I guess that wouldn’t matter. I am just worried someone might have a valuable piece and if they did what you did it would destroy the integrity of the piece. Again, I am really not trying to be a troll but just worried others will do this to a really valuable piece of furniture. Kindest regards.
I agree with you about keeping MCM pieces true to they’re philosophical history. And, Bethany, your instinct was right on! I’m pretty sure those pieces were talking to you. Most people don’t have any idea about furniture history, it’s worth or perhaps, even care. Those of us enthusiast, furniture historians or geeks wince a bit when we see “make overs”- especially bad ones.
I was lucky enough to recently have lunch with Ansel Adams daughter. She told me that Ansel wanted to switch entirely to color photography towards the end of his life. Hearing stories like that make you wonder how any late designers philosophies may have evolved if only they were alive today. Would the Eames applaud Herman Miller for painting their LWC chairs lemon yellow? Will will never know. It is great color, after all. 🙂
Whoa Shelly! That’s deep! A very fascinating thought process… thanks for sharing! We love this piece that we transformed, and know that it’s not for everyone. 🙂
Why in the world would you even consider painting mcm pieces? That is completely against what the whole design movemeny was against…
We’re not familiar with design movements and the history behind furniture. We were pretty proud of the fact that we knew it was MCM! We’ve been known for our furniture-painting in the past, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to paint this one because it looked best as-is in our opinion.
Can you tell me which color you used from the Cabinet Trans series? I’m going to use on a Danish credenza of a similar color and I think whatever you chose would be perfect.
Thank you.
Hi Constance! We used Tint #3 from these options:
http://rustoleumtransformations.com/woodrefinishing/colors.php
Looks beautiful and I fully agree that wood is a million times better than painted!
Soooooo beautiful! I love it!
I am so excited. I found the exact buffet in Tn for my son’s apartment. $35!!! He was going retro so we’ve had a blast thrift shopping. I was super excited to see you had the buffet on your website. Yes, it would be a shame to paint some of the mid century pieces especially when the pieces are beautiful solid wooden pieces. We are using our son’s as a dresser for his bedroom. His is missing the wooden molding on the center doors. I treated it with Formsby’s scratch repair and its luster is beautiful for now. Do you know then manufacturer of the piece? I’ve been searching and haven’t fond anything.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful refinishings.
We weren’t sure on the manufacturer either unfortunately. But we love how much character it has for sure! So fun that you found its twin!
The buffet is Broyhill Sculptra, and I live in Iowa and would like to purchase it. Tremendously relieved you did not paint this piece and destroy its gorgeous, walnut beauty.
Just found your site and I love this post! We have a mid-century dining set from my grandmother that , I’m sad to say, the kids have done a bit of a number on. Like Erich, I’d love to know if Cabinet Transformations might work for us- we mostly have water marks and some resulting dis-coloration. Also would like to hear more about reinforcing chairs with this Kreg Jig that you speak of. My husband has a lot of tools, but I don’t think he has that. Thanks so much for this post and all of the info!
I’m not sure that the Cabinet transformations would do much good on water marks. That might be something where you need to strip it and re-stain. A little extra work, but it’ll be worth it!
I’ll tell Nick to get on that chair-reinforcing-tutorial!
Thanks for the great post. My wife and I have a very similar dining set that came with the matching buffet, hutch and two rolling standalone cabinets. The wood is shot on the table’s surface, and the chairs have rattan backing that could go at any time. We’ve been pondering using a belt sander to strip the table top and restaining it a matching shade. Do you think that would work, or would it be better to try the three-step thing you guys did? Also, how do you clean rattan and is there any way to reinforce/replace it? And speaking of reinforce, I’d love to read an article on reinforcing chairs (what’s a Kreg Jig anyway?).
HI! We used the #3 Medium tint on this set. Good luck! Send pics when you're done!
Can I ask what color you used if the cabinet transformation? We picked up a $20 50s desk today that looks about the same shade as your before. Thanks!
I would like info on making chairs sturdier!
Hey. Beth, question… I have a table just like that but the top is like a Vaneer Formica , and the leaves are shiny but the rest is dull prob from bei g wiped down over the last 50 years. Anyways is that product good for that or just on raw wood? Hope that all made sense.
WOW I love the transformation. Just WOW and I wish that I could find something similar. Love the fact that you did not paint it and left that beautiful wood. Can hardly wait for your next project.
We just couldn't bring ourselves to paint it! It just felt so WRONG! 🙂 It was definitely out of our comfort zone, but I'm glad we went with our gut. 🙂
Haha, love that! Somebody should totally name their blog "Junk in my Trunk' 🙂
Hi Vicki! We can definitely do that! I can't promise how soon, but I'll put a bug in Nick's ear about it. He took pics of his process, so it's just a matter of him sitting down to write the tutorial. 🙂
I totally bought my whole house while my husband was at work…whoopsie. it didn't go over too well, so now I try to ask. I try so hard. but sometimes chairs just ended up in my trunk…
Also, love the look of the whole set. I'm glad you restored instead of painting
Looks great. I do agree sometimes you need to honor the piece and it's history. I guess I'm just so used to you painting stuff, I was a little disappointed. Still love them. Someone will be happy with them.
I have a dining table with six chairs that is at least 60 years old. My husband bought it for my birthday a few years ago from a retired farmer and his wife. The chairs are kind of rickety, and I worry that one of them will break.
I would LOVE to learn how to make the chairs sturdy so that I feel comfortable having anyone sit in them. I love using my table, and I miss it.
Thanks! LOVE your site!
Vicki
I'm really surprised to see that you hadn't painted it. It's in such gorgeous condition that I can see why you didn't. Pretty! And chair makeovers are the easiest transformations to turn a room around. Great find!
Serena
Thrift Diving
I'm so glad you left it! It's gorgeous!
Love the fabric print too… and no, no husband consent under a certain price point 🙂
Seriously IN LOVE with that buffet. Damn me not living in Iowa! And swoon over the fabric! You guys find the greatest stuff!
We actually bought the fabric from an Esty seller… who advertised the fabric as upholstery fabric. It seems quite sturdy, but who knows. The link I provided in this post is one I searched for because I knew people would ask where I got the fabric, and this Etsy seller no longer has this print in stock.
so… you reupholstered the chairs in a quilting fabric?? hardly seems sturdy enough…
Yummm!!!
Love the set, and the buffet. I have a weak spot for mid century furniture, and have a few pieces in my house. You did an awesome job.
I stumbled upon your blog recently (thanks, Pinterest!), and now am totally hooked.
No way! It has so much character… freaking love it. The cabinet transformations is meant to restore the wood to it's original stain shade, so it probably wouldn't work to try and make it darker. However I'm sure the ARE products out there that might be able to achieve what you're wanting without having to strip the whole thing down. I'm just not familiar.
Here's the link to the cabinet transformations:
http://rustoleumtransformations.com/woodrefinishing/colors.php
If you make a move on that buffet, send pics when you're done!
HA! Sounds like we have a similar relationship with our spouses!
TWELVE DOLLARS? Shut the front door.
You best send pics when you're done with it!!
Hehe… it's ok! You're entitled to your own opinion. I'm thinking it would have looked great painted too, but for some reason we felt like we should honor the history of this piece… especially since it was in SUCH good condition!
I had the same thought about adding some flair to the buffet, but I really wanted them to look like a 'set' and felt like I would need to paint the table too. I'm hoping the fabric lined drawers will give it that extra special feel, since there's no decorative painting. 🙂
Ooo VINTAGE, ORANGE, and SENTIMENTAL are the best combination ever! Lucky!!
Beth: It is beautiful. I have always loved this style of furniture. It is so simple and clean. You and Nick did a beautiful job of restoring the set. I would never have painted this style of furniture. I think it ruins the looks of it! And yes, I buy all kinds of stuff without my husbands consent. After being married 39 years, I don't feel I need to! Besides if I did ask, he couldn't make a decision to save his life!! And by the way, I have a orange two cushion Danish style chair that would fit in with that set! Was my Grandma K's and I have always loved it!!!!
I looove these. I love me some painted furniture, but I'm so glad you left the dining set natural! The buffet… I may have added a little paint, but I really like it as-is, too! 😀
love mid-century no I wouldn't have painted it. I sold my grandmother's recently saying it was just not right for the house we are in. hmmm.
esp. love the chair backs in this set and love how you carried the chair fabric over to the drawer liners. well done. ~jb
Pretty…..great buy and update!
Done 🙂
Oh no, I'm the only person who thinks you should of painted them!!!! Love the seat covers. I may need to purchase that fabric.
Thanks, Beth! Actually, I do have a question. I was looking online for more info on the Cabinet Transformation. Is this a paint product? Several (nearly all) of the before/afters online are different colors. We still want the grain and original color to come through.
Heck, if I waited for hubby's approval, I'd never get anything!! I just bought a mid-century desk/hutch at a garbage sale for $12. I'm not going to paint it, but I am thinking of doing 2-tone stain…
I love how that dining set turned out!
-andi
I never have trouble with the site being slow…hmm
The haven't-gotten-hubby-approval guilt is the worst! I picked up a free vanity off craigslist because it was the perfect size but waited with bated breath for my husband to say it was ok to live in the house until we actually tackle the bathroom update (since we have a 1 bedroom and already have kitchen cabinet uppers sitting in the living room, he would be justified in saying no).
Out in California, we would die for that set in that condition. So glad you didn't paint it (even though I am a furniture painter)!! Good job:)
Oh my gosh, I have that same buffet! I have been thinking of staining it darker but am scared to mess with it because it's in really good condition. Does the Cabinet Transformation come in different shades? Did you do anything with the handles?
Love it, no paint, good as is. thanks for the tip on the cabinet Transformation. I amy try that. Thanks for sharing. mary in NY
Wow! I love this! Such a great find and I'm glad you left it to its MCM awesomeness. Amazing!
Danielle
WOW!!!! how lucky to find the matching set! love it! and yes i think it looks best just cleaned up and loved! good job guys!!
Such great finds!!! So glad you didn't paint these beauties, they are fantastic as is 🙂
That's exciting! And I definitely can relate with wanting to honor the heritage and sentimentality of a piece.
Agreed!
You're the first person that's said something about our site being slow and glitchy. Would you prefer truncated posts?
Glad you love this project!
This is awesome! We JUST picked up my grandma's old table and chairs from the 1950s yesterday! It reminds me of this picture, only a little more ornate. It's in perfect shape and super sturdy. We're leaving it as is for now, but the chairs have leather cushions. I'm not digging them, but I feel like I can't change them just yet. I feel like I need to honor the pieces that five generations have eaten around for awhile first. 🙂 I LOVE the blue you used. It looks great!
Email us… sawdustandembryos@gmail.com
Noooooo don't paint!! That is part of the enduring beauty of the mid century. It is fabulous as it is!
Your site is really slow and glitchy. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but is a hassle to scroll down and it take so long. Keep up the good work on the projects! This dining set is a great find! I love the fabric you chose!!
Email us… sawdustandembryos@gmail.com
What perfect timing!! Let me know if you have any specific questions… and definitely send pics when you're done!
I haven't been able to luck out with furniture lately (we're in CR/Marion). I never feel guilty because quite frankly my hubby could care less.
And I've been thinking long & hard about using the cabinet transformarion in my kitchen. So happy to hear you guys like it.
Hehe! Glad you agree! 🙂
Oh, I would DEFINITELY not paint it! Midcentury furniture is better left as-is. You did such a great job restoring it. It's so juicy! I'd eat it right up!
Wish I lived closer! I LOVE this set!
So…how much? 🙂
Beautiful, and well timed! We just picked up 6 similar chairs yesterday for our table. They are in very good condition, but I think our cushions are trash. They're crunchy feeling. And the plug for Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformation is perfect, too! I love original wood and if it salvageable, I say "No Paint!"
Amazing!! Is this for sale or is it already spoken for? I might be VERY interested 🙂
Wow! I adore this. Can't believe your selling it. It's so fabulous.
I agree, NO paint, and I paint everything.
~FringeGirl
That is a SUPER cool set, Beth!