Empire-Red Buffet

By Sandy Roe, Artistic Designer at Sandy Roe, Artistic Designer in Medford, WI.

Empire buffet was purchased at a discount from the local antique shop.  It had substantial damage both in veneer as well as a huge gouge out of the bottom edge of one of the larger drawers.  I chose to use Tuscan Red General Finishes paint for my base. Then, I layered in Patina Green as well as Olde Century brand "Firethorn" and distressed back - some all the way to the original wood stain leading to yet another hue of "orange."  First time using a patterned roller from Artistic Painting studio, I layered that on the Tuscan Red drawer faces using General Finishes Dark Chocolate.  Again, distressing back the complete design as I wanted to achieve that worn-away and well-loved look to this piece.  I followed that with a custom-designed stencil also done in dark chocolate and somewhat distressed back.  Dry-brushing, I added some more Patina Green to accentuate the curves on the buffet.  General Finishes High-Performance top coat in flat sheen was then applied with use of a foam brush, sandiing between the mulitple layers - especially the top where there will be more use.  

Products Used

  • General Finishes High-Performance Top Coat (flat)
  • GF Tuscan Red
  • GF Patina Green
  • GF Dark Chocolate
  • Olde Century Firethorn
  • Patterned Roller (Artistic Painting Studio)
  • Custom Designed stencil

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