Restoring a Vintage Built-In

With no money in my pocket and no time for any big projects, I visited my favorite junk haunt a few weeks ago.

I did a loop through the warehouse and through the main store, and all I found was a neat vintage three-dimensional postcard of sponges native to Florida for $2.

It was only a second jaunt through the warehouse that I saw it, covered in all sorts of items, but clearly a built-in.

Shocked at the great price, I snagged it.

We think someone constructed it somewhere between the 1930s and 1950s. Someone (or several people) slapped quite a few coats of paint on it throughout the years, and the warped backing needs to be either removed or replaced.

Because the built-in comes apart in two pieces, I decided to work first on the base so that it can move into its eventual home as soon as possible, putting an end to our current game of furniture musical chairs.

My plan for both the top and bottom is to strip off as much of the paint as possible. I’m imagining a raw wood exterior and sealed back up with wax. I really don’t think I’ll go to the trouble of stripping the inside of the bottom cabinet. While I’ve been able to remove quite a few layers of paint with a heat gun, stubborn bits of paint remain. The process on the whole is time-consuming and really hot in the middle of a Florida summer.

We’re not sure what kind of wood we’re dealing with. I originally thought pine, given that it came out of a central Florida home. But it seems much too dense. Maybe we’ll have a better idea the further we uncover.

After stripping off what I can with the heat gun, I’ll sand it down using a course-grit paper. I’ll finish up with a finer grit paper to even everything back out. Even if some of the original paint flecks remain, the piece will look stunning in my library.

She may not seem like much right now, but I’m hoping elbow grease will make this old girl shine again.

Follow along in stories over on Facebook and Instagram as I share behind-the-scenes work on this built-in.