The One With The Beast

No, I'm not referring to Copper or that horror movie about a giant squid. (Anyone else see that TV movie? Its like Jaws - but with a ginormous squid. My dad thought it was an appropriate movie to show us kids and then tell us that such an animal exists. As he explained it, "you'd hope that the claws on the tentacles would kill you before you got to its mouth.")

Anyway, our current beast is not an animal, but instead, a new buffet table for our dining room. Technically its not new - just new to us - since its from the the swap meet. So, its in need of some personalization. But before I reveal the beast, I thought I'd share our shopping/thought process of deciding on a buffet.

Our current favorite design and look has been this table from Cost Plus World Market. We like the wine bottle rack and the rustic color. But we weren't ready to fork over $350 for it since its not a necessity- just something we want for looks and storage.

So, I've been scouring Craigslist for a cabinet that we could makeover for around $100 or less - preferably something $75 or lower. One came up with clean, simple lines like the Cost Plus World Market one (but without the wine rack) and for only $50! I emailed the listing and unfortunately was told that the item was no longer for sale.

Next day, same buffet, same seller is listed on Criagslist for $100! Totally annoyed, but willing to spend a little more (but not give in completely), I offer $80 and a pick-up that evening. Of course it's already sold ($100 was a good price), but I was not about to give in to that finicky seller.

So, we headed to the swap meet the next weekend and amazingly enough had our pick of TWO buffets! The first one looked kind of like the one below - a little retro and mid-century looking, but with nice clean lines. It was in decent condition and the right size. We almost bought it on the spot, but figured we should finish our lap of the swap meet.

Then we came across the beast.


Let's be honest, its got a totally over-the-top, antique, gaudy look with those handles and design, but for some reason it spoke to us. It's half a foot longer than the other one we saw at the swap meet, definitely heavy (better wood/construction) and absolutely crazier looking than the other one. But we figured we'd go for it and try to make it our own. (You know we're all about taking crazy things in and making them our own - a la Copper Kate)

Plus a $40 price tag means we could always sell it later without any major damage to our wallets. (Take that "$50 to $100 Craiglist buffet"!)

Next step is deciding what to do with it. We like the color of the buffet (kind of like the World Market buffet), but with that design, it seems too old and out of place in our dining room. So, we're thinking it needs a fun, fresh color to make it a little more modern. Here are some of the contenders with pictures to give you an image of what it could be:

{Apple Green}

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{Mustard Yellow}

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{Navy Blue}

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Right now, the navy is my favorite, but the yellow could be cool too. I'm thinking of new handles and hinges, but Brad thinks we could repaint the current ones. Also, a darker color, like black or charcoal gray are always possibilities. What are some of the general thoughts/consensus? Is there a favorite color? Is it too big compared to the dining table? Or just too ugly?

This thing is seriously huge and heavy (my arms were sore for a week), so I only plan on moving it back and forth from the garage one more time - so it better be the right color.