Old World Pottery Barn & Arhaus - Inspired Sideboard

Every time I walk into a Pottery Barn or Arhaus furniture store I swoon over the dark reclaimed wood plank farm tables. The wide, worn planks tell a story of hundreds of family dinners.

When I found this sideboard, the size and shape reminded me of those sideboards that sell alongside the farm tables I love so much.

I’m usually modernizing furniture pieces by painting them, but my goal with this piece was to send it from 1970’s country back in time to the 1800’s.

Here’s how the cabinet looked when I found it. The homeowners said it had been in the basement for years so they were ready to get rid of it. They were a little shocked I even wanted it. All they saw was an outdated cabinet covered in scratches and cobwebs.

All I saw was a solid wood sideboard with drawers that slid smoothly, cabinet doors that opened perfectly, and a wide plank top that I could transform into Old World magnificence!

The pine top got sanded down completely in order to remove the deep scratches. It turned out to be in like-new condition.

I actually could have just added a butcher block protective coating and called it a day; but I knew I wanted the base to be black… and a black base with light top was a little too 1990’s for me.

Instead, I added a dark brown Kona color stain then sanded it back so some of the lighter pine showed through. This made the top appear to be perfectly worn.

From there I pulled out a few different metal tools and hammered the bageezers (pronounced with a Boston accent as: bah-jeez-zas) out of it; thus replicating the hundreds of years of use you might find on those wood plank farm tables.

The final top coat was a clear wax. The wax gave the top a dull protective sheen.