DIY Pottery Barn Knock-Off | 80’s Buffet Restyle

Hello friends! Can you believe it’s already November? The weather is starting to cool down here, so I’m taking every opportunity to stay warm in my paint studio. I picked up this 80’s buffet from the ReStore and my first thought – Pottery Barn Black Finish. The shape, style and existing stain are all perfect for a Pottery Barn knock-off!  If you’re a fan of this popular black distressed look, be sure to read on because today I’m sharing 5 DIY tips that make recreating this dramatic finish a whole lot easier!

Here’s a peek at the before, during and after. This buffet also came with a top hutch but I decided not to use it for this restyle. It will come in handy for something else down the road.

(This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure here.)

SUPPLIES:

• Furniture to Restyle
• Quality Black Paint (I used General Finishes Lamp Black)
• Paint Brush and/or Roller
• Sand Paper
• Stain (I used Minwax Gunstock)
• Q-Tips & Shop Towels
• Topcoat for protection (I used Annie Sloans’ Black Wax for the body and Poly for the top)

5 DIY TIPS FOR A KNOCK-OFF POTTERY BARN BLACK FINISH:

1. PICK THE RIGHT PIECE

The shape and style of the piece of furniture you pick will make a big difference. Solid wood pieces that have an existing warm stain (even the outdated orange stain on this 80’s piece) work really well. It saves a lot of time when you don’t have base coat with stain.

2. DO NOT USE PRIMER

Primer aids in adhesion and stops bleed-through and stains. The latter is helpful when painting with light paint colors. But when painting a black distressed finish, the last thing you want to see when you start sanding is a white primer underneath! This can ruin the entire look so here are a few options…As long as your piece is properly cleaned, prepped with a light sanding (220 grit), and a quality paint is used, primer is not needed. I didn’t use any on this piece and it turned out perfect. If you decide to use a primer, a tinted primer could be purchased so no white shows through after sanding. The last option to avoid using primer is to use a chalk or mineral paint where no priming is necessary.

3. SAND BETWEEN COATS

To get this distressed Pottery Barn Knock-Off Finish, sanding in between each coat is key.While I was painting, I painted some areas with a lighter hand and then sanded these areas back a little more aggressively. The goal is to reveal some of the original stain while the majority of the piece remains a rich opaque black.

4. SPOT TREAT BARE WOOD WITH STAIN

Unless you sand back with a super light hand, you may find that some areas have been sanded back to bare wood. Really easy to do on the corners and edges like I did below.

This is a simple fix with a matching stain and a Q-Tip. I dipped the Q-Tip into the stain and only applied it to the raw wood areas. I let it sit for a minute and then wiped it off with a shop towel and let it dry. This step is done after you’ve applied and sanded your last coat of paint but before you topcoat.

5. BLACK WAX FINISH & TOPCOAT

To get a rich black on black Pottery Barn Finish, black wax works amazing.For extra durability on the top of this buffet, I used General Finish High Performance Poly. For the entire body, I used Annie Sloan’s Black Wax. Any black wax will give an added layer of black sheen.

Feel free to pin this project and if you have any questions, ask away. 🙂