I hope you haven't ruined that beautiful burled finish!!! Take it to a professional who can obtain the color you want and retain as much of the wood's grain as possible. It is the feature in these pieces.

You seem as though you are a DIY person....

This blog has a tutorial- white wash cedar ceiling planks.

In short... They stained the orangey cedar planks to a brown to neutralize the orange base, then white washed it

Best of luck with your project.

https://www.maisondepax.com/how-to-whitewash-wood/

Check out the Minwax web for different product and colors. I just watched a few that were really informative, especially this six minute demonstration of their product Polyshades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRf_emDug1c

Not every wood piece is meant to be grey. I echo decoenthusiaste, I hope the burled finish isn't damaged beyond repair. I'd consult a professional to see what can be done and not guess at it. It's a lovely piece.

I would contact Houzz guru Beth H. and do whatever she told me to do.

That is (was) a gorgeous piece. I'd do clear shellac (it's the amber/orange variety that makes furniture orangey).

Also, if you make it light and grayish, it's just going to look like you left it out in the sun too long and you're not going to see that fantastic book-matched burl nearly as well.

If you don't think you can match the quality of the original finish/not sure how to get the right tone, take it to a pro. Or at least consult with a pro.

edit: looks a good bit older than 1930s, stylewise.

I've used Tung oil and boiled linseed oil on pieces before. The oils will make furniture go dark fairly quickly and will continue to darken with time but both allow the wood grain to show thru. I also like rub on polyurethane as it prevents the plastic look of brush on poly. My first guess is the wood or wood veneer (hard to tell which it is) is a species with a natural orange tendency. You can always test the finish on a small, out of the way spot. If you do stain you can always use a stain/sealer combination but don't really think it would be good for this particular piece. I'm also wondering if there were ever large metal appliques where the ornate patterns are?

Maybe Beth will respond?

following

Hemp Oil, according to this blogger who values the burled wood

Interesting article,for sure.

https://lostandfounddecor.com/fixing-scratches-in-wood-with-hemp-oil/

This product description from etsy vendor describes what happens to the wood/color when easily applied. Sounds like exactly what you want.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/526620506/fusion-hemp-oil-wood-finish-500-ml-eco?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_a-craft_supplies_and_tools-paints_inks_and_dyes-paint-other&utm_custom1=36c7267d-e084-41b4-add8-1b67d25a0057&utm_content=go_270947675_48850979411_198931289949_pla-296429078099_c__526620506&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh6XmBRDRARIsAKNInDHm0j_mqQZUyaTUxDYkoVcdkEG-LeixBPuK9-NGcKI-z0ASsIOLPkwaAmrFEALw_wcB

I learn something everyday from dilemmas solved.

Guessing by your houzz name: it is time for the herring to run and the gulls” food frenzy. The Brewster Mill herring run is just one of many in my neighborhood. Add to the charm is the beautiful grist mill and antique home on the property. Thought you would enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCD4jnLMaDE

Oil or wax it

Yep should have left it to a pro. That piece is worth having restored by a good cabinet refinisher and pleas no gray or white wash.

Well.....good intentions, but it's now in an unfortunate state. Sanding off a finish usually ruins a piece - at this point just experiment and have some fun with it.

JudyGDesigns, I've never heard of using hemp oil for furniture. I'll have to try it! Thanks for posting the link.

Oh my goodness! I had no idea sanding it down could ruin the burled wood. Why does it ruin it? I'm white as a sheet and sick to my stomach. I thought I was doing a good thing, and had intentions of bringing it new life. The finish was kind of crackled and not so smooth anymore and it had appeared someone attempted to restain (not very nicely) the top and it was a bit mismatched, so I thought I could make it new again by starting over. Thanks for all of your responses and ideas. No gray, got it. I'm going to see if there's pro closeby that can help me restore it.

Norwood Architects - I don't think there were metal appliques where the ornate carvings are, there was no change in color there on the finish or any tell tale signs that something may have been removed from there.

Burled wood has a swirled grain, and you are never to sand across the grains. And burled wood is very rare and usually it is usually a thin veneer. I've never worked with burl wood, but I believe you are supposed to "wet sand" it with oil.

:( Thanks, oh how I wish I knew this before!

The right way is to chemically strip the existing finish off, and pros do it taking off as little as they can layer by layer. The goal is to preserve what's underneath. I've been in the furniture business 33 years now and have seem more old pieces ruined by good intention that have been successfully restored. Sanding is fine for exterior house trim and projects that are not finely crafted, but it creates havoc on nice furniture and must be done carefully and with a plan.

Most ethical pro restorers are not going to want to take this on at this point, because they know what has happened to it. However, you will also find some that will be glad to take your money and tell you they can fix it. So....careful.

My suggestion is to just keep going with what you have and continue to do it yourself. It's not worth investing serious coin in to try to restore, just do the best you can and enjoy the finished result. If I wanted to tackle that at this point I would personally work the sanding to a very fine level, up to about 600 grit wet to get off any swirl marks you may have put into it (this is a lot of hand sanding, going slow). Then use powdered water-based aniline dyes with a 50/50 cut of Orange Shellac (fresh, not canned) and see if I could bring it back that way. Good luck.

Clean up with turpentine and leave as is.

You could paint the top and sides; bring the drawers to a professional.

Or just paint the entire piece.

Your sideboard ia like my grandmother’s dining room set. I don’t think there is any intrinsic value.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Value is in the provenance of the piece.

^^^^ Sacrilege!!

In old wood furniture pieces, the wood itself is often an integral part of the design, like in this piece. Painting over high quality book matched burl is such a philistine thing to do. Just... why??

The sideboard isn’t an antique/authentic piece. These dining room “suites” were mass produced in the early 20th C to resemble Jacobean furniture of the 1600’s. The burl simply is a thin layer of veneer applied over oak, pine or even poplar. It is just one of many, so don’t get sick to your stomach thinking you ruined it. No different from someone 80 years from now deciding to paint a piece from West Elm.

Whether you choose to stain it or paint it, you are giving a vintage piece a new life. Enjoy your find.

P S

You can also have the drawer fronts “recovered” as burl veneer sheets are inexpensive.

This 3’sq piece of burled walnut is $32.00.

Veneer is wood. Don’t confuse it with laminate.

JudyD is absolutely correct on all accounts. Just enjoy the piece and make it how you want.

I have had good luck with Minwax Polyshades to change the color of cabinets. I use Citristrip to to remove paint and old varnish. That or mineral spirits might help take out any orangey stain, but the color may just be natural to the wood. A cooler ( more grey or blue) Polyshade could neutralize the orangey tones but still let the woodgrain shine through.

If you decide to refinish with a poly be sure to wipe away all the sanding dust with a tack cloth.

As for oil finishes, they are a pain to maintain in my experience. We have a walnut coffee table and a mantle build by my husband's grandpa. It was made of barn timbers from the family farm and has tung oil finish. I am not allowed to put a durable finish on the family heirloom, so I must oil it often and deal with rings when a guest ignores the coasters. So I would consider painting it before an oil finish of any kind, and I agree with queen V about the sin of painting good old wood. But it is your piece, and any of these options can be beautiful if it is done well.

Test technique inside the drawers where you can hide it with papering the drawers.

I think it's lovely!

Thank you! The veneers were in perfect shape and I didn't harm them at all! :) So happy with it!

Lovely! You did a great job. That's a lovely warm wood colour. Hard to see things in pics sometimes. Couldn't help but panic at thought of losing the burl. :) Enjoy!

Came out very nice. Glad you did not listen to the "pro's" telling you- "you ruined it". Even with your picture they would still be telling you, "you did it wrong". Great job.

Thanks so much!

Nicely done. Congrats on your DIY! Always worth giving it a try. I do find that Houzz members are not as big into the DIY and designers tend to think non professionals can't do anything. Always weigh up what is the downside to doing a DIY project yourself. Most of the time, you will just need to pay someone to correct it and the cost is usually what it would have been to start so you are just out your time and cost of the supplies to give it a try.

I can’t remember where I found out about the hemp seed oil, but glad you tried it, because it worked…gorgeous.

It's a wonderful alternative! Thank you so very much for the tip!

That turned out surprisingly nice!

Very nice job!

What a beautiful job you did. It looks stunning!

what did u use to remove original stain/finish?