Remember this?

Remember the faux-boo* Henry Link Bali Hai furniture set I scored from Craigslist to go with this?
(And, yes, I still have the skirted table - deal with it). Well, I painted it right before summer but I never completed the task of finding hardware so I just swiped some from a chest in the other room. I also grabbed the lamps from the dining room just so I could see what it would look like with lamps. And while I think it looks better painted black, it's just so...blah.
And so small! Compared with today's furniture, it looks child-sized. And with the mirror, there's TOO MUCH BOO!! (I guess you'd call that a faux-boo-boo.)
For those who asked, I did use a small Mikita power sander for the formica top and flat surfaces and I just used several coats of satin spray paint (beginning with primer) to coat it. The surface is super smooth and lovely. But if you're looking for a lacquer finish like this, I received an excellent tip from 1st Dibs shop owner Lewis Trimble (his chest is still for sale
here):
"...the first tip I have for you is there's stuff called liquid sander... two coats of this and then there's an oil based paint called fine paints of europe brilliant. Use 2-3 thin coats as it runs easily with some light sanding in between... great stuff, not lacquer but for a diy'er it's almost better...
thanks for posting my chest!
Lewis Trimble"
Thanks, Lewis, for the tip! If anyone tries this lacquer technique, please let me know.