One would think that with everything going on, we’d be bored with a lack of things to do. Well actually the opposite has been true around here and even though I don’t always have the mental energy to get things done, I’m super excited about a little project I’ve just finished planning – my modern traditional makeover to my vintage cabinet.
When we finished the upstairs landing about a month ago , B and I got to talking about what furniture we were going to put back there. The idea was to put some kind of dresser or cabinet there that would serve as some linen storage but we wanted something a bit narrow so there is plenty of room to get around and not feel cramped.
After emptying out the upstairs lounge to do the flooring, B decided we should consider using my distressed, white vintage cabinet but neither of us were feeling the chippy white paint so I decided to give this little guy an update.
I started with my trusty Citristrip to get all the old paint off. This cute cabinet was a gift from my parents the year we moved into this house and while I still love the vintage cabinet, I’m over the shabby chic look.
B and I had visions of a natural / raw wood finish because there aren’t any natural elements except for the new flooring. I had even imagined trying my hand at bleaching the wood to get it as light as possible…and then I actually started stripping.
I’ve stripped paint before but as I stripped the old white paint and the varnish underneath, I realized my vision of a light wood cabinet would be pretty hard to achieve. The original cabinet is stained very dark, almost black but not in a good way. And, as I should have known, the wood surface is a veneer, not quality wood so it’s just not going to be that pretty.
Up until a few days ago, I had still planned to strip and sand this beauty to see how light I could go (use it more as a practice piece) but then that little voice in my head said why not paint it a color? I really love vintage furniture pieces that get a modern pop of color. It’s unexpected and a great way to add a pop without committing to a lot of color.
Then it kind of hit me and everything fell into place perfectly. Our home has a very traditional feel and despite our love of casual farmhouse, coastal colors and textures and modern, clean lines, our overall style tends to lean a bit traditional. So, here’s the plan.
Once I get the cabinet stripped and cleaned up, I plan to give it a good sanding to make sure everything is nice and smooth. I will then paint the outside of the cabinet this beautiful matte black color using milk paint. This will be my first time using Rust-oleum’s milk paint so I’ll give you my thoughts after.
On the inside, I’ll give the entire thing a fresh coat of light gray paint so it’s not too stark against the black. Then, on the back panel, I’ll add this beautiful peel-and-stick wallpaper for little pop. The greys, whites and golds will be perfect with the black outside and to pull out the gold in the wallpaper, I’ll replace the missing hardware with brass. The brass will pop beautifully against the black and as an extra special pop of bling, I’ll go with a hand-painted look ceramic knob with brass accents for the door.
Everything is ordered so I’m just anxiously awaiting delivery so I can get to work on turning this ugly duckling into sparkling gem!
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