China Cabinet Facelift

I have never painted a piece of furniture.

Never.

I have always envied those who have the guts, the gall, the bravado to try to paint furniture.

I am now one of "those" people!

And the greated part of it is, I DIDN'T RUIN THE FURNITURE!

Let's start this "mock-tutorial" with a before shot:

This china cabinet, along with a table and six chairs, was generously given to the Mr. and I shortly after we were married. It's never really been our style, per se, but there has been a lot of bread broken with friends and family over this table.

I found a fantastic, inspring tutorial Here (By the way, LOVE her blog!)

Here is the tutorial step-by-step:

1. Breathe deeply. You CAN do this!

2. Head to Sherwin Williams and get:



Sherwin Williams Oil Enamel in Satin Finish in your color (1 qt was enough for this piece - 3 coats). Enamel is the key word here. Apparently, you can do latex paint, as well, if you get enamel finish. I wasn't taking any chances, so I used oil enamel.

Medium grade sandpaper and a sander just like the picture above. Don't get a soft sander. This will be to distress your finished product.

Buy a GOOD paintbrush. I spent about $15 for a specifically "oil" paintbrush.

Mineral Spirits (to get the paint off).

Plastic covering for the floor.

Minwax Polyurethane - oil based. This is optional. I did not use it for this china cabinet, but I will for the tabletop. I think it will help with the wear and tear of the tabletop.

3. Set your plastic covering on the floor, under the furniture.

4. Lightly sand the furniture. Just enough to get the sheen off - this gives the paint something to "stick to".

5. Open a window. Oil based paint stinks, and lingers. Having the windows opened, listening to the outside noises of spring really helped make me in a good mood...maybe it was the paint fumes? :)

6. Here's where my experience and the Clover Lane tutorial differs: Brush on a thin coat of paint. If I tried to go too thick, it looked AWFUL. I ended up doing three very thin coats. Part of it could be that I used an antique white color over wood grain. I was so nervous about painting furniture that I didn't want to take any chances...so, three coats it is!

These photos were taken after the first coat. This is also when the Mister saw it for the first time...and HATED it. Gah! That's not good!

And...yes...I forgot to unload the inside of the cabinet...I wasn't painting in there yet, so I neglected to empty its contents. Hee hee...not exactly a professional painter, am I?

After the third coat of paint, the piece looks amazing. I am very proud of myself, I did it!

Here she is, in all her glory...

Oh...and now the hubby LOVES it! (Whew!) He said that it's "so much better than I thought it was going to be". Vote of confindence for me? Not so much...but I have now proven myself and he is gaining confidence in my abilities, too! :)

Now...

I need some advice.

What should I do with the inside of the cabinet?

Should I paint it? Paint it another color (there is no lighting)?

Put up beadboard on the back?

Leave it alone?

Should I distress the edges?

Help me, please, you wonderful, talented readers!

:)


Linking to: Domestically Speaking, Blue Cricket Designs, House of Grace, Handy Man, Crafty Woman and Delightful Order