Sometime around mid March, as I was on my way home from one of the kid's basketball games, I came across this little cabinet sitting all by itself on the side of the road. Immediately I stopped the car and jumped out for quick inspection. It seemed to be in pretty good shape despite the worn finish and ridiculous number of spider webs and spider's eggs.
The piece sat in our garage for about a month or so until I finally decided to pull it out and take a really good look at it. I took the sander to the top and sides and made the happy discovery that this poor neglected cabinet was solid wood! Now I love painted furniture just as much as the next DIYer, but for some reason I kept thinking 'leave it o'natural!'
I also needed to determine where to put my new little cabinet. My mind quickly went to the thought of using the piece on our screened-in back porch because I was so desperately in need of some storage space there. To be honest I hated the fact that I had to run in and out of the house with my plastic plates and cups every time the kid's asked to eat outside. So while this cabinet is primarily the centerpiece for serving outdoor libations, I am also using it to house my outdoor dinnerware.
I also made the decision to do away with the top drawer after seeing a few beverage cabinets on the internet.
The drawer was replaced with a sheet of pine I picked up for around $10 at my local Lowes, and then Mr. Rosemary Lane cut the sheet to fit perfectly in the cabinet. It was easily installed by removing the back of the cabinet and sliding the wood in place. I attempted to stain the pine to match the wood of the cabinet but that didn't work, it came out way to cool, no where close to the warm color of the cabinet. Next I tried to paint the wood an almond color which ended up looking really awful, even worse than the mismatched stains. Then, while rummaging through my countless cans of spray paint in the garage, I found a can of pounded metal paint in a silver color I had bought a few years back to make a Halloween costume for Michael. This turned out to be the perfect color because it totally tied together some of the other industrial elements used in the space. Square shaped drawer pulls in a bright, brushed nickel were purchased to replace the nasty ones that came with the piece. The hinges are the originals, I just sanded off their already chipped and rusted surface to reveal the silver color underneath.
The entire piece was sanded down inside and out, and both a clear poly acrylic plus several coats of polyurethane in a satin finish were applied. I already had the two polys, so the total cost of the project was roughly $15. Ten dollars for the wood and about $5 for the drawer pulls, plus a good three days of intense work, is all that was needed to create this beautiful storage showpiece for the screened-in porch.
Now, the natural wood finish I felt compelled to use actually works to help break up the white of my wicker furniture by giving the eye a place to land while taking in the visual of this space.
How about you...have any furniture projects you are in the throws of???
Would love to hear about them!!!
Would love to hear about them!!!
In the meantime wishing you all a great week!
XO
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