Saving a China Cabinet: The Best Makeover Ever!

Recently, I was asked by Corrina over at Bird On the Hill Designs to be a brand ambassador for her amazing black mineral paint, Black Cat. Let me tell you, I LOVE this paint. In fact, I love it so much, I’ve painted something in almost every room in the house using it. Which was the beginning of my dilemma. I wanted another project but I didn’t want to buy something new for the purpose. Enter a little cabinet we’ve had for years and the best cabinet makeover I’ve ever done!! Seriously. This old piece was one I was ready to sell before the paint job. I even went so far as to list it on Marketplace.

Why Even Bother?

See? I can read your mind. You’re looking at the photo of this piece and thinking I should have left it the way it was. But honestly, the cabinet was worse in real life than this picture shows. Why didn’t I like it?

I didn’t like that brown. Someone had done a very bad varnishing job on it at one time or another, so it was super shiny. And it never seemed to fit with any of our other pieces. In my book that can mean one of two things. Either you sell it or you paint it. I decided to do the latter. Plus, I did love the little knob on the front, the turned feet and the little twist carvings down the sides of the door. To me, that made it worth the effort.

The Steps in this Cabinet Makeover

Firstly, I gave the piece a good wash down with warm water to remove all the dust. (It had been in the attic for a LONG TIME!) I sanded a couple of bubbles on the top where the varnish had lifted and then began to paint.

Bird on the Hill mineral paint is so easy to apply and has good coverage and adhesion, even over this glossy surface. Make sure you give the bottle a good shake first. I gave the entire piece, inside and out, one coat and left it to dry overnight. Mineral paint does dry quickly, so I could have done a second coat sooner but I wanted to make sure it was well adhered before I applied the second coat. Also, it was dark and I knew there were a few spots I had missed and would have to touch up. That’s possibly the only downside to working with black paint in any form. You think you’ve painted it all and then, as soon as it’s dry, you discover the odd patch you’v missed. I missed a big spot on the top corner. I have no idea how. It was in plain sight.

The Next Steps

After the initial coat, I went back in and gave a second coat. While I was waiting for this to dry I took the little knob someone had painted and put it in paint stripper for a minute or two. The paint wiped straight off, leaving a cute little brass pull.

Some time in another life, we had taken the ply back off this cabinet. I can’t remember why but I kept it and remember quite well making sure we had the back when we moved to the farm, in case I ever wanted to put the back on again.

So, I took the backplate and scraped off a few bumps of paint. Then I used it as a template to cut out wrapping paper which I glued onto the inside of the back using watered down PVA glue. I bought this paper from Flywheel in New Norfolk and I’ve had it for a while but had never found a project to use it on. This was the perfect excuse. I love the contrast of the blue and gold in the paper with the black paint.

Once the paper had dried, I used the original tacks from the backing and nailed it back in place again. You’ll notice a corner cut from the bottom of the backing. This was where we once used the cabinet to house our TV and the cable box was inside the glass. We threaded the cords through there. For some reason, I had also kept this peice of timber, so I put paper on that too and nailed it back into place. I left everything to dry and took the dogs for a walk.

The Finishing Touches to the Cabinet Makeover

To finish the cabinet and protect the paint. I applied hemp oil, also from Bird on the Hill. I prefer hemp oil over varnish in a lot of cases. It’s natural, easy to apply and gives a soft sheen to the piece. I used it on our mantle and on the storage cabinet in our bathroom. It’s held up well an because it’s natural it soaks into the wood acting as a conditioner. I applied it with a rag, waited for a while and buffed gently. From experience, the oil can take up to a week to soak in completely but the results are stunning. If you want a more instant finish, you might want to use a waterbased varnish.