Painting a cabinet

We bought this cabinet second hand.  I don't have a picture of its original state but it was the first time I had ever stripped anything.  When we bought it, it was a very shiny maple finish and looked very dated.

I used a liquid stripper which was a mess and smelled 'dangerous.'  I now see that there's a primer that you can use on any surface and then paint over - all without stripping or sanding!

Originally the entire cabinet and hutch was in the mudroom.

I hand painted the details.  Two of the flowered doors are decoupaged; the third I hand painted.

I filled it with French Country plates and roosters.

 It was then painted red, antiqued and moved to our dining room.  I'm sorry I don't have a better picture of it and a picture of its next color; cobalt blue.  I got tired of the red quickly but the blue was really fresh and pretty.

This is today.

I painted it turquoise right over the other three coats of paint and then antiqued it.  I simply used a wet rag and dipped it in black paint and rubbed it over the cabinet, letting it be more concentrated in the corners and grooves.

The hutch part of the cabinet is now painted white and sitting on top of my desk.  It's great storage for books, CD's and keepsakes that I enjoy looking at while I work.

I made the chalk board from a mirror we had.  I'll give directions on how to make a chalk board in my next post.  They're super easy and a lot of fun.

Thanks for checking in!

My husband and I are excited to watch our son compete in the State Cross Country 5K tomorrow!  Run, Mark, run!

"As for God, His ways are perfect."  Psalms 18:30

Love and blessings!