Welcome to my happy place of DIY, homemade, homegrown, handmade, nourished & crafted, whole hearted living. Finding magic in the mundane & growing some roots in the process.
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You won’t believe me when I tell you that this antique cabinet was once destined for the trash compactor at our county transfer station, but she sure was!
Thankfully, one of my favorite farmers rescued the poor lass and put her aside for me. He knows me too well! When he called me and told me he had some furniture I needed to come check out, I knew it had to be good but I had no idea how good. I hardly ever find beautiful solid wood pieces like this in my home state. Utah is full of thrifty folk who hold on to their antiques for a lifetime so to find this antique at the transfer station is a rare thing indeed!
My buddy helped me load her in the back of the burb then I drove off like I stole something!
Won’t lie, this girl needed some serious repair. There was a door completely ripped of it’s hinges, broken decorative appliques, nasty scratches, and the top was a mess. She was filthy dirty too. I gave the whole piece a good vacuuming, scrubbed her down, filled holes, glued, glued, and glued some more, and then sanded.
At first I thought I was going to forgo paint and just stain only. Maybe it’s because I grew up a floor installer’s daughter but I get giddy over a piece of gorgeous wood furniture. I coated the whole cabinet in walnut gel stain and thought I was going to stop there, but when I got her upstairs she just felt way too heavy and dark. Since this piece is for me, I decided to try something a little different. After giving the whole piece a coat of spray shellac, I lightly hit her with Winter White Glaze, wiping it back off as quickly as I put it on. Wiping the glaze off immediately kept the glazing nice and thin. The white softly filled in the nooks and crannies, accenting the gorgeous details of the antique cabinet. Heart eyes, y’all!
I have never used this glaze before but I have fallen in love! It was super easy to work with and is the perfect shade of white. Plus, a little went a loooooong way which makes my budget and hubby happy. I’m really interested in trying out this glaze over a lighter stain. Guessing that the combination of lighter wood and the white glaze would easily create the washed out beachy look that is all the rage right now. I’d love to wipe it over a fun paint color also. Wouldn’t pink or mint with a coat of white glaze be darling on a girly twin bed?
So many ideas, so little time… yeah yeah, so little money too but we deal, right?
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Now back to the post…
My pretty little transfer station survivor is now happily living in my hall, filled with my favorite hand-me-down quilts and linens.
Proof that one man’s trash is a handy girl’s treasure!
Gorgeous. The products list shows “High Performance Top Coat in Satin”. I just used it on a cabinet and it’s pretty shiny. Did you actually use it on this piece?
Hi Diane! Thanks for the comment. Yes, I indeed did use satin on this piece. If you are wanting a more matte finish try High Performance Flat, which still has a some sheen, or Flat Out Flat for a completely matte look. Stir the can really well to make sure the shine elements haven’t separated and risen to the top.
Hi there! LOVE this piece – this is exactly what I want to do but here’s the thing….I’m not a seasoned vet when it comes to projects outside of your basic AS chalk paint. Couple questions before I take the plunge; was there any prep involved besides cleaning and filling in (i.e. Sanding) and can this be achieved on any type of wood finish? Is there anything I need to be mindful of since I’m such a newbie. That’s all I can think of to ask for now Ty
Hi Michelle! For the most part, I talk about all the steps I did right in the post. If you’d like more info on how I prep my pieces, check out this post. https://gypsymagpie.com/2017/03/furniture-prep-checklist.html It has a free printable checklist and everything. Yes, a washed looked can be achieved on any type of wood however, the color and graining will be a bit different depending on what wood species you are working with. You can get a similar look using Annie Sloan and a dry brush technique or lightly painting on and then quickly wiping off. I just enjoy playing with this glaze and I had some in my basement so that’s what I used. With any glaze, make sure you do a coat of top coat before applying the glaze. This will help the glaze glide a bit easier and not muddy the stain or paint you are working with. Then you’ll want to seal with another layer of top coat after the glaze dries. Good luck and have fun!
Love the inside of the drawers, it goes really well with the winter white, thanks for sharing!