* Painted China Cabinet; From Free To Fabulous!

A good inexpensive way to update the look of your home is with paint. Sometimes painting furniture pieces will bring it all together if you have mismatched pieces. I have painted furniture many times over the years. The pieces I choose to paint are usually older and solid wood.

Here is my latest painted piece. We helped a friend move and this cabinet would not fit into their moving truck after the rest of their furniture was loaded, so we hauled it home. It sat on the back patio a while, then I decided to paint and use it. It is a quality piece, and it was in good shape. I liked the lines and structure of it; just not the color. It just didn't work with my other furniture without painting it.

I didn't photograph it before we started but you can see the original color inside the cabinet. My husband sanded it; we vacuumed and wiped it down to remove all traces of dust and dirt.

Then it was painted with a primer base coat; I used Behr brand exterior water based primer and sealer. We let it dry for at least a week, and another base coat went on. A couple of weeks went by, (we are busy) and then the last paint coat went on, a creamy very pale yellow.

To add an aged look, I used a water based wood stain.

I brushed on the stain then quickly wiped off the excess with a dry cloth, rubbing it into the cracks and crevices.

I usually start inside a door to make sure I have my ‘paint on wipe off ‘ technique the way I want it before proceeding. If you are new to aging or distressing, don’t be afraid of it, try painting some card board or scrap wood as you paint your piece. Then you will have a place to try out the aging or distressing process before you commit to it.

I think that having patience and waiting a long time between coats of paint (I always use several coats of paint) is best to avoid peeling or chipping of your new paint job. Paint takes a really long time to cure; it will feel dry to the touch but still have moisture in it. I waited about a month before I used this piece. I placed a picture on a shelf then checked it the next day to make sure the picture frame was not sticking to the shelf before placing any more items on it. I had planned on replacing the knobs but now I’m not so sure I will. Maybe I’ll just give them a coat of spray paint.

Here’s another piece I painted and aged with stain. It is in the office/kids crafting area to store all their crafting supplies.

I'm really happy with how this china cabinet turned out, and I've put it to good use as you can see! If you would like to know more about painting furniture, check out Miss Mustard Seed's blog for some expert tips and techniques. You will find some amazing tutorials there too. She does amazing work!

This post was first published at Family Home and Life.

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