I recently re-finished a nice little cabinet (only about 21" tall) into an media storage unit for our electronics and DVDs.
My wife actually saw a corner of this piece sticking out of a snow pile near a dumpster during the winter and we had to wait until the spring melt to pull it out.
The piece is a mix of plywood and hardwood. Though I am usually a wood purist (i.e. I really hate to paint wood furniture) and the cabinet was in surprisingly good shape even after a winter under the snow, I decided to paint the piece. After drying out, this was what we were left with . . .
I removed the retro slanted legs, doors, and hardware and sanded down all of the surfaces. I used steel wool to clean up and smooth out the bright aluminum door rails and rub down the metal handles before spray painting them glossy black. I filled a number of holes and large dents in the body with wood putty.
The exterior of the piece is painted Sherwin Williams Sealskin to match the walls in our family room. To provide a "surprise" pop of color, the inside is Sherwin Williams Cayenne. It took two coats of paint for the exterior and four for the interior. Oh, and the best part: I already had the paint, so there was no cost for this project!
After reassembly, I drilled two holes in the back for cord management and set the unit up in our family room under the wall-mounted TV.
I really love how the piece turned out. The paint took really well to the body and I like that we can finally close up the DVD player and the DVDs (formerly on an open shelf) when not in use.
Choosing to match the wall color means that this fairly small piece is pretty minimal in the room, but the bright interior really gives it a punch when the doors are open during use.
Overall, a great little refurbishment. Who could ask for more from a grimy snow pile next to a McDonald's!?
I'm considering that Sherwin Williams Cayenne color for a room right now. Do you have it in your house? Do you like living with it?
ReplyDeleteI love how your piece turned out!
Hi Julia, great to hear from you! I had the Cayenne in a sampler size we bought to test on our front door. Ultimately we selected a bright green color for the door instead, so we've only used the Cayenne paint here on this piece. I personally really like it--it's particularly great in natural light (obviously not in it's final location, but when I was working on it in my shop, it looked amazing). Depending on the room I think it could be pretty awesome. With any color this bold, though, I'd suggest you test a painted swatch to see what you think and "live" with it for a bit as you suggest. Also, keep in mind it took 4 coats on this small piece of furniture, so you should budget (time and $$$) for multiple coats on your walls. I think paint stores would likely suggest a tinted primer, too. If you end up doing it, message me a pic! You always did have a way with color and design! Cheers!
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