I have been in love with a few furniture pieces I saw popping up all over Pinterest with one, giant, off-centered damask {e.g. Twice Lovely & Sawdust and Embryos.} I have been wanting to use that idea on a furniture piece of my own, and luckily I did not have to wait long until the perfect piece came along… and for only $20! {Thank you Craigslist!} I borrowed my brother and a truck and went and got this baby – it was SO heavy – luckily I had little involvement in the actual transporting process.
After I figured out more specifically how I wanted to transform this cabinet into an armoire, I bought my supplies and once again enlisted the help of my little brother. He added in a sturdier base with 2x4s& screws… this had been in a basement and it looked like the base was a tiny bit crumbly {not so anymore!} He also cut the closet poles to size for me by first marking the length with a tape measure and then
using paper to trace a circle around the pole.
The cabinet has a veneer finish, so after much research on the best way to paint it I decided to do a light sanding {just enough to start to see “specks”} and then one coat of Zinsser CoverStain Oil-Based Primer. I
only used a quart to cover the whole thing {BARELY!}
After letting the primer dry for a day or two, I applied my first coat of the color. I went with a nice greyish-purple in an ultra flat matte. I ended up doing two coats with the purple. After that was done, I used a damask stencil I picked up at Hobby Lobby for the background of the inside of the cabinet.
Next I added back in the shelves as well as the poles. We used your basic plastic “pole sockets,” placed equal distance apart.
To do the front damask, I reattached the front doors and projected the stencil where I wanted it using a standard overhead projector I borrowed from my parents. After tracing the stencil shadow, I used an all-in-one paint and primer in white {the same I used for the inside stenciling} and “flat” paintbrushes. I ended up doing 3 coats of this {it took several days!}
After letting the final coats of paint set for a few days, my grandfather came over and helped my husband carry it inside for me {we removed the doors first.} It made the perfect addition to our play room!
Currently, this piece is serving as a combination craft cupboard & little girl’s “next size” clothing storage. Eventually we’ll probably dedicate all of it to her clothes {when a new baby takes over the
nursery}… but that won’t be for a while. We also put her current size coats, shoes, and hats in there for easy access when we’re getting ready to go.
It took a long time to get this project done – we’ve talking 1.5-2 months! But when you only have occasional nights and weekends to work on it, I suppose it makes sense. It was all worth it though!!
