China Cabinet Re-purpose

by Jodi Jackson

5 Materials

$100.00

7 Hours

Medium

I absolutely love to paint great big old china cabinets. The detail is amazing, so much fun for me to paint and they make amazing transformations! The problem is that no one wants to buy the huge cabinets anymore. They are a dime a dozen on Craigslist and I pass them over unless I can get them really cheap. If I can get them cheap, it still poses a problem because as much as I love them, they just don't sell. What's a girl to do with that dilemma?

I started by removing the top and then giving the bottom a good cleaning with a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water. Because this was an old Drexel china cabinet, there was no wood between the top and bottom.

I went to Menard's and bought a piece of wood to use as the top and used a nail gun to secure it. I used a braided trim piece to finish off the edges. (All with a little help from my husband!)

I painted white on the inside and the top and a pretty green on the outside. Once it was painted, I wet distressed the entire thing taking a damp rag and wiping it over all of the beautiful detail! I finished by taking a light brown wax over the entire thing and sealing it with a sealer for durability. I put the original hardware back on and it was ready to sell.

I was secretly hoping this one wouldn't sell so I could use it as the flat screen TV stand in my home. It didn't last long though and I still hear from the woman that bought it about how much she loves it and the compliments she gets on it!

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Pine Wood and Trim (Menard's)
Privilege color paint (Heirloom Traditions)
French Vanilla color paint (Heirloom Traditions)
Muddy Pond Soft Wax (Heirloom Traditions)
Polyvine Wax Varnish Dead Flat (Amazon)

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3 of 6 questions

Sandy Slade on Mar 31, 2017
Hi, The top of mine is going over my fireplace with mirror in the middle back bit to replace the mirror I have now. Chunky square wood legs to support the weight and fixed as well to the wall. Perhaps a suggestion for a selling point or in the kitchen so you can still carry on doing an excellent job of rescueing and lovingly doing them up and the bonus of making some money from it. x

1
Peggy Diaz on Apr 26, 2017

I love the color. Can you tell me what brand and color of green paint you used?

Great work!

1
Shelley Picket Pin on Sep 05, 2017

It is pretty , but what did you do with the top of it?

1

Comments

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4 of 14 comments

LolaCruz on Apr 16, 2017

Looks good.. Im just curious about where the top of the hutch ended up ..

1 Reply
- Jodi Jackson on Apr 16, 2017
  The top ended up with me saving some trim for a different project and I gave the rest away.
  
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Tonya on Apr 21, 2017

I love this. I'm in the process of planning to revamp my China cabinet. Thanks for sharing.

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- Jodi Jackson on Apr 23, 2017
  Thank you and you are welcome!
  
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