East Meets West in a Wabi-Sabi Cabinet Makeover

by Amy

6 Materials

$100

10 Hours

Medium

I bought this cabinet at an auction site on-line so didn't see it in person until I picked it up. It was cute but I thought it held more potential. See how I changed it up with some repairs, milk paint and new hardware and birch floral appliquées

east meets west in a wabi sabi cabinet makeover, painted furniture

This is the cabinet "before." It's ok but it had a few issues like some wood coming apart and a sloppy paint job.

Wabi-sabi, from the Japanese, can be described in modern context as beauty through imperfection, impermanence or incompleteness. It is believed that the acceptance of these qualities may bring us closer to the Buddhist ideal of enlightenment. Milk paint, that paint that famously “chips” sometimes when and where you least expect it, could create a look that could send you into OCD fits or could simply be the “way” (can you feel it?) Let those “chips” happen where they may and leave them as a thing of beauty––wabi-sabi.

"The wisdom and beauty of imperfection”-Taro Gold

When I took the drawer out and turned it over I noticed some marks. I did some searching online and found nothing and put it on Facebook because I have some super well-travelled and intelligent FB friends and still had no answers. Based on the stamps, I guessed that the piece may have originally been imported from Japan and wanted to stay in that wabi-sabi mentality while working on the piece while elevating it to something lovelier, as well as functional.

After making some repairs and sanding, I was ready to start painting. I chose "Dragonfly" color milk paint from The Real Milk Paint Company.

Here you can see the color after the finishing in hemp oil and the color before. The hemp oil will not only protect the paint finish, it is natural and gives the color a wonderful depth that is really lovely.

I glued the birch appliquées to the bottom part of the piece and hand painted them in my own artist acrylic paint using reds, yellows and a pearly white.

I lightly distressed the piece to let some of the red show through (and found out later that the original color was gold). With a rag I rubbed hemp oil over the entire piece.

Then I put the hardware on. The hardware of our choice was given to the contestants for the August Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest by D. Lawless Hardware who were amazing sponsors. I had a hard time choosing but knew I wanted something with multiple colors in it and I had been drooling over the cloisonné hardware for months!

Here is a close up to see the distressing and the gorgeous hardware.

Here is another shot of the front with the pulls and the detailing.

And, finally, the "after."

As a nod to the makers of this little cabinet, wherever they came from and to my family in Japan (brother, nieces and SIL), I added some messages on the sides of the drawers in Kana and in English.

The right side is where the milk paint really began to chip and my "enlightenment" began... wabi-sabi. I actually really do not mind it with the original color of the cabinet coming through. There is beauty in imperfection, to be sure.

One last look with the door open.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this adventure and you can see more on my website www.TheBentAngle.com

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Hardware and birch floral apliquées (D. Lawless Hardware)
Milk Paint in Dragonfly (The Real Milk Paint Company)
Hemp Oil (The Real Milk Paint Company)
Silver Nickel Spray Paint (Walmart)
Sand Paper of Various Grits (Home Depot)
Acrylic Paint (Jerry's Artarama)

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4 of 6 comments

M. M.. on Mar 05, 2017
lucky you, buying this sight unseen! I actually love that the original gold/red layers come through - the hardware is perfect, too! Maybe some shelf paper in scarlet or bright gold for a 'wow!' when the doors are opened?

1 Reply
- Amy on Mar 21, 2017
  Thank you!
  
  Like
Nancy on Mar 21, 2017

well this is certainly a unique piece! LOVE it!

1 Reply
- Amy on Mar 21, 2017
  Thank you! I do love it, too!
  
  Like