Once upon a time (about 3 years ago) I bought a sweet little cabinet at Goodwill for $13. That cabinet has seen a couple of coats of paint and a whole lot of use in that time, but I wanted to really bring it to life and turn it into the striking piece it should have always been. It’s a simple little cabinet, but it works great, has a classic look that I don’t think I’ll ever tire of, and fits perfectly in about 99 places in my home. When I decided to try to give my living room a makeover for very little money, I knew that a cabinet makeover was one of the things I knew would be on my list.
This was the cabinet as is when I purchased it. Plain old brown, finish wasn’t in good condition, but I made it work.
First I painted it gray, and while I loved the gray it was kinda like the pretty girl at the beginning of a movie before she gets the makeover and becomes all hawt. I knew it could be better. Plus, honestly, I was too scared at the time to do anything bold (anywhere in my whole house) and realized that I needed to get over myself. Seriously. Neutrals have a time and place, but rarely do they catch your attention and make you stand up and take notice. So I went a little bolder.
Step One:
First I used my secret weapon to paint almost anything. Five minutes of painting, two minutes of clean up – step one complete. I’ve told y’all probably eleventy billion times how much I love my HomeRight Finish Max* – it’s one of the most used tools in my arsenal.
The paint I used is a specialty paint – perfect for furniture painting – from Blackberry House paints. (And before I get questions – the color is Wildflowers – you can get order/purchasing info here.) The paint was designed for furniture painting, and it works beautifully in the sprayer.
Step Two:
Next, I used a whole pack of this – and gold leafed the entire top of the cabinet the same way that I gold leaf practically everything. After it was all covered, I sealed the gold leaf with three coats of polycrlic to make sure it was well protected against daily use.
Step Three:
I changed out the hardware to match the top with this kind that I found at Lowe’s (sorry, I couldn’t find it online.) PS – for some reason that photo would not take to capture the real color of the cabinet. See the photo below for the true paint color.
From start to finish, the entire makeover took one afternoon (and most of that was drying time.) The most time consuming part was the gold leaf, but it goes pretty quickly once you get in the groove.
*Thanks to HomeRight for partnering with me on this post. All ideas and opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links.*
So cute! What a difference- just looks more trendy and modern. I need one of those spray painters!!
Great makeover. I am working on a cabinet just like this. Happy Thursday!
This is gorgeous! Love the turquoise and gold!!
I LOVE your cabinet’s makeover. She looks less like Norma Jean and more like Marilyn now!!!
LOVE this makeover! I’m so glad that gold is back! It’s perfect for this cabinet! It really stands out now! Life to the full! Melissa
I love both looks of the cabinet for different reasons. This has me inspired to go check out my local Goodwill and also a new consignment shop (all furniture!). What I want to ask, what is the piece that is behind the barware? It looks like something painted? That seriously caught my eye and would love to know what that is! The tray is also fabulous and this clearly makes a great bar!
Like Karen, I, too, love both finished pieces for different reasons. I love how you are comportable with the bold turquoise in your home. I’m not that kind of girl. Being at least 20 years old may have something to do with it, I prefer the look of the grey. I’m in love with gray. We are painting the exterior of our home gray. Great make over!
Great makeover. I love the gold leaf top, how creative.
OH you so inspire me! I have 3 (probably 4 actually) that I want to paint….I’m trying to decide if I want to make the jump now or wait until we move into our new house… 🙂 ***decisions, decisions***
I love the finished product!
Love the paint color!! I have lots of turquoise and aqua colored accessories in my home. It’s so fun to find pieces at goodwill, thrifts, and garage sales and make them beautiful.
Wow it looks beautiful!
THAT is gorgeous! love the color choice, and especially love the gold hardware and gold top! So pretty!
That color is beautiful! I painted a similar cabinet (a bit wider) in a blue color and turned it into a coffee bar in my kitchen. It’s always amazing how just a little bit of paint can totally change a piece of furniture! Great job as always! 🙂
Wow, that color is fabulous! I need to get over myself, too, and take the plunge with some awesome colors like that one. I guess it’s my family I’m worried about, they all think I’m crazy for painting the furniture lol The gold leaf top was a nice touch!
xo Kathleen
Timely piece, I just tried a similar grey on a kitchen cupboard and felt the same way, it needs some pop. Thanks for the inspiration!
Wonderful! I’m new to your site. I contacted HomeRight about which sprayer would be best for me and hoe to get one!
How! HOW to get one. Duh.
Gina, did you have to strip the original finish or did you just paint over it. I would love to paint my dresser but don’t know anything about stripping a finish. I think i could handle the painting part.
Beautiful cabinet make over. I have the Homeright finish max fine finish sprayer as well. We are in process of painting our kitchen cabinets white, but our current obstacle is that all of the furniture paints seem to be so thick that it will not travel through our Homeright sprayer without clogging. Can you tell me how exactly much water you are using in your 1 quart of paint that fits into the reservoir of the homeright sprayer to get such gorgeous results with
minimal effort? help
It depends on the brand of paint, because some are thicker than others, but I try to go for the consistency of buttermilk and it usually works well. If it’s sputtering, then it’s too thick, so just add more water.
You inspired me, Gina!!! Your cabinet is truly amazing!!
I wonder if they make a zinc leaf… I have a classic end table that I painted a gorgeous dark blue, but the original cherry finish top is a little bit dark with it. I didn’t want to paint the top nor lighten the wood… but I could give it a fresh metallic look. Hmmm… my wheels are turning!! TX!
Thanks Diane, so happy to help get your wheels turning 🙂