Armoire Makeover

Before Cowgirl got here, we were talking about how she had been to a kitchen recently that had cream painted cabinets with an antique stain on them and it looked gorgeous. Its a look I have always liked too, but  I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the whole kitchen that way, so instead we decided this old armoire that now houses the upstairs TV and tablecloths was long overdue for a makeover and this was the weekend it was going to happen.

No more ugly orange! We started about 8:30am, heading to the store for paint and supplies and finished up at 6, with a couple of hours of doing not much more than sitting and holding up a door or a piece of shelf to dry.  First we dismantled everything. Mike removed all the electronics and Cowgirl and I unscrewed hardware and removed whatever we could. The wood floors were covered in a plastic tarp and all my old towels. Then I put dinner in the crockpot. I knew it wasn't something I was going to want to make at 6 o'clock later that night. Sure love that appliance!

 It took a couple of coats, (some places three) of cream paint on all the insides and outsides that we applied first. We bought a gallon and used up most of it. We went out back to paint the doors and drawers, but when the skies grew dark we had to bring them back inside. The fun part was the actual staining. Taking 3 parts faux glaze (we bought 1 quart)  and 1 part paint (we chose a really dark brown, and just the size of a sample,) we mixed the two together in a foil cake pan and had way more than we could ever use. Then using plain white rags (like sheets, not like towels,) dipped in water, we'd rub this brown mixture around all the edges, and then grab a new rag and start wiping it all off.  We had water and several rags in an empty #10 can and it was just the right size. We changed out the water whenever it looked too dirty.

And, when it was done, we loved it. And we still do. It lightens that part of the room but leaves the fireplace still as the focal point. It would take two days if I'd had to do it by myself, so I'm glad Cowgirl was here so we could get it done in one. No more orange ugly. Ever. Yeah!!!