This cabinet started out in Okay, Arkansas, in the house my grandmother grew up in. Some years later, it moved to my great grandmother's house in a little community we called Midway. It stood in my great grandmother, Della's, house for as long as I can remember, & in her bedroom is where I always remember it being, perched tightly on some orange-ish mottled shag carpet. Once it stood beside the closet, then it moved beside her bedroom door some years later. It held various things, I can kind of remember it having books & maybe some glassware in it. I also remember the odd smell it had in it when I was little & it still has the same smell. I'm quite sure that it has something to do with the type of wood the shelves were made with. It smells like memories to me. :) Anyway, this old cabinet has watched us all grow up. When my grandmother, Margaret, was a little shaver, she climbed on it and broke a few things. When I started peeling back the layers to restore it, I found an antique white color & some little flower decals. I stood there & imagined my Mammaw looking at those same little flowers. Maybe those where why she climbed on the cabinet, trying to get a closer look! :) When my great grandmother sold her house to another family member, my Mom inherited the cabinet. She had me store it in the old farmhouse on my husband's family farm because she didn't have a place for it in her house & when we moved in our house, I couldn't stand her down there alone so I brought her into my home! I wish Mom could have seen her restored because I know Mom would've loved how she turned out!
Here's the old girl right here. :)
When I got the cabinet, it had these Magnolia flowers. I forgot to take a picture of it BEFORE I started peeling the layers. From what my Mother told me about the cabinet, my great grandmother had her put the Magnolias on there. At some point in time between the 80's & 90's, everyone went crazy with the decorative contact paper! Blah! Poor girl fell victim to this decoration disaster! You can also see at some point earlier, someone else found some type of stick on floral covering. It appears to be 1960's from the print, but I can't tell you for sure. After peeling that layer back, I found the little flowers. :) I contemplated saving them & working around them but they just didn't fit into my decor. Hey, at least I have pictures! I'm not sure at what point in time or who put the doo doo brown color on there but...YIKES!
Here's what she looked like after I did a rough sanding. I really wanted to leave her like this (THINK PRIMITIVE!) but I kept on going. Notice we had to add a little replacement piece to the bottom of one of the doors. Honestly, I like when pieces might be missing, as long as a piece is still functional, because it adds character, but I decided that it would keep the door sturdy if we fixed it.
After a light coat of primer she ended up like this. I love the whitewashed look but I was trying to match my home decor so I pressed on! I started loving the little handles at this point. :)
Americana Heritage Brick...my favorite color & at this point, my new best friend. I used 9 of these little bottles to paint this cabinet. It covered the back as well. Keep in mind, this cabinet is 6 feet tall & about a foot & a half wide. That's a lot of coverage & I coated it twice! It literally cost me around $10 to restore the cabinet. I had primer on hand & the wood to repair it. I never throw wood pieces away, they ALWAYS come in handy! Always remember, if you're going to be painting something, make sure you use a good quality brush! It's just WORTH it! I used a 1 inch Purdy for this!
And here is the finished product! I love her & she cradles all my John Wayne movies & some of my picture albums! I keep a basket of Raggedies my mom's friends made for her on the top of her!
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