Turn a yard sale cabinet into shabby decor with an old world finish. I picked up this cabinet super cheap at a local yard sale. These inexpensive cabinets are mass produced and sold at discount dollar stores. They are not expensive when new as the finish is identical to every other cabinet on the store shelves. Giving one of these cabinets a painted makeover will not only produce a one-of-a-kind furniture gem, but it will instantly age the piece into a vintage beauty.
Things You Will Need:
Inexpensive cabinet
Tools for removing knobs (optional)
Acetone and cotton ball
Sandpaper
Dry rag
2-inch paintbrush
Yellow flat latex paint
Light brown flat latex paint
White flat latex paint
Step 1
If possible, remove any handles that may be on your cabinet. It just makes painting easier. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remove the handle on my cabinet. The screw holding it on was stuck tight and the head of the screw was so small. It wouldn’t budge. Forcing it with other tools would have damaged the knob. Since I wanted to reuse the knob, I decided I would just have to work around it.
Step 2
Remove any price stickers or labels from the cabinet. Remove sticker residue using acetone and a cotton ball.
Step 3
Sand the outside surface of the cabinet to remove bold colors and to give the surface a tooth to accept new paint. Wipe off the paint dust using a dry rag.
Note:
The remaining steps must be done with no breaks in between, so turn off your phone, ignore the door bell, get your drink of water and run to the potty before you begin. Working with wet paint is very important for achieving this old world paint finish.
Step 4
Using a 2-inch paintbrush and light yellow flat latex paint, paint the entire outer surface of the cabinet. Paint quickly.
Step 5
While the yellow paint is still wet, immediately paint the entire surface using light brown flat latex paint. Work the strokes of the new color into the wet yellow paint. The results will resemble a watercolor painting.
Step 6
While the paint is still wet, immediately paint the entire surface using white flat latex paint. Work the strokes of the new color into the previous paint layers. This process is very forgiving. If a stroke is too thick in any one area, simply apply more of one or both of the previous colors. When you are pleased with the paint applications you can finally allow the cabinet to dry. Keep in mind you have multiple layers of paint. Depending on weather, temperature and paint thickness, drying time to the touch could take several hours and complete dryness could safely take as long as 24 hours.
