My most recent painting project is nearly finished, and I will share it with you once it is completed. It is looking quite nice, and the client is thrilled. Sharing my projects with my business group instilled some interest in several members. I haven’t found the perfect cabinet for one particular client yet; but in my first voyage into the unknown, I found several interesting pieces—one I wish I had someone in mind for, as it is the perfect piece for painting.
There are pieces I would not paint because they are in perfect shape and of a high quality and value. I found such a piece the other day; but in the same shop, I did find a great project piece. It has seen a lot of wear and tear, and the wood is not special. This piece is in good enough shape to continue to be useful and pretty, but it needs to be painted. I realize that painted furniture doesn’t appeal to everyone, but if you can imagine it, it can be fantastic and even playful. Sometimes an old piece just looks dowdy and people cannot see the possibilities beyond its present condition. I have heard more times than I can count, someone saying, “That piece is just ugly; my grandmother had one in her dining room, it’s so dark.”
The piece that I would paint would make a great cabinet in a kitchen, dining room, even a bedroom, bath or study-family room. As you can see from the picture, the upper cabinet has glass doors, making it ideal as a display cabinet in a little girl’s room for her treasures, while the lower drawers are perfect for storing clothes, sheets or blankets, even toys. Painting it a lively color would make it a great focal point and useful for many years to come.
As a kitchen piece, you can store everyday dishes in the upper portion or special occasion pieces. The drawers are always useful for flatware, serving pieces, platters and little used pieces that can be stored close by until needed.
In a bath, this cabinet would prove to be useful for storing pretty bath accessories and some colorful towels. In a guest room, the cabinet would provide your guests some niceties for their overnight stay, including fresh towels, pretty soaps and bath salts, an interesting book and a scented candle, as well as a place to unpack if they are staying more than one night.
The obvious place for this piece is in the dining room, but painted a soft gray with a background color to compliment the rest of the room, it would show off favorite china, crystal or silver pieces. Linen and silverware storage would make this a valuable piece to hang onto in a dining room. Freshened up hardware would complete this piece.
In a study or family room, favorite tomes would be on display and kept dust free. Lower drawers make hiding everyday necessities—like the remotes, a lap blanket and important papers being reviewed— which the family may not want exposed all the time. Also, as family room furniture, this piece would make a nice display cabinet for small antique toys and games can be stored in the drawers. Just think of the possibilities; they are nearly endless.