Art Deco Oak Cabinet

I picked this cabinet up for a song months ago and have been using it in the hallway to store my paints and furniture restoration supplies. You will se from an earlier project that I have now replaced the cabinet with a new and improved storage option for my things so it was time to address this beauty.

In good structural order, the cabinet had areas of water damage, mould and scratched finish, plus the upstanding that should have been attached along the back was missing and the original dowels that held it in place broken off inside the holes, so I decided to bite the bullet and paint her.

NIGHTMARE! Trying to be economical (and thinking I was clever), I originally painted it with some chalk furniture paint I had left over from a previous project that should have turned out a muted shade of terracotta - the plan was to then edge the details in bronze metallics and create a warm-toned piece fit for a modern home. This didn't quite work out - you will see from the photos that the paint appeared quite pink when photographed and I knew this wouldn't translate well to my online buyers. On top of this, chalk paint dries so rapidly that, given this was a warm day, getting a nice finish on it was virtually impossible before it went off and so I was left with streaks.

Not one to give up easily, I pressed on with gold liquid-gilt detailing but, when finished, was just not happy with the overall look. I tried lightly sanding the chalk to reduce the colour and smooth the finish but, given that chalk paint must be sealed, when waxed this just made it even darker.

I then attempted to strip the wax using methylated spirits so that I could lightly sand and then repaint the cabinet - this time going for a black satin furniture paint instead.

This failed miserably and, despite the methylated spirits and sugar-soaping, the new coat just didn't adhere well. there was nothing for it - she had to be completely stripped and sanded back.

Time to start again.

A strip, sugar-soap, complete rub down and a couple of hours later, I was back to the beginning.

New black satin paint applied carefully after the top was re-filled, sanded right down and gel-stained to mask some of the damage and filling. Several coats later and much self-doubt, I decided to just pick a couple of features out int the gold and then edged the inside shelves and drawers with the same. Some wallpaper lining of drawers and doors and a final layer of spray lacquer to finish.

Not my best work but a good learning curve - and a significant off-putting of chalk paint! This little lovely is for sale for the small sum of £250 as I feel the price should reflect that I don't feel the finish is as good as it could have been and that I've learned my lesson!