Sorry for the radio silence last week, folks – I got hit with a bit of a crummy cold that I’m still getting over and instead of doing the sensible thing and staying home from work and oh I don’t know, SLEEPING, I decided to be the martyr and go to work all week* and then try to not die when I got home. Hmm. As a result, I’m sure this thing has dragged out longer than it should have. Lesson learned.
*My sincerest apologies to my colleagues for putting up with my grossness this week as well as putting them at risk of possible infection. I am a horrible, horrible person.
- I wanted something interesting and vintage to ground the ‘newness’ of the room since I’d replaced my coffee table with something more contemporary
- It had to fit the rather narrow dimensions of my alcove (90cm wide) – this was my biggest sticking point as I’d seen plenty I liked, they just weren’t the right size!
- I specifically wanted a cabinet to offset the chest of drawers on the opposite alcove
- It needed to be considerably taller than the current stand (similar in height to said chest of drawers)
- I didn’t want to spend more than around £150 at the most
- I decided against a built in cabinet because I thought it might look odd without a built in on the other side
- I’d discounted finding a large cabinet to totally hide the television because most were too wide for the alcove or they were simply too far outside my budget (see previous bullet point re tiny budget)
Well, I think it was the week after I posted about my frustration, I decided to widen my search to the rest of the country. The Fates or the Universe or someone up there must have heard me because I came across the PERFECT Art Deco cabinet on eBay. It was within budget (£45!!), needed a bit of work but the lines were fantastic. The only issue was that it was on the other side of the country – so I figured I had nothing to lose and asked the seller if she would be willing to use a courier if I made the arrangements. Happily, she was super nice about it and agreed! Whoop! The costs for a courier were £49 (I used Shiply, it’s a great little service for eBay buying if you’re not familiar with it) so all in, the cabinet cost me less than £100. I think it was definitely worth it.
It is, however, missing the back completely and missing her shelf…
And yes, she’s getting a makeover because the finish isn’t in great shape and I’m really not keen on the colour of the wood (it looks better in the pictures than it does in person, trust me).
I know there are people who wouldn’t DREAM of painting a piece of furniture but this isn’t by any means a valuable antique so in my books, it’s okay. My furniture, my money – it’s gettin’ done!
Here’s the plan:
- Sand, prime and paint in glossy white
- Shine up hardware with Brasso
- Replace glass with mirror
- Create internal shelf
- Reinstate back of cabinet with MDF (partially covered as we need to allow for cables to come out the back)
Easy enough, right? Stay tuned for her grand debut soon! And yes, I’m refinishing this piece of furniture right in my lounge because there is NO ROOM anywhere in my house for this kind of work but we don’t have a garage, the spare room is full of stuff from the bathroom remodel and the weather isn’t nice enough this weekend to do it outside. Not ideal but hey, I’m impatient and not about to have to wait until the sun comes out to get on with the job at hand.
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That's gorgeous, I can't wait to see what you do with it.
I LOVE that cabinet! I am very jealous of your eBay finding abilities!
this is stunning… such a good find & proof that patience yields results… those legs! that hardware! ;)
Love her already.<br /><br />If you are replacing glass with mirror, why does she need a back? <br /><br />I am so nosy, sorry.
It's a good question! Stability ;) It's a bit wobbly at the moment and not sure that just an internal shelf will provide quite enough! xx
Swit-swoo!! She's gorgeous, and I have no doubt will look even more so after your makeover is done. Looking forward to seeing what colour you choose! xxx
UGH. You make me so mad with your gorgeous finds that seem to only exist overseas. Quit it!
Ha!! Don't let me make it look easy, it really REALLY isn't easy to find stuff like this. I'm an eBay ninja!!! lol xxx
From across the pond – that cabinet is GGGOOORRRRGGEEOUS,<br />Denise
Great cabinet- I can't wait to see what you do.. My dining set is similar to that style and I've been contemplating it a bone color..
Putting a back on the piece is a good idea. You just need to do about a 4 in, diameter hole in the back That will give enough wiggle room for most of the cords and plugs. I did this and it worked well. The cabinet didn't arrive here with a back and I was surprised at how much more stable it became when the back was added . Ooooh mirrored doors will look excellent!
That's exactly why we still want to put something of a back on it! Thanks for the tip on the diameter hole although we'll probably just use a rectangular piece of mdf that doesn't quite cover the whole thing :) xxx
That piece is insane. INSANE.
oh! Beautiful. Leave it as it is, the colour is amazing, just add the mirror :)
I promise it looks much better in the pictures colour-wise than it does in person – it's a rather sickly yellow-orange with black specks ;) xx
Oh she is a beauty! Congrats on a great find, can't wait to see the after-shots!
Are you serious? It's a-freaking-mazing, and so you! Love the idea of the mirror too. I need that piece as a nightstand. Would look gorgeous in any color!
What a beautiful piece! I can't wait to see what it looks like when you're done.
Wahoo!!! I'm so glad it worked out because she is a real beauty. Her legs make me weak in the knees. xo
Oh it looks so great – I lurve it – I'm sure it will look a million dollars when you're done with it :-)<br />Happy Monday love, Ax
Bloody gawwwwgeous! You have cheered up my crummy chest infection with your ability to find beauty even when you're fighting a crummy cold!! x
Love the cabinet – cannot wait to see how it turns out!
Oh my god, this cabinet is the tits. I cannot wait to see what you do with it! And mirror instead of glass – I like the way you think.<br /><br />Cannot. Wait.
Oh my that is one of the loveliest cabinets I've ever seen! I mean look at those detailed. This would look great in any color. And adding mirrors will really glam it up! You go lady!
This is so, so good. I can only imagine how much better it's going to be once you're finished with it… I'm so excited to see! I absolutely love the chinoiserie details!!!