Step-by-Step :: Refinishing My China Cabinet

12:21:00 PM

I love bringing new life to old pieces of furniture. Our china cabinet belonged to my grandmother and after using it for nearly 3 years in its original state, I finally got up the courage to make some changes. It turned out so beautiful that I can't believe it took me so long to do it. Here is how I did it.


I started by disassembling all of the doors and hardware.


Up next, was priming the whole cabinet and letting that dry over night. No sanding necessary!!! After doing a little research on what product to use, I came to the final decision of using Kilz Original primer from Home Depot. 1 Qt. was more than enough for the entire cabinet. I loved the product and will definitely be using it in future projects. Just be aware of the very strong smell (i opened the windows) and that it is oil based, so don't use a very expensive paint brush as you will have to throw it away.



After everything was primed, I painted everything using a white semi-gloss paint that we already had in our shed (previously used to paint all of the trim in our house). Why let good paint go to waste. I only did one coat of the white, because I liked that you could see some of the brush strokes in it, and because it was primed, one coat really covered it well. I like using a satin or semi-gloss because it gives a little bit of shine (plus semi-gloss is WAY easier to clean). Keep in mind if you have pets or children.


And to give the cabinet a little something extra, plus a pop of color, my husband helped paint the backdrop three shades of blue (giving it an ombre effect) using acrylic paint I already had. Almost looks like the sky to me. 


After letting the paint dry for 24 hours we reassembled and added this awesome "BAR" sign. After careful consideration we decided to use the original glass and hardware. Against the new white paint they look so much better. I love the combination of old and new.



Last, but not least, was putting the dining room back together. Now that everything is totally complete, I absolutely LOVE our dining room. It is so different and the perfect combination of traditional and modern. I guess you could say we have an eclectic style.


Cost to refinish the cabinet:
Kilz Primer: $7
"BAR" sign (TJ Maxx): $100

That is a grand total of only $107 including the BAR sign. Which means if I simply wanted to refinish the cabinet it would have only cost me $7. Now that is a good deal!! It is amazing what you can do using things you already have lying around your house. 

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1 comments

  1. Love what you did Morgan and I love your eclectic style. I have a corner china cabinet that belonged to my Grandmother and plan on converting it to a bar for our family room... I'll share photos when I complete it. - Stacey

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