🖼️
The project:
I found this beautiful piece of furniture dumped on the side of the road. I instantly fell in love with the details on the cupboard and draw panelling, its height and the laced lip at the back. It was originally a dark brown colour with damaged, antique handles. It also had uneven legs. I wanted to restore its beauty, structural integrity and function. Little did I know that it would take three months to achieve. I enjoyed every minute.
Curious about its age, to my delight I found a ragged piece of cardboard within one of the draws detailing its place and year of purchase. It was purchased from David Jones in the wonderful year of 1946!
I truly feel honoured to have found this piece of furniture and breathe new life into it without detracting too much from the era in which it was conceived. Nothing beats doing that first sand on an old piece of furniture, to reveal the treasure that lies within.
- Materials:
- Rust-Oleum Milk Paint finish in Eclipse
- Gilly's Cabinet Makers Wax
Lane 128mm brass cabinet knurled T handle x 2
Taskmaster 32.5mm Knurled Brushed brass cabinet knobs x 4
Poly Filla for Interior Timber
- Tools:
Ryobi orbital sander
Various brushes for painting and applying the wax
Sugar soap wipes
Unipro round chalk paint brush
Rags for buffing the wax
Drop sheets
- Step 1:
Using the Ryobi orbital sander, I sanded the entire body of the sideboard inside and out. This took quite some time to completely eliminate the brown colour that it was. Areas of the sideboard that were tricky to sand with the orbital had to be done by hand. This was the most time consuming part particularly the upper lip of the back of the sideboard and the panelling, but well worth it.
I know I could have used a paint stripper but I wanted to keep this project as non-chemical as I could. Besides there is something therapeutic about sanding years worth of layers and watching raw timber reveal itself.
- Step 2:
Once I was happy with the completion of the sanding, I then dusted and vaccumed it. To ensure that all debris was off the sideboard, I then wiped it down thoroughly with sugar soap wipes.
- Step 3:
Satisfied that the sideboard was clean and free of debris, I then started to apply the Milk Paint to the sections I had chosen. This decision was based on hours worth of wading through ideas and images on Pinterest. Overall I am happy with the sections I chose to paint and those that I left to boast its beautiful wood.
The amazing thing about Milk Paint is that it does not require a base coat so after months of sanding, it felt so good to crack open the tin of paint and start applying. Not taking long to dry, I could perform a light hand sand between coats. I ummed and ahhed as to whether to have the distressed look, but once again, after immersing myself in Pintrest, opted instead for the non-distressed look.
- Step 4:
Once I had completed the painted sections and happy with the finish, I then applied Gilly's cabinet wax. I find that not only does this protect the porous finish of the Milk Paint, but also magically deepend the colour. After watching a few videos on Youtube, I had a rough understanding of how to apply the wax. It is such a satisfying process. However I soon learnt that less is more with wax and not to apply a too liberal coat. The Uni-pro round chalk paint brush was perfect for applying the wax and old kids' clothes for buffing it.
- Step 5:
I repeated the waxing process to the sections that I nominated to keep unpainted. The timber grain was too beautiful to conceal. I applied 2-3 coats using the same technqiue of applying with the chalk paint brush and then buffing with an old rag. I was really happy with how the back lip turned out. I deliberately left the initial coat within the grooves…partly for effect but mostly because it was TOO difficult to actucally completely eliminate the dark brown.
- Step 6:
One of my favourite and easiest things to do when restoring an old piece of furniture is applying new handles. I knew I wanted to steer away slightly from the old lacey ones of the 1940s era but also wanted to have something bold and grand with a hint of luxury. I did not want anything dainty but affirming and solid when held. I feel like I achieved this with this handle selection. It was a delilberate move to also have the cupboard and door handles different but similar in style.
