German Cupboard REVEAL!

Good morning, thanks for stopping by! I'm sure you've been overwhelmed by the number of posts that I've been putting up lately (sarcasm!)- no, seriously, it's a beautiful new week, a new day and a new post. I'm actually pretty psyched about this one because it's a REVEAL! Last week - all week, I worked on my German baking cupboard. The same cupboard that was the inspiration and motivating factor for the kitchen layout design. I loved this cupboard the minute I set eyes on it at an antique show right here in Syracuse, NY and knew that I needed to make room for it even if it meant redesigning the kitchen layout- which it did...and so we did!

BEFORE

Here is the before which is actually right after I painted it the first time. I know this will kill all of you wood lovers but when I got it, it was not painted. It was honey-stained pine but a lot of the wood was split and damaged and it was pretty rustic looking. We've lived with it this color for many years and I still love it but with the latest kitchen redesign, the "edgy-er" black and white modern country design it needed a change.

I knew that I wanted it to be black to contrast with the new white base cabinets and to coordinate with the new black granite countertops but I also wanted it to be true to it's age so I decided on a distressed black finish.

The first thing I did was paint the interior with the same creamy white C2 (Halo C2-144) paint that I painted the cabinets- creating the perfect backdrop for the mostly deep navy, polish pottery dishes that we use for everyday. As you can see, I sampled two different color black paints on either side (by the drawers).

The next step was to give the entire exterior a good sanding. Because I was doing a distressed finish, I sanded it right down to the wood along most of the edges. 

The key is to sand down to the wood just enough to accent the edges, highlight a few flaws in the wood where the paint might naturally be worn down. This part is all by feel- (don't over do it!) - every edge would not be worn down to the wood.

I painted it with two coats of black paint (Valspar "Lincoln Cottage Black" 4009-2). Go ahead and paint right over the entire piece- even where you sanded it down to the wood. By sanding first it will be easier to re-sand it and it kind of gave you a preview of what the piece will look like so that you can make adjustments.

To paint a piece like this, I like to use a small, high-density foam roller

and a nylon brush to lightly brush it out. I also used those for the top coat (water-based polyurethane). 

Drum roll please...

AFTER

TA-DA!

AFTER

Here she is...Our new breakfast area!

We intended to change out the wood top for white marble, but for now I just refinished the wood. With all of the white painted cabinets and light walls, (which, by the way, I'm, intentionally not showing you ...yet!) the wood adds some warmth to the space. We may leave it this way.

I also left the interior shelf unpainted and gave it a coat of dark walnut stain.

Just enough distressing to highlight some of the edges and imperfections!

The full kitchen reveal will be forthcoming. If you are a DIY-er you know that things move along slowly some times (especially with four kids!) but as long as they are moving along, I'm not complaining!

Remember where we started: 

http://ispiratodesign.blogspot.com/2012/01/just-another-friday-thirteenth.html

Have an inspired day!