1970's China Cabinet

I found a new favorite local thrift store that has unbeatable prices! It didn't look like much from the street but inside it was a thrifter's dream. I grabbed some great pieces, the first of which being this 70's china cabinet.

It had great proportions, and was the perfect size. And while the decorative detailing was "neat" it really didn't have much hope so I took my chisel to it and low and behold it wasn't even wood! It was plastic, which was fast and easy to remove.

I saw these decorative wood pieces at the hardware store on clearance for $4 and thought those would be perfect for adding some interest to the door fronts.

One thing I didn't anticipate was how much paint this would take, I went through a full can! I chose to remove the cabinet doors, but still painted them just incase I ever change my mind so that took extra paint, and I added wood shelves instead of the glass ones which also took extra paint. I still can't believe how much painting this thing required!

I also added an extra couple inches of decorative molding at the top to make it feel a little more substantial. This is a fast and easy way to make furniture feel a little more heavy.

I really want to display a collection of all white ceramics in here eventually, but for now it is housing some of my antique book collection (along with a few new favorites!).

An unexpected thing happened on my second coat of paint: the pattern of the old decorative piece started showing through. This is really weird because this area was actually lighter since there was no stain on it, but it came through darker than the paint. I have no idea what happened but I LOVE it! It feels like a really worn off old decorative paint embellishment.

I am in the midst of picking out some new hardware for the handles, but the old ones with a coat of Rustoleum will work for now.