After a busy weekend celebrating my daughter’s birthday and entertaining my Mom when she stopped by for a visit, I am happy to be able to get back on track this week working on my projects.
I also had a minor technical glitch show up on my blog last week and because of it I have had to move my Recent Posts list to the footer at the bottom of my blog, so if you are looking for it, that is where you will find the list. As soon as I get the problem resolved, I will add the Recent Posts list back on sidebar where it belongs. Thanks for your patience.
On another note, last week I shared with you my Mom’s french-style sideboard makeover here. I had mentioned that there would be another piece of furniture of my Mom’s that I would be sharing with you this week.
Well, if you recently read my vintage book cabinet post, looking at the “before” and “after” photos of my Mom’s cabinet below may make you feel like you are having a bit of déjà vu . My Mom and I have almost identical vintage cabinets!
How it all came about is, I found my cabinet on Kijiji first, and when I showed my Mom what I had done with mine, she too wanted her very own book cabinet. For the next month we kept an eye on the local auction websites and low and behold she ended up finding the perfect cabinet one weekend.
The only major difference between our two cabinets is that mine has a drawer in the middle and hers doesn’t. Truth be told, I actually like the overall shape of my Mom’s cabinet better, but I really love that mine has a drawer. Mine is still a keeper!
When I set out to refinish my Mom’s cabinet, unfortunately I was unable to salvage the fretwork in the glass doors. There was just no way to remove them to paint without ruining them. My Mom was fine with it as she really wasn’t too keen on having to clean behind the fretwork every time she wanted to clean the glass doors.
And now for the “after” photos…
It was difficult to take really nice pictures of this cabinet because it is so dark in my Mom’s living room even with all of the lights on and the curtains open. If you look closely in the photo below you can see me trying to hide from view again. Obviously, I am not very good at it!
My Mom’s cabinet was painted in the same paint colors as my cabinet. It was first primed with two coats of Glidden Gripper tinted in Behr Dark Gray. Then it was painted with three coats of Benjamin Moore Natural Linen. Before top coating it with three additional coats of Minwax Polyacrylic, it was distressed so that parts of the original stained finish and gray primer would show through the distressed areas.
Don’t you just love the chunky moulding at the top of her cabinet and the curved design at the bottom? I sure do!
I also used the same old brass drop pulls from Lee Valley on all of the doors and the same two wooden appliques on the bottom doors. Why mess with a good thing?
Of course I had to take some photos of some of her books, keepsakes and decorative items inside the glass doors.
I have to tell you, this cabinet had an unfortunate “mishap” while my Mom and I were carrying it from my truck to her back door. She had one end, I had the other. The fact that she was walking backwards down a skinny, uneven sidewalk was my first mistake. You can see where this is heading! She turned the corner; I thought she still had the cabinet. She dropped her end and fell over and badly bruised her hip on the edge of the sidewalk. I had to put my end of the cabinet down and make sure she was ok. Thankfully she didn’t break her hip!
Her cabinet ended up a little worse for wear too. It cracked on the back at the bottom but it can only be seen from the back. Good thing we were moving just the shell of the cabinet because had the glass doors still been in the cabinet, things could have been much worse for all involved. Live and learn!
So, what do you think of my Mom’s book cabinet? Do you have something similar to this cabinet in your own home that you use to display your books and other treasures? I would love to hear about it.
Now for my amazing find. This little antique sewing cabinet below came to me when I was least expecting it.
My Mom and I were out this past Saturday afternoon attending a couple of free sewing courses at one of our sewing stores (I am trying to learn how to sew). We were a little late for the class and we accidentally walked into the wrong room while looking for the classroom. There was a non-profit garage sale going on in the room we went into and I happened to come across the sewing cabinet below. It was marked at $50.00 but since they were marking their prices down at the end of the day I ended up taking it home with me for only $30.00. I know, right? Awesome!
Just last week I shared a photo of some antique sewing drawers that I had seen at the Wild Rose Antique Show and I thought they would be amazing for storage in my craft room. Well it was fate, I think. Now I not only have some sewing drawers, but I have a entire cabinet that will be perfect for my new sewing machine. Woot, woot!
It is funny how things work out sometimes isn’t it?
Isn’t she a beauty? I just love her raised moldings and her cute little drawers. The drawer in the middle tilts down and has three long compartments for more supplies. The top folds up and to the left as a table for fabric and the middle was converted to fit a modern sewing machine by its previous owner. So cool!
Now the color she has been painted is a little too vibrant for my taste. My home is decorated in mostly creams, whites, grays, browns. I know, I’m a little boring! I am more of a subtle kind of gal so I have plans to repaint her in the near future.
That is where I was hoping you could help me out.
I would be so grateful if you would vote in my little poll below and give me your opinion on what color you think my little sewing cabinet should be painted. If you have other colors you think I should think about then please leave me a comment below and let me know your ideas. I plan to share what color I ended up choosing later this week and her transformation in the next week or two.
{Poll Closed}
The poll results can be found here and the final reveal of this cabinet can be found HERE. Please stop by to see how my sewing cabinet looks now!
Until next time…
Parties I’ve Linked Up To:
~ Under the Table and Dreaming – Sunday Showcase Party ~ Skip to My Lou – Made By You Monday ~ Sumo’s Sweet Stuff – Market Yourself Mondays ~ DIY Show Off – DIY Project Parade ~ Craft-to-Maniac – Monday Link Party ~ Coastal Charm – Nifty Thrifty Tuesday ~ Vintage Wanna Bee – Talent Tuesday ~ A Stroll Thru Life – 112th Table Top Tuesday ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Tuesdays Treasures ~ Home Stories A to Z – Tutorials & Tips Party ~ Domestically Speaking – 122nd Power of the Paint Party ~ Savvy Southern Style – Wow Us Wednesdays ~ The Shady Porch – Rock n’ Share ~ Not Just a Housewife – Show Me Whatcha Got ~ Our Delightful Home – Linky Party ~ Embracing Change – Creative Inspirations ~ The Shabby Creek Cottage – Transformation Thursday ~ Somewhat Simple – Blog Link Party ~ Brambleberry Cottage – Time Travel Thursday ~ French Country Cottage – Feathered Nest Friday ~ Miss Mustard Seed – Furniture Feature Friday ~ It’s a Hodgepodge Life – It’s a Hodgepodge Friday ~ Fingerprints on the Fridge – Feature Yourself Friday ~ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating – Flaunt It Friday ~ Hating Martha – Stinky Linky ~ My Romantic Home – Show & Tell Friday ~ The Craftionary – Friday Fun Party ~ Five Days…Five Ways – Feature Friday Free for All ~ Days of Chalk & Chocolate – Latest Greatest Friday ~ Redoux – Friday Feature Party ~ Tatertots & Jello – Weekend Wrap-up Party ~ Southern Lovely – Show and Share ~
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19 comments
Sharon Hines
April 18, 2012 at 2:11 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Love your mom’s bookcase…is it okay if I’m jealous? ;)
Love the story of how you found the sewing cabinet. I voted for gray. Can’t wait to see what you decide.
Sharon @ mrs. hines class
Carrie
April 18, 2012 at 2:52 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It’s ok Sharon, because I am jealous of my Mom’s cabinet too!:) I think my sewing cabinet would look awesome in gray too. Great suggestion! There are so many colors to choose from, so we’ll see what the final consensus is. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Carrie
Mrs. Delightful
April 18, 2012 at 6:08 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Awesome transformation! I would love for you to link up at my linky party via: http://ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com/2012/04/live-linky-party-10.html to share this awesome post with my readers.
Mrs. Delightful
http://www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
April 19, 2012 at 11:43 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
You have found some of the most beautiful pieces and I love the way you redo them. The inside of the hutch is displayed so beautifully. Can’t wait to see the sewing cabinet. Thanks for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty
Mary Alice Patterson
April 19, 2012 at 6:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It’s amazing how those dark cabinets come to life with paint. Yours is so pretty now.
Mary Alice
Carrie
April 20, 2012 at 10:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thank you Mary Alice.
Hani
April 19, 2012 at 9:38 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Love both the colors.. You’ve got an amazing choice.. :) Thanks for linking up at friday fun party.. :)
Tricia
April 20, 2012 at 1:23 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I always love paint projects and your turned out beautiful.
Stopping by from stinky link party. Tricia @ {Seeking Eco-Chic}
Jenn Gray
April 20, 2012 at 11:59 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Love lOve loVe lovE! Bythewayjenngray.blogspot.com
Maryann @ Domestically Speaking
April 20, 2012 at 9:30 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
So glad you’re mom was ok! The cabinet looks beautiful cream’ified! I’m featuring it in the PoPP Spotlight this weekend. Thanks for sharing.
Carrie
April 20, 2012 at 9:55 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow Maryann! I am so thrilled to be featured in your PoPP spotlight. Thank you so much and thanks for stopping by to let me know.
Jenny
April 23, 2012 at 7:51 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It’s gorgeous!! I love how it turned out! Featuring you this week!
Carrie
April 23, 2012 at 8:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow Jenny! Thanks so much for featuring my project. I am very grateful! :)
Stacey
April 23, 2012 at 10:24 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Gorgeous cabinet Carrie! Thamks for coming by to share :o)
Stacey of Embracing Change
Carrie
April 24, 2012 at 8:58 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks Stacey. I hope you have an awesome time on your vacation.
Carrie
Kim
April 25, 2012 at 8:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Beautiful! I found you via the PoPP Spotlight at Domestically Speaking. Your work is just lovely.
Carrie
April 26, 2012 at 9:26 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks so much Kim for stopping by and for your kind words. I hope to see you again sometime.
Monica Livas
May 26, 2012 at 2:37 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
WOW! I’m in love…
Carrie
May 27, 2012 at 7:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks Monica! :)