Painting A Family Heirloom: Antique China Cabinet Makeover

So you’re of the age that your family wants to hand down some heirlooms to you because they think you’ll appreciate them now. Prior to this time in your life, you probably wouldn’t have valued the connection you have with an old, crusty, grungy piece of furniture that’s been sitting in someone’s storage unit or basement that was handed down for generations. But now, you think you’re ready… or your family thinks you’re ready. You’re being given a piece of history that your family has shared for years with the next generation. Expensive things were hard to come by in the late 1800’s and the 1900’s . Shoot, they still are. (But the current inflation rate is not a topic for this page. We’re all about making furniture pretty.) We definitely don’t want to disappoint your family or have anyone rolling over in the grave. So we need a new, beautiful finish that would make them proud…. where do you start?

First off… say thank you. You’ve just been gifted something of great value if not monetarily, for sentimental purposes.

Next, decide if you want to roll up your sleeves and tackle a big job of refinishing yourself or if you want to hire someone to do it for you. (I’m for hire by the way 😉). While it can be a back breaking job to clean up and repair some of these older pieces, with a little know how, you can tackle the job yourself. Here’s a look at the before on this china caninet. 😳 Lots of dings and gouges. Missing trim. Stuck drawers. And it was definitely a bleeder!

You will need to complete any needed repairs to the piece prior to cleaning it or getting started with the refinishing process. You can find various posts here on my website (just peruse around) or on my YouTube channel for basic repairs.
Once those are made, you’re going sand your piece down. You may need to remove old lacquer or alligator skin, or completely strip the old finish depending on what shape it’s in.

Next, it’s time for a super to duper deep cleaning. We like to use TSP from Home Depot or White Lightning from Dixie Belle Paint Co. When cleaning pieces, you want to clean until your rinse water is clean. This may take several wash downs and several buckets/pans of water. If you’re to the point that you’re rinse/cleaning water is relatively clear, you can start removing any residue left behind from your cleansers as these can sometimes interfere with paint adherence. In other words, wash off your cleanser. 😂

Next up, you need to decide if your piece needs to be primed. I don’t prime all my pieces. Whether or not I do depends on the original finish/wood, any smells it may have, the likelihood of tannins/bleeding, and the desired completed look. There are several primers on the market and they come in both water based and oil based. Water based goes on much easier, doesn’t smell as bad, and cleans up much easier. Oil based is going to give you more protection/a better barrier but it is more difficult to work with and definitely has a bad odor (make sure and wear a mask 😷 when using any and all chemicals). For either of these, you can choose to spray, roll or brush them on. If brushing, I definitely don’t use one of my good brushes. Dixie Belle has a great primer, BOSS, that won’t ruin your brushes and you can find it here.

The fun part comes when you get to pick a finish. There are so many wonderful colors out there to choose from and if you don’t like your choices, you can always make a custom color by mixing paint colors that are available. A little color theory can help with that.

For this piece, my client wanted a light, airy blue so I chose Haint Blue from Dixie Belle Paint Co. After applying two coats of primer, I applied 2 coats of Haint Blue and sealed it with Clear Coat.

This was absolutely a new piece now. All the repairs made, cleaned, primed, and a new fabulous paint cover to give it new life. All that was left… was the finishing touches. For that, we brought out some adhesive wallpaper from Coloritto. Isn’t it just beautiful?

It paired so well with Haint Blue. It looks a little green in the stock photo but I assure you, it is not. It’s crisp and clean and so fresh! What a great combo! The best part, it’s super easy to apply. You can check out a quick video here that shows how fast and easy it is.