French Display Cabinet Makeover

A Lovely french Display cabinet makeover

You won’t believe this incredible French Display Cabinet Makeover.  I picked up this little beauty as an afterthought.  I had been keeping my eye on her on Craigslist. She started out a bit pricey and the seller was touting her as an antique.  I could clearly see that while she had beautiful, classic french lines she was certainly vintage not antique.  Her price came down a bit.  I kept watching.  After all, did I really need yet another castoff from someones home to sit in my garage hoping to be reborn?  You betcha!  Some people collect art, I seem to have an insatiable appetite for furniture.

Lucky for me the cabinet was re-posted at a much reduced price. I didn’t need another piece of furniture laying around but I made an appointment to see the display case after work. This petite treasure had been spending the latter of her life outside in a gazebo.  She was in much worse shape than I had anticipated. Her veneer was popping off all over the place, especially from her curved top.  She had spider webs signs of moisture damage, and was definitely not an antique.  “Walk away Gina…..walk away…..oh but she’s so cute…you can do wonders with her”….yep….I did not walk away. 

History of This Little Treasure

The Bombay Company made this cabinet many years ago. While they are known for lovely looking reproduction pieces their craftsmanship is lacking. The paper  thin veneer was popping off in many places.  My plan is to paint the cabinet with lots of distressing so I decided to pry off any loose veneer and sand the edges down and give the cabinet a good sanding all over. I removed the ultra thin back and bottom shelf of the cabinet.  They were covered in a hideous red velvet and were so thin the fabric was holding them together.  I saved them to use as templates. 

The Glass Has Got To Go

I must confess that I already had a vision for this French display cabinet makeover.   My sister-in-law had vintage china cabinet that had been painted and converted into an incredible bookcase that really caught my eye .  Most endearing was the rustic chicken wire panels that replaced the glass.  This little display case was  just screaming out for chicken wire.  Only 4 – 6 tiny nails held each glass panel in place. Scary! After removing the nails, the 2 side panels came right out but the front panel refused to budge. I put tape over the front of the glass for safety and took the door outside where I was able to push the glass out.  Excitement overwhelmed me, I could hardly wait to get the chicken wire.

Let’s talk about chicken wire

Who knew it came in so many sizes and gauges? I wanted the smallest wire I could find, but not necessarily the thinnest.  I looked online and found that the smaller 1/2″ hexagon wire mesh is actually called Aviary Wire.  You want to get a 22 – 20 gauge wire and can always paint it to add thickness.  I was lucky to find mine at my favorite local mom and pop hardware store Coopers Hardware Store which I love to visit.  While I normally paint most of my furniture a shade of white, she was going to be a pale aqua with white interior to show off the chicken wire inserts.

Is your wire shiny? If its from a new roll it probably is.  Personally, I love it old and weathered.  Just leave it outside for a few days or weeks if you can, it loses the shine fairly quickly. You can also rub it down with a vinegar wash to take the shine out.

The supplies needed are very minimal.  The color of the cabinet was a mixture of Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg, Provence, and White.  I have made my own chalky paints using Behr Paint with Primer added and Calcium Carbonate.  All of the paints work really well. 

As you can see even if the cabinet itself was a total loss the door could be re-purposed into a charming accent piece. Always keep your eye out for discarded pieces and try to see them in a different light.

To Distress or Not to Distress 

There are a lot of choices to make when up-cycling a piece and bringing into the present decor.  It really is a matter of taste.  Everyone has their own sense of style.  I happen to like distressing my pieces.  Each takes on it’s own personality. This particular cabinet needed the distressing. It originally had low quality inlays on the front, by distressing those areas it adds interest to the curved front panel.

Handling the Hardware

Another choice to make is the carved details.  Do you accent them, paint them a different color or leave them original?  This French display cabinet had brass appliques lightly nailed on to the top, front and sides of legs.  They had a wonderful old dark patina on them.  It was a tough choice but in the end I used a watered down wash of the same color to antique the appliques.  It may not look it, but in person, the contrast was a bit overwhelming for this petite piece.  The antiquing allows the dark patina to peek thru but softens the look and makes the piece more cohesive and feminine.  If you click on the images below, you can see close up details of the cabinet. Enjoy!

A Gallery of The French Display Cabinet Makeover in different stages of work.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out this cool little French Display Cabinet Makeover.  So many pieces to keep working on.  Come back and visit often to see what’s in the works.

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