How to Freshen up a China Cabinet

When renovating The Boise Treehouse, we wanted to make sure to retain as much character as possible with our updates.  I love accents that really make a house a home. 
One of the features I was determined to keep was the corner china cabinet. It was in great shape, looked cute, adding some dimension to the dining area and helped to add storage!

The only downside, it looked a little bland. I wanted it to pop out against the otherwise fairly simple light yellow wall and catch your eye as a decorative piece.

Here are the steps I took to update the china cabinet and bring beauty back to this forgotten cabinet:

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1. Remove from the wall so that it was free-standing and easier to work with.
2. Remove the glass panes so that I don’t accidentally break them in the process.
3. Sand down all sides of the china cabinet to minimize the look of multiple layers of old, tacky paint.
4. Repaint all sides of this china cabinet our favorite go-to BEHR trim and door paint.  Through a lot of trial and error we’ve locked onto this product due to it’s super tough nature and the fact that it cleans off easily with just a wet rag.  I chose the “Coffee Bean” color which comes out as a nice creamy-white shade.
5. Add a modern, updated flair with new hardware that coordinates with the rest of The Treehouse.
6. Anchor back to the wall in the dining room with screws and your handy stud finder (I use Ryan as mine ;) ).
7. Pick an accent wallpaper and apply to the interior of each visible part of the china cabinet.  I recommend peel and stick wallpapers, as they basically work just like a giant sticker. It’s easy to apply and even easier to remove if you mess it up the first time, which you better believe I did.
   1. I’d recommend laying out your wallpaper before applying so that you can make sure your seams line up and you minimize waste. The most difficult part of this is just ensuring that it appears seamless or as close to seamless as you can get.
   2. Another great added benefit of wallpaper is the fact that it will also cover up the anchoring screw heads, making the finished product look clean and professional.


8. Here are some awesome before and after photos of our china cabinet.  Even with just the slightest change in paint color, updated hardware and the addition of wallpaper, this tired cabinet goes from drab to fab.

before

after

I also recommend using these methods with any other accent pieces in your home to update and add flair with minimal cost and time.

One idea I kept throwing out before sticking with the cream colored paint, was to strip off all the prior colors and re-stain the cabinet into a nice natural wood hue.  However, the time involved in this didn’t seem worth it for this particular project. Plus, I realized we have a TON of different wood colors throughout The Boise Treehouse so adding another wouldn’t make sense.
However, stripping and staining might be the best option for your project and I highly recommend it in the right situation. There is no better feeling than bringing to life some previously hidden beautiful wood grain.

Let us know if you have a before and after refurbishing project you want to share, I love seeing other people’s projects and interpretations of this idea! If you need more ideas for you home give us a call!

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