My brother found this old record cabinet at a thrift store for $10. I told him to drop it off for a makeover and decided to lump that in as a Christmas gift. It’s about the size of an end table, so I knew it wouldn’t take long.
It’s solid wood and was in good structural shape, but the top was really scratched up. See how sad it was?
My brother didn’t have any specific instructions about how he wanted it to look, so I just decided to go with basic black. Keep it simple.
This was my first time painting with latex enamel. I thought it might give me a smoother finish than regular latex wall paint and it did. It comes in a few colors (like black, white, navy maybe?) off the shelf at a similar price point to regular latex paint ($9/quart). I chose a satin finish, but it also comes in gloss. It takes longer to dry/cure than regular latex paint, but I think it’s worth it for furniture. It feels smooth and durable and doesn’t need a top coat. I hardly used a fourth of the quart on this cabinet, so I’ll be using it again I’m sure.
I did not paint the inside. I know it’s begging to be painted, but I resisted. With the dividers and all the angles, that just looked like a peculiar form of torture, even for this girl who likes to paint nearly anything. The finish inside was in pretty good shape, so I don’t feel terrible about it.
But I did want to put some small surprise on the inside and if it wasn’t going to be with a paint color, the insides of the doors needed something. Enter Mod Podging with fabric to the rescue. Seriously, this is like my new favorite thing to do (if you didn’t know already).
I found a yard of this home dec fabric on the upholstery remnant pile at Hancock Fabrics. (The remnant pile recently went up from $4/yd. to $5/yd. Oh no!) Anyway, it looked sort of antiquey and modern at the same time. It’s mostly traditional, but the parrots make it a little cuckoo bananas. And I like that. A quick google image search tells me it’s regularly about $15-25/yd., so I’m happy with the price I paid.
I picked out these glass knobs at Hobby Lobby on sale 50% off, so $8 for the pair. I have to admit, it was unintentional, but the slightly yellowish tint coordinates well with the fabric on the inside.
And now the cabinet is ready for his record collection. And soooo much happier!
