Color Splash: Painted Cabinet
August 27, 2010
I’m making my way around my four year old boy’s room, slooooowly attempting to spruce it up and give it some real style. One day when it’s all done, I’ll show you the blah before and you’ll see just how drab it was. His room, like all kids rooms, was in serious, and I mean serious, need of storage ~ I was stepping on all those Legos in the middle of the night. For four, he’s usually pretty good at putting those toys away, but since he had no real storage, I really couldn’t get too upset. But something had to be done !
Yet again, I shopped my house for the perfect solution. We had a tall tower made up of stackable cabinets (purchased here five years ago) that used to sit in the playroom, but since I now want to find a desk in there for homework and art projects, I decided to repurpose these honey wood cabinets for the lad’s room instead.
Their size couldn’t be more perfect ~ they now sit right next to his closet on a narrow patch of wall space. Problem ? They were all scuffed up and I couldn’t visualize the the honey stain look in his room. And if I don’t get to paint something at least once a month, I start to twitch.
Some primer, paint, and crown molding transformed these cabinets in a weekend, and gave his room the splash of color it needed, plus the tower provides fantastic storage for all those toys, books, and collected treasures.
Before & After:
The interior paint came from a sample found at True Value ~ it’s called ‘New Orleans’. Once the cabinetry was primed (oil based Zinsser) and painted white, I enlisted the little guy’s help.
I also added some crown molding to the top just to fancy it up a bit. My kitchen cabinet installer taught me this little trick for adding crown to a cabinet. These particular cube sections have a rippled edge on top, so there was no flat front section to attach the crown. No worries. We simply built a frame out of 1 x 2” strips of wood, and attached that to the top of the cabinet.
Notice how I can’t be bothered to paint the back of a cabinet that you’ll never see . . .
We allowed just enough space on top and around the frame for the crown to ‘sit’ on. We cut our crown at a 45 degree angle with the compound miter saw and attached it with finish nails to the frame. Caulk or spackle any gaps, then paint.
And since we live in earthquake country, for safety, I screwed the top cabinet to the wall with some of those Velcro straps.
The perfect stylish storage solution !
I love love love the bright green interior, and the fresh white paint up against his blue walls !!
Momma and her little mister are quite happy now that his toys finally have a home.
Ah, the magical power of paint.
Tags: boys room, painted, painted cabinet
Wow…what an improvement. It doesn’t even look like the same piece of furniture.
AWESOME!! I just love paint and crown mixed together, one of my favorite things :)
XO
Kristin
I love it so much. The room looks gorgeous.
Great looking re-do, love the color choices and how wonderful to get your son involved!
I love it, it looks so fresh!
That looks fantastic! I love the colors also and the molding at the top just adds to it….nice job.
I love it. It looks waaaay better. So much more custom. I love the surprise color on the inside. Your little guy is so stinkin cute I want to stick him in my pocket! How old is he? I think he looks like the hubster.
Beautiful!!! Please come to my house and decorate or at least tell me what to do!! I love all your creations.
I’m stunned at this transformation. It looks amazing! The crown molding added the magical touch, and the green paint inside makes it a happy piece.
Your little one is a doll!
Nancy
Looks great!! Love the green interior. And the blog looks fab too!!
I love the crown molding! It really updates this shelving. What a lucky little guy.
I want to be you when I grow up. And I’m probably older than you, so that’s weird.
What a cute little man you have! Beautiful colors for your boy’s room. I will be adding some crown to an ikea bookshelf tomorrow. Thanks for your post!
I love this!
Do you mind sharing the wall color? What a beautiful blue.
he is so happy and love the extra toy space hey. love it!!!!
Wow, how awesome is that?!? I love it! I also love that you secured them to the wall to ensure safety. As a former Paramedic, that was the first thing I thought of as I was looking at it. :0)
Thanks so much for sharing. I LOVE all of your projects. They are just amazing!
Have a great weekend!
Blessings,
Teresa <
Really great makeover! The moulding at the top really makes the piece shine.
So nice, I’m inspired to do this too!
Quick question, how big was the sample jar that you bought? They look like they’d be really good for small paint jobs like that, and it seems like you got a lot of coverage!
It’s so much more cheerful. I’m sure your son will be excited to pull books off the shelves!
I love it!!! I am now walking around my house looking at my furniture wondering “where can I add crown moulding? See what you did! Thanks!!!
What difference paint (and crown molding) makes! Looks great!
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