My friends know me well – when one of them spotted a wardrobe that was in need of some TLC, she immediately thought of me and got in touch. Amanda, a professional organiser and founder of Orderly Office and Home, was working with a family in my local area who had some furniture they no longer needed and as soon as I saw a picture of the wardrobe, I knew I couldn’t resist it as a makeover project.
I went to view it and took my measuring tape to see if we could transport it. Fortunately it separates into 3 parts, so getting it home in our car was just do-able. It’s such a nice piece, don’t you think? Handmade in pine, it was in need of some cosmetic improvement.
My initial idea was to re-purpose it from a wardrobe into a pantry or larder cupboard for our kitchen. Have you seen the sort I mean? Often bespoke, they can be pricey, as well as stunning and so practical. Imagine all your baking equipment and ingredients beautifully organised in one space like this…
Kitchen Pantry Cupboard, John Lewis of HungerfordWith the addition of some shelves, baskets and spice racks fixed to the inside of the doors, I could definitely see that sort of thing working. But sadly, when we brought the wardrobe home and put it in our kitchen I had to admit that the proportions were just too much for our space. In a bigger house it would be ideal, whether as kitchen storage or as a lovely coat cupboard in a large hallway.
So because we were unable to keep it, I didn’t convert the inside, however I was still keen to give it an exterior makeover. Fortunately I had been sent some cupboard paint to try from Ronseal. The shade I used was Cobalt Grey in a satin finish (there is a gloss version too).
Before starting, I lightly sanded the wardrobe all over by hand, wiped it down with white spirit and then got painting as neatly as I could. One coat was enough. It is an extremely durable paint, therefore ideal for kitchen cupboards and is dry in two hours. The fact that it doesn’t leave brush marks is perfect wherever you want a smooth, professional looking finish. You’ll need the windows open when you use it as it is pretty strong stuff, but it covered quickly and well – I just had to look out for the odd run and brush it in. Once dry, it is very smooth and silky to the touch.
The handles needed replacing so I was excited to try some new designs kindly sent to me from Pushka Home for this project. I loved the geometric pattern of these knobs and deliberately chose a mismatched set of 4 to add a bit of interest and some tiny pops of colour against the grey.
I got a buyer for the wardrobe, so although I’ll be sad we couldn’t use it in our home after all, at least it is going somewhere to be used and enjoyed.
Are you planning to do any makeovers like this on a tired piece of furniture in your home? Why not pin this post for later…
