and breathe…

7 o’clock Sunday evening and at last I can take a breath and just breathe…

My epic weekend commenced yesterday at 9am when I decided it would be a really good idea to change the colour of two cabinets that I have in my Sitting Room.

Originally sourced from The Cotswold Company a number of years ago they have moved around the house several times.

Finally arriving in the lounge they fitted perfectly and housed all sorts of Stuff. Spare lightbulbs, DVD’s, vases, throws – so much Stuff that I could not be without them.

Sadly, their colour never sat very comfortably with the scheme that I had in mind. As such these past few weeks/months have been spent trying to find a suitable alternative. Nothing. Well, all sorts actually, but nothing that would tie in with the existing space and furniture.

Hence my desire to reform them into useful storage items that would at last add a little bit of zest to the room rather than gloom.

I did a quick bit of revision by watching an Annie Sloan™ recording. She made it look so easy, and so fast. Surely, I would be able to have both units painted and waxed by teatime.

Not so. The preparation seemed to take forever as the handles were not only screwed to the drawers, but glued as well. I’m sure that was the most time consuming part of the exercise, masking all of the metal work.

Next, getting the paint to the right consistency was a challenge. I have always found chalk paint difficult to work with but well worth the effort as it can be painted directly onto the surface of your choice without any rubbing down.

Day One – Cabinet One

I chose the smaller of the two units to start with.

Using Annie Sloan Antibes Green Chalk Paint™ I applied the first coat. This took about an hour after which time I left it for an hour to dry. The second coat took about the same amount of time to apply but I left it a little longer to dry before applying the wax.

I chose Annie Sloan™ Soft Dark Wax to apply as the final coat. This was probably the hardest part of all. Not only is it very physical but also quite hard to get the desired finish. Needless to say I had only managed one cabinet by the end of day one, but at least it was a success.

Day Two – Cabinet Two

I forget to mention the time that it took me to empty the first cabinet, but it took as much time, if not more to empty the second. Certainly, something else that I hadn’t considered before embarking on this epic task.

Once free of Cabinet Two’s contents I set about masking the handles of which there were seven this time. Once done I quickly applied the first coat of paint to the drawers and frame and left to dry.

I repeated this step once more and then applied the soft dark wax to seal and protect. Job done.

I am now the proud owner of a matching pair of storage units. Once cured, between 5-21 days, I will return them to their respective homes in my Sitting Room.

Good work!

📸 Carolyn Hayter
📸 Featured Image - Pinterest