We often say ‘can’t complain’ when talking weather but what we really mean is we’re going to endlessly crap on about all things climatic until the cows come home. Come on, this is Britain after all and complaining is another thing on the list of stuff we’re good at. When moaning becomes an Olympic sport, Britain will top the medals table.
But if you have managed to squeeze a few barrels of vino out of your vineyard then you’re going to need a fitting place in which to show off your bottles of homemade plonk. Like one of my beautifully upcycled vintage cabinets.
‘I thought you said no more cabinets’ muttered the other half gingerly tiptoeing round the array of paint pots, brushes and rolls of wallpaper scattered across the lounge floor once more. Yeah, I may have said that yonks ago but then again ….
Rachel from Accounts is not the only one splashing cash harvested from the magical money tree growing in the garden of No 11. I’ve spent the princely sum of £5 on yet another piece of old tat that caught my eye in Chi’s local Heart Foundation Shop. What a bargain! Definitely cheaper than the recent acquisition of British Steel or French gendarmerie paid to patrol Normandy beaches.
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| Vintage cabinet bargain at £5 |
This latest cabinet acquisition will be an upcycling challenge for me since it has not one section to wallpaper but two being a unique triangular shape.
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| Roomy interior |
Overall, the cabinet is in relatively good condition for its age except for the damaged veneered edge on the top. Not skilled enough to attempt a repair to the original veneer then my plan is to very carefully cut the broken sections out to create a new edging strip along the outer edge of the top piece.
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| Damaged veneer on the front edge |
Using a very sharp thin bladed scalpel, carefully score a fine line on the veneer where you wish to cut. Don’t drag the blade backwards and forwards and this might splinter the remaining veneer. Repeat your cut in the same direction until you reach the wood under the veneer then using the flat edge of the blade, slowly lift away the veneer bit by bit.
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| Carefully removing some veneer to create an edging strip |
The internet recommends using heat guns or steam irons and wet cloths to soften the underlying adhesive which then enables veneer to be easily removed. However, as I’m only removing a very small section then to prevent damaging the rest of the top section, I’ve decided not to use these methods but instead go my own way.
Once the wood underneath is fully exposed, the edging strip can be sanded then prepared for painting.
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| Edge ready to prepare for decorating |
Having previously refurbished three vintage cabinets then it didn’t take long to prime up the main body, paint it with furniture paint and apply two strips of wallpaper to the interior of each side.
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| Primed using Zinsser Bin primer |
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| 2 x coats of 'Milltown' furniture paint |
I’m using some of my leftover Holden Lemurs wallpaper in teal for the interior and paired this up with a furniture paint called ‘Milltown’ purchased from B&Q. The teal background colour of the wallpaper is an almost perfect match for this shade of paint.
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| Holden's Lemur wallpaper in teal colour |
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| Tropical interior and lemur sanctuary |
Once again, I’ve painted the cabinet legs in a metallic gold colour. The lemur wallpaper has many colours in it that could have been used as an accent colour for the legs such as vibrant pink, bright turquoise blue or even black to blend your design in with the actual lemurs. There’s a lot you can do artistically with this type of wallpaper as your background.
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| Gold painted legs |
Fortunately, the cabinet door is pretty intact, no broken glass panels, missing keys or damaged locks which means little extra work plus lot of original features that can be kept. I like to retain some of the original character of each cabinet I upcycle so this time, I’ll be keeping the outer vertical bar unpainted as the veneered finish on it is very good. The remaining door edges will be painted, all inner borders picked out in metallic gold.
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| My four-legged assistant oversees door painting |
So far so good. Now it’s time to rip off my clothes, stand naked in front of the oscillating table top fan whilst licking a cornetto in a bid to cool off my fevered blogging brow as it’s swelteringly hot in Chi-biza. Bollocks - the chocolate’s melted onto my boobies. What a messy bugger!
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