Armoire Face Lift

Greetings, all.  We had a great visit here in Lexington with Jordan and Mr. Spring.  It’s always great when the kids return to the roost for a visit, even when it’s a quick one.

 

Today’s post is one I am finally glad to write.  It’s been a project that I have been putting off since we moved in last year.

 

 

Every time I post a photo of our mud room, you get a glimpse of an armoire that stands there on the right.  This huge piece of furniture used to house the television in our master bedroom of our last house.  It has lots of deep drawers which were perfect for storing my sweaters.

 

 

(Before)

My goal for its new home was to convert it into a shoe closet and to paint the exterior.  As I have mentioned before, we don’t wear our outside shoes in the house, so storing them in the mudroom where we have benches to sit when putting them on and taking them off made perfect sense.  However, for over a year it has looked like this.  I basically opened the door, threw in the shoes, and then went on.

 

 

(Before)

Finally and thankfully, the camel’s back was broken, and this is the straw that did it.  One day when I was looking for a shoe to complete a pair, I ended up pulling them all out onto the floor.  (Note – I still keep my dressy shoes in my bedroom closet.)  That was it.  The next day I got to work on the conversion.

 

 (Before)

I removed the shoes, baskets, and unscrewed the movable shelf that held the television.  I realized it was time to deal with the hole in the back that was put there to take care of the wires.  I thought about my options – fabric, beadboard, ceiling tin, and wallpaper.  Since it was the easiest route to take, I went with wallpaper.

 

The armoire is huge and very masculine, and I didn’t want to go with a wallpaper that was too feminine or too trendy.  I also didn’t want to pick a color that would be in this year and out in 2013.  When I saw this paper that resembles a cain-bottomed chair, I knew it would be perfect.  I just applied it onto the back of the armoire to cover the holes and left the sides alone.

 

 

Next, with Mr. Autumn’s assistance, I installed a shelf and also bought and assembled this little shoe caddy.  Originally, it was white, but I painted it brown and installed some wallpaper to enhance it a little.

 

 

The interior now looks like this, and it functions perfectly.  There is a spot for shoes, and the drawers hold extra gloves, scarves, etc.  My boots will lie in the bottom drawer.  Take a good look at the hardware.  It’s not my fave, but I really didn’t want to replace it.  It has a Frency vibe going on.

 

It was all shiny and too brassy for my tastes, so I toned it down with some black and brown paints that I applied and then wiped off.  I bet you are noticing the red tones of the wood.  That is the thing about this armoire that I N.E.V.E.R. liked.  Since the day we bought it, I have intended to paint it.  But, oh, what a project that would be.  I know.  I know.  All of you furniture painters out there are probably foaming at the mouth, but I just didn’t want to start.  Plus, there were tons and I mean tons of people begging me to not paint it.

 

 

So one day during art class, I was talking to my teacher, who is also my friend and neighbor, about my little situation.  She suggested that I should add a glaze to it.  That was my ah-ha moment.  I wanted to kiss her on the spot.  The next day I took the shelf that had been holding the t.v. to a local paint shop, and they mixed several shades of glaze for me to try.  We eventually settled on this one that is between a grayish, brownish black.  I applied two coats, and bam!!!  Good-bye red mahogany stain.

 

 

This is what the finish looks like now.  It is still mahogany, but it is a quieter more polite finish.  It is no longer “in my face”.  The simple process took probably a total of one hour in actual application and rub down time.

 

 

 

Here it is in total.  The glaze job isn’t perfect, but hey, anything is better than what it was.  And I’m a happy camper.

Take care.

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