A Kitchen Cupboard Repurposed

When we moved in there were cupboards already in the kitchen...kinda obvious huh. They were nice enough but we had recently replaced the cupboard's in the trailer with oak from Menards and we brought them with us. So I used the corner base cabinet that was here to make a tv stand for our room.

  First we put a 2 x 4 in the center for a brace

Then we added some 1 x 6 pine boards across the top. These were just scrap out of the scrap bin that I had for my stockpile at the trailer. They have lots of knots, dings and even some grooves on the edge for a rustic look. I used some wood filler to fill in screw holes and gaps. Then I used my electric hand sander with 80 grit and sanded down the top and sides. I also rounded the edges out a little bit.

I have been doing some research on chalk paint. Annie Sloan has a chalk paint line but at 30 something a can that is out of my budget. I found a recipe online that calls for baking soda. I went to Menards and bought sample pots of Pittsburgh Paint in White Chocolate and another blue green color. Sorry I can't find the card to tell the color. That happens alot to me. I sit something down and it walks away in this house. But no one touched it. Any way. 

I mixed the chalk paint at a 3 to 1 ratio. First I mixed the baking soda with water and mixed it really good. Adding just enough water to make it soupy. Then I added the paint and mixed it with a whip. 

I used a foam brush and brushed on 2 coats of the white and let it dry inbetween each for 24 hours. Then I dry brushed the blue over the top and also let it dry 24 hours. I literally just randomly slapped it on. Now the blue is not mixed with the baking soda yet. I did that later for the inside. Then I mixed a glaze with Minwax Dark Walnut and water. Using the wipe on wipe off I glazed over the paint and again waited 24 hours. With the glaze you want to wipe in on with a clean rag. Then using another clean rag wiping it off after about 30 seconds so work in small areas. This tied it all in.

Then I stained the top with the dark walnut stain. This made all of the rustic in the top pop out. Again waited 24 hours and brushed on one coat of Poly. One side of the cupboard did not have a door or drawer so I added some from the sink base that fell apart when we took it out. The left side has a drawer and the right is just a front glued on with wood glue. I put the glue around the edges and clamped it letting it also dry for 24 hours. Then I painted those without using the glaze. This made them stand out.

I finished with the paste wax again. Now the chalk paint has a rough finish so you want to use something to put over the top. Not only to smooth it out but for protection. I didn't want a shine on the body so I opted for the wax. This smoothed it out and gave it a dull sheen.

This is how it turned out. It looks like it has been sitting in a barn for years. This antiquing is pretty easy and lots of fun. 

Chalk paint is wonderful stuff. You can paint over anything with it with no sanding or primer. So we have a beautiful tv stand and best of all it cost a total of 4.00. Repurposing is the way to go. The uses are basically endless. Look around your house. What can you use to make something else?

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