Breathing new life into an old cupboard

Several years ago I found this sweet, unique cupboard for $25. What a steal! Could not believe it. I asked the owners exactly what it was and they said it was a "knock down wardrobe." What is that I asked? A Knock Down Wardrobe is:  "Knocks down into 8 piece for transport and getting up narrow stairwells in the old days when they lacked closet space. Easy assembly, locks into a sturdy sound large wardrobe armoire when assembled."

This is taken from a website that shows how these
cupboards break down for easy transport.

Pretty sweet I thought but what was I going to do with it? I decided to take it to my friend's husband a.k.a. "The Furniture Fixer." Yup, this is his business name. It had a broken drawer and another fix that was needed plus I asked him to build more shelves on the inside other than the one at the top. I wanted to use it as a china/linen cupboard in my dining room.

The original cupboard before painting and 

against a bright yellow  wall. Good contrast so the 

upboard did not feel too dark.

So, after his fixes I have used it in my dining room for a couple of years. Up until the day I decided to add board and batten wainscoatting. Of course, this led to repainting the walls. Oh, and this led to a new dining room area rug...and...you get the picture.




The result, after I painted, was a dark blue wall with the black cupboard against it that led to a dark black visual hole where my cupboard was. Well, you guessed it, this led to...an impromptu paint treatment to brighten up the cupboard doors. I messed up a couple spots, and had to redo some things but, in the end, I'm pleased with the result. Hope you are too!

After paint treatment, whole cupboard 

looks brighter.

Watered down some white paint to white wash, then sponged on some
2-toned beige paint. Lastly, stenciled in silver metallic,

Linking up this week to:

DIY Showoff at http://diyshowoff.com
Mod Mix Monday
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

What's in the Gunny Sack Linky Party
So Very Creative