Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Amazing Armoire Makeover

I LOVE armoires!  I think they are pretty and interesting and offer great storage behind closed doors.  I picked up this armoire for FREE from a school that was closing. Originally I was going to use it for supplies for a preschool I was starting. But we moved and the whole preschool thing didn't happen.  So I started using this as my craft cupboard.  It's perfect to hold all of my projects and supplies. 
Well, the brown just wasn't doing it for me, but I never got around to redoing it until now (a year after I first acquired the beaut).  It was suppose to be a quick, easy paint job.  But when is it ever easy?  The paint started chipping and I had to strip her down to the wood.  She had about four coats of various paint on her.  Can I just say that I HATE stripping paint?!  This whole process took way too long because I just didn't want to do it.  I started with a spray paint stripper, but it didn't do very much. So I picked up this awesome gel type paint stripper. 

It worked amazingly!  Plus, it smelled good (perfect since I was removing the paint from this thing inside the house).  Anyway, after lots of paint scraping and some sanding she was ready to be made over. Here she is primed.

 I added crown molding to the top.  She was just too plain jane to begin with.  Then I painted. 
And then I stenciled the doors.  After that I painted and wiped off a glaze over everything and finished with a coat of poly. 
 And finally, I added some bling in the form of hardware.  Phew!  Just typing it all makes me tired.
My husband is thrilled that I am done.  He's not a fan of the mess I make with my projects (neither am I ).  I'm thrilled that it's done because I was getting tired of working on it and it looks sooooo much better then it did.

Here is the before and after:

That's what I call an extreme makeover!

I'm linking this baby up to the parties featured on our left sidebar.  Check them out!

35 comments:

Cassie Bustamante April 6, 2010 at 12:13 PM  

it looks awesome! what a difference! it's so much fresher now- great job!

Amber April 6, 2010 at 12:21 PM  

That is GORGEOUS! I love it! Great job!

Kelsey @ Tattered and Inked April 6, 2010 at 12:33 PM  

It turned out beautiful! I've been dying to get my hands on an armoire! I love how yours turned out.

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking April 6, 2010 at 1:18 PM  

What a transformation!!! You did a beautiful job. I've got a Power of Paint Party every Wednesday at my blog... I'd love for you to show this armoire off.

The Buttars Family April 6, 2010 at 1:19 PM  

Tiff, you did a great job. That armoire looks awesome! You sure a woman of MANY talents. I am really enjoying this blog...keep being creative for all of us who don't have a creative bone in our body...who knows, I might just attempt one of your ideas :)

One Cheap B*tch April 6, 2010 at 1:24 PM  

Wow - now that's what I call a fabulous makeover! Gorgeous! Although I liked it with the brown and chippy paint too!

Jeanine

Reunion Committee April 6, 2010 at 1:50 PM  

oh I love this! Gorgeous!
~Tana

Megan Gunyan April 6, 2010 at 6:42 PM  

It looks so beautiful! You have a lot of patience! :) I love the crown molding and the stencils. Great job!!

I would love if you stopped by my blog for a fun spring block give away! Ends tonight at midnight! Have a great night! alittleknickknack.blogspot.com

Lisa Nelsen-Woods April 6, 2010 at 8:42 PM  

What an amazing transformation. I'm really impressed!

Just Wrap It Fitness April 6, 2010 at 8:44 PM  

I LOVE it!! I love how you added the crown molding to it! Great job!
Nicole@The Two savvy Sisters

Shayna @ Texas Monkey April 7, 2010 at 7:47 AM  

I love love love it! Very pretty and makes me want to get out and find one to redo.

pamela April 7, 2010 at 11:19 AM  

Delightful. What a change. This armoire has some serious style now. Nicely done.
Pamela

The Single Nester April 7, 2010 at 3:05 PM  

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Just lovely. How does one put moulding on the top?

Julie Bagamary April 7, 2010 at 5:36 PM  

WOW - that came out great and seems worth all the effort. It's beautiful!

Tiff April 7, 2010 at 5:48 PM  

Thanks everyone!

Carmie, the molding I used is really light (as in, not heavy) stuff that looks like foam board. I used corner pieces so I wouldn't have to miter the corners (someday I'll try that though). I cut the molding lengths myself with my jigsaw. And then I just nailed it to the armoire with my little nail gun (love that thing!). Was that as clear as mud? ;)

Veronica April 7, 2010 at 8:35 PM  

What a beautiful job you did. The molding is a great touch.

Katy April 7, 2010 at 8:47 PM  

I love it, particularly the color. Now does your hubby get angry over the mess or just "not excited"? lol I'm wondering if this is in their DNA!

Ericka April 7, 2010 at 9:54 PM  

Nicely done and I love the stencil on the doors...so delicate! Great Makeover!

CraftyMummy April 8, 2010 at 3:51 AM  

So gorgeous! I'm not brave enough to "craft" on furniture yet... but I dream of getting the courage ;) Thanks for the inspiration!

Rockie April 8, 2010 at 7:24 AM  

What an amazing makeover! You did a beautiful job! Thanks for posting.

www.rockiescrafts.blogspot.com

Helena April 8, 2010 at 8:46 AM  

That turned out beautiful! The process didn't sound like much fun, but what a great deal. And I'm loving the crown molding.

Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts

Kaysi April 8, 2010 at 10:39 AM  

Wow what a difference! I love the way it looks now and the front is so beautiful!

the cape on the corner April 9, 2010 at 1:15 PM  

what a transformation! great job.

Unknown April 9, 2010 at 5:44 PM  

This is amazing! Nice job! Hopping over from Creative Cats!
~Rebekah

Sarah AKA The Thriftress April 9, 2010 at 6:28 PM  

This is one of my fav revamps of the week. Hop on over to my blog to check out your feature! Be sure to grab my button and pin it on! You deserve it.
Sarah
http://thethritress.blogspot.com

Sarah AKA The Thriftress April 9, 2010 at 6:29 PM  

Oops...
http://thethriftress.blogspot.com

(must proof read...and type slower!)

Jen T April 9, 2010 at 7:07 PM  

What paint color did you use? It's a beautiful piece & your hard work definitely paid off! Good job!

Sarah April 9, 2010 at 8:34 PM  

WOW, your armoire turned out GORGEOUS!!!
God's blessings,
Sarah :D

Shayna @ Texas Monkey April 10, 2010 at 7:45 PM  

I just wanted to let you know that I've featured your armoire on my Dream Book Furniture edition, feel free to come by and check it out and pick up my I've been featured button.
http://texasmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/04/dream-book-furniture-edition-1.html

Kristi Flanagan April 11, 2010 at 9:41 AM  

Beautiful! Wow, what a transformation! Thanks so much for planting your creative seed at Punkin Seed Productions! Make sure to come back next Friday and see who was featured and plant more seeds!

Kristi
Punkin Seed Productions

Lori April 11, 2010 at 8:07 PM  

Wonderful job.

Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday! Please join me next week for another great party!

Andy Porter April 15, 2010 at 8:25 AM  

Amazing! I'll be featuring this tomorrow on Creative Cats!

Andy
Poppies at Play

Kristi Flanagan April 15, 2010 at 11:03 PM  

You've been featured! Come grab your button and plant some more creative seeds while you're there!

Kristi
Punkin Seed Productions

Ann Marie @ Twice Lovely April 17, 2010 at 6:54 AM  

I'm over from Remodelaholics. LOVE it! Especially the damask stencil. Just perfect...

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