Barn Red Cabinet

I found this cabinet on kijiji and thought I could use it as an office in my kitchen.  I don't have a spot for my laptop, printer, etc. so I thought I could convert this cabinet/bar into a space to hold the electronics as well as pens, paper and other stationery supplies.   It is from Ikea and is made out of pine.  The dimensions are 63 1/2" high x 39" wide x 15" deep...perfect for the spot I had in mind.

Here is how I finished the cabinet...

I really wanted to paint it red.  I've wanted to paint a piece of furniture the color red so I though this was the perfect piece to experiment with and even though its the only red piece I have, I think it adds some "pizzazz" to the kitchen.

The first thing I did was remove the hardware and these "grooved" pieces that hold wine bottles.  I then filled in the holes with wood putty.

I lightly sanded the entire cabinet with 100-grit sandpaper and then removed the sanding dust.  I stained the entire cabinet, inside and outside with Minwax stain in the color "Ebony".  When the stain dried completely, I gave the cabinet three coats of red paint by Martha Stewart.  The color is called "Barn".  The ebony stain, even after three coats of paint, was still visible through the layers of barn red which gives the cabinet an aged look and gives the paint dimension.

                                                                                                               

The glass inserts in the door could not be removed, but I didn't want to leave them "clear" because I am going to place my printer behind the door together with paper and other supplies and I just don't want any of that visible.  So, I bought an all-purpose primer from Home Depot and applied two coats to the glass inserts, letting it completely dry between coats.  Once dry, I applied three coats of chalkboard paint by DecoArt. On the inside of the door, I will be adding cork so it can be used as a bulletin board, but I just haven't done that yet.

When the paint dried I applied a paste wax by Minwax to the cabinet.  The paste wax is clear so I added a couple of teaspoons of dark walnut stain to approximately 1/2 cup of wax and mixed it until blended.   I applied the wax with a soft cloth which allowed me to "buff" it as I applied it.

I added brushed nickel knobs to cabinet which match the hardware on my kitchen cupboards. 

As you may (or may not) notice, I left a couple of shelves unpainted.  

I am happy with the way it turned out and I must admit I was a bit undecided about the color when I was working on this project, but now that it is finished, I am pleased with the results.  The barn red is bold, but it spices up the space.

Thank you for stopping by...

Lesa