Re-Loved Red Country Cupboard

Good morning everyone!  I hope you all had an incredible holiday…for us the past two days have been a whirlwind of family, food and so much fun! Even this little guy has gotten into the holiday spirit (this IS his happy face : )And we still have the weekend yet to party! But, in the meantime, I thought I would share my latest project with you, since it is so merry and bright : ) This was a Craigslist purchase that Coach picked up about a month ago. It sat on the porch, waiting for my broken foot to heal (UGH) until finally, I just went ahead and worked on it, boot and all,

because I needed to get it out of the family room before the holiday! The BEFORE: scratched, dark pine cupboard with a veneer plywood backing.

AFTER: A Re-Loved Red Country Cupboard with a ship-lap planking background. A happy piece for (I hope) a happy home!

Here’s my how-to:

1. Sanded down the surfaces, buffing out the deep scratches on the lowest exposed shelf. Luckily for me, other than some scratches and dirt, this piece was in good shape. No mildewy or cigarette odors-that is the worst to try and remove!
2. Painted with two coats of Annie Sloan Emperor’s Silk Chalk Paint- the most gorgeous color red. But, the funny thing about the color red is, no matter what brand you use, it still takes several coats to get a uniform color throughout the piece, especially when painting over a dark surface. In this case, I was planning to distress it anyway so it really didn’t matter that it wasn’t a super uniform finish. I sanded down the edges, then finished it with a coat of Varathane Matte Interior Polyurethane. I love this stuff- has essentially no odor, dries quickly and leaves a soft, slight sheen.
3. For the backing, I just couldn’t leave that dark pine veneer, so I added some ship-lap pieces of rustic pine planking Coach dug out of the barn. I cut them to the right size, fitting them behind each shelf like a puzzle.
4. I then stained them a with a General Finishes Country Pine stain for some added contrast.
5. Dry-brushed them with a light coat of Americana Chalky Paint.
6. I laid them all into place, then used Gorilla glue to secure them to the back wall. Once dried, I used my staple/ finish nail gun to secure them permanently without making any apparent nail holes.
7. Of course, as I was lining up the planking, I created a few scratches on the already finished red cupboard.
8. So I mixed some paint and poly together and re-applied to the scratched areas, blending into the already finished wood.
9. I replaced the “colonial kitchen hardware” with a simple wood knob and some iron hinges and we’re done!
10. AFTER: the Red Country Cupboard all decked out and ready for the holidays : )I hope you all had a magical holiday and that your new year will bring you much joy-I know we are all looking forward to 2016!! Have a great post-holiday weekend, everyone! Susan