An Amazing Cabinet Make Over With Stencils

I hated them!!!!! I mean, truly hated them....those nasty, ugly barn wood cabinets in my master bath. The rest of my home is elegant; decorated in traditional style with lots of corbels, soft materials, restful colors. So this thing had to GO!!!!

 Now, you know me...I refuse to simply go buy new when something old is still in good shape. These cabinets were custom made, with heavy, thick wood, sturdy construction and in excellent shape. I can't just tear them out!

My plan was to create 1/4" oak inserts for each of the doors and drawers; My dilemma was that the barn wood was seriously glued in which prevented the panels from seating properly. Trusty claw hammer to the rescue!

Panels were cut, sanded and inserted just fine.

The entire vanity was then sanded down, primed and painted rich brown on the doors and drawer inserts and I used cream colored cabinet paint for the rest of the cabinet.


I then used our Elegance Wallpaper Stencil to repeat the vine over the cabinet doors, drawers and sides. Using a roller with metallic gold paint made that project quick and easy! When stenciling with a roller, just be sure to roll off all excess paint on to newspaper or a paper towel before beginning. This helps to prevent paint bleed up under the stencil openings.

 I added a repeated leaf border from our Furniture Stencil Borders #4 Stencil Set to the front trim. That was a cute addition!

 
I decided to add even more beauty to the cabinet so I cast a plaster medallion from our
Ornate Plaster Medallion mold. I painted it the same gold and attached it to the front of the center door.

A coat of satin varnish was all that was needed to finish the project. Now the master bath has taken on the same elegant look as the rest of my home and finally, finally, my major decorating projects are done!

So what is stopping you? I know you have a list of things you'd like to do to give your home more personality, creating a prettier space. Get out that list, plan to start something this weekend and then feel the satisfaction of your efforts when it's done.

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for decorating projects, stencils and ornamental plaster molds to help you create the home of your dreams.

Kathy Van Gough, a talented artist and friend to our business for many years had the insight to develop a new product line for her business. The Van Gough line of Chalk Paint.

I'd heard of chalk paint before but had never tried it until now. All I can say is WOW! What an easy paint to work with! It slides on like butter on warm bread, the coverage is spectacular, the bonding superb, the colors are delicious and her beeswax sealer is to die for!

Chalk paint was one of the first forms of paint man ever developed and why it was ever replaced with anything else is beyond my reasoning.

Chalk paint has seen a resurgence of popularity over the years and faux finish artists all over the world swear by it's performance. I now see why.

A favorite application is on furniture because of it's bonding capabilities and Kathy's color line is modern and beautiful.

I personally fell in love with her tinted beeswax sealer. This product is a fabulous alternative to varnish. Not only does it thoroughly seal your painted surface, but you can use it as (what I call) a "detail rub" for raised plaster stenciling.

Rubbing a deeply tinted beeswax over your raised stenciling does two things at once. It seals the surface and the design but also brings out the intricate detail of a raised plaster stencil design. I used her French Caffeine Beeswax and am now HOOKED!

Here I used it over our new Raised Plaster Preston Frieze Stencil. See that bit of shine? That's the beeswax as it has sealed the surface. See all that dark detail? That's the tint of the beeswax. LOVE this stuff!

So if you are thinking about throwing out that old table, re-doing your cabinets or thinking about a new wall treatment, visit The Van Gough Chalk Paint website and check out the gallery for fabulous ideas. Then visit our website at Victoria Larsen Stencils for the designs you crave to make your project truly beautiful.