A Primitive Cabinet

Happy December Everyone! Now that thanksgiving has come to a close and we move on into the winter, its time for us to start getting our basement together because our fireplace is in the basement, and you CAN’T have Christmas without a pretty decorated fireplace, and a cozy space to enjoy it. Which is why today’s project is a primitive cabinet I’ve had since the summer.

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Originally this cabinet was just really dirty and grungy looking. It needed a lot of help, particularly because it had previously lived in a home where the cat’s seemed to like this piece. It did have a serious stench. So here is a list of things I did to prep this piece before paint:

Vacuumed every nook and crevice with my shop vac.
Used a heavy dose of Raid Multi-Bug Insecticide and let dry 24 hours.
Prepared a bucket with 1:2 ratio of Nature’s Miracle Urine Destroyer to the hottest water from the tap.
Donned my rubber gloves and saturated the drawers and areas where the smell was strongest.
Let dry in the sun. Repeat until smell has subsided.
- Sidenote: if after multiple repititions of the cleaning process, you still have a strong smell, you may need to look at replacing parts of the cabinet with new wood.
After the cabinet was dry, I added multiple heavy coats of clear shellac to seal the wood and the smell. For this cabinet in particular, 5 coats did the trick.
A light sanding to rough the surface with 220 grit paper, and wipe away with a tack cloth.

For this piece, I wanted a warm gray, but didn’t have the exact color I wanted on hand. So I decided to custom mix two of my favorite Country Chic Paint colors together, Driftwood and Pebble Beach. Mixing these two gave me a rich warm gray that would compliment my shiplap walls without looking too heavy. I sprayed about three coats and lightly distressed to bring some of the original wood forth. I didn’t want a lot of distressing on this just because I wanted it be soft and neutral, especially since the piece is already so massive.

I sealed it with 3 coats of General Finishes HPTC in Satin. Over the years I have tried many topcoats and clear coats, but I always come back to this one because it’s easier to spray, and the dry time is very quick! This hardware is original to the piece and I didn’t want to take away from the original patina, so I washed them with dish soap and water and sealed them with shellac.

And that’s it folks! Now this piece is ready to store our blankets, games, and pillows so we can maximize the most space out of our basement without it feeling cluttered. Oh and just incase you love CCP, here is a coupon for you: