1960’s Radio Cabinet Makeover

Every now and then a certain piece of furniture comes into your life, and you feel that giddy feeling. You know, the one where you get the butterflies, like on a first date or when you come across a great find in the clearance bin at your favorite store??
This radio cabinet goes back a few months to a yard sale that my co-worker at the time was having {well, actually her in-laws were having}. I was at a women’s retreat with my church, and I had vowed to myself to refrain from looking at my phone as much as possible, and I did so good…but on a break, I caved. GLAD I DID. I had a text from my friend with lots of pictures of AMAZING furniture pieces that her family was selling, and although she knew I was out of town, she wanted to give me dibs. I said yes to all but 1 thing, and let me tell ya…I was giddy. I saw the potential in all of these pieces, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them! **In fact, I have already done {and sold} 3 of the pieces, and they are on the blog HERE, HERE, and HERE!** Although this one was my favorite, I couldn’t get a good grasp on what I wanted to do with it. I had some ideas, but it turned out to be trickier than I expected. Is that not always the case?

Here it was before I did anything to it:

See, my very first idea was to put really cute fabric behind the spindles where the speakers are and paint it a fun color. When I saw I couldn’t do the fabric idea, I had to switch gears.

Look at the bones of this beauty, though. I mean, it is a gorgeous piece…and so neat. But, can you blame me for wanting to update that chocolate orange color??

When I realized I couldn’t use my fabric idea, I was bummed…and much as I loved it, I thought I was now going to paint this piece to sell. So, because of that, I was thinking “go neutral” because I wanted to appeal to a broader audience.

SO….that is what I did.

I painted it, and it looked FINE. It would have been a gorgeous piece in someone’s home, I am sure. I don’t know about you, but fine just doesn’t get me excited. It sat in my living room for  a few weeks, to be honest. It was in the way, and it wasn’t doing much for me. I thought about going ahead and selling it, because I knew it would appeal to people, but something kept stopping me. I think it was my love for this piece 🙂 I knew deep down that I could make this a piece of furniture that I truly loved, so on a whim one day, I transformed it again.

The funny thing about this transformation is this:

I was working on some paint touch ups in my little guest bath downstairs, so my brush was all wet and ready to go with my aqua wall paint {my guest bath is the same color as my kitchen}. The idea struck that “Hey, I could just run in the living room and throw some of this paint on top of the existing and do a “washed” look and see what happens!” So, that is what I did. I took my wet brush straight into the living room and started lightly going over the piece all over. Yes, my brush that had aqua bathroom wall paint on it… After that, I added some more dark wax to deepen the tones and seal it…and let me tell you, when I was done {in like 10 minutes}- LOVE!

This piece is so ME. And, in case you were wondering- it is no longer for sale. I think that was just inevitable.

Let me go over the process for this specific piece:

I took chalk paint {French Grey by Vintage Market and Design} and painted the entire piece until fully covered. It took 2 coats.

I then took my clear wax and rubbed it on the whole piece to give it protection. ( I just used an old tee shirt to put the clear wax on, but I am sure there are people who would swear by using a brush for this step. For clear, I don’t use anything special.)

I then took my wax brush (which is a strong must if you use dark wax, in my opinion. Just trust me, it makes it a TON easier to really get it in there good!) and dabbed just a TAD bit of dark wax onto the end bristles and ran over some of the raised areas and crevices to give it a little extra texture.

After applying the wax, I took my old rag (any old rag will do) and wiped the wax off, so that it only left a little bit on the piece.

Being unsatisfied, a few weeks later, I proceeded to take a regular ole paint brush that had wall paint on it and haphazardly ran it over the piece in an up and down motion.

After I had covered it the way I desired, I let it dry for a few minutes and went over it with the dark wax again. I wanted it to be dark and dramatic, so I didn’t shy away (but even saying that, you do NOT need a ton…a little dab will do ya!).

I put the dark wax all on the places that I wanted to have that extra dark look, and then wiped it off with a rag.

The last step that I usually do with these pieces like this is to go over it with a sanding block. I like to use one that is already kinda “used” so that it doesn’t get too rough. I rub it all over the piece and rub harder on the parts that I would like to distress a little. When I am done, I wipe the excess dust off…and you are good to go! This leaves the piece with a finished, buffed feeling.

Sooooo…..

What do you think? Do you love the makeover? Would you love a piece like this in your home?

I know some people do not love the dark waxed and distressed look, but I just love it. This is going to look gorgeous in my new home!

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I am always up to something crazy around here, so if you want to follow along, I would simply LOVE that!

I am linking up at: Tatertots & Jello and The Dedicated House