Layering Paint – A Display Cabinet

One of my favorites was re-purposed out of an antique Victrola Cabinet.  I had never seen one like this before but it sure is cool.  All I had to do was remove the doors and build shelving to create a pretty unique display case.

Fireworks Red over Wild Horses with Clear & Dark Wax

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Can you see the difference on the bottom?  The left has been waxed, the right is  raw paint.

I loved the wood finish on this piece and felt it would look beautiful refinished so I stained it with a deep espresso stain.  This looked absolutely beautiful until I got sidetracked and forgot to wipe off the excess stain.  OOPS!! Everything dried to a sticky mess so I had to clean it all off and start over again.  This time, I thought I better stick to what I know best ~ paint!  I chose one of my all time favorites, APC’s Firework’s Red!

American Paint Company's Sample Pots Shizzle Design Fireworks Red www.shizzle-design.com Caledonia, Holland, Hudsonville, Michigan

This red is gorgeous in and of itself, but for this particular display, I wanted more of a vintage feel, so I sealed it with a combination of both Clear and Dark Antiquing Wax.  I sealed the majority of it with the clear and just worked the dark in the detailed areas and corners.

Shizzle Design colors paint chalk clay paints American Paint Company painted Caledonia Vintage Marketplace display case Firework's Red Clear Dark Wax

I love the richness of the color and how silky smooth the waxed finish feels.  That’s a big one with me.  There’s a lot of painted furniture out there but a lot of it doesn’t FEEL nice.

Shizzle Design colors paint chalk clay paints American Paint Company painted Caledonia Vintage Marketplace display cases pallet flag 1

While I was busy painting the display for our APC quarts, my sister Cathy went to town on the sample display using a combination of APC’s Shining Seas and dry-brushed on a little Blue Jeans for subtle highlights.

She also re-purposed a pallet our paint comes in on to make a cool sign.  After Cath finished designing the flag, she painted over everything with a wash of  Tumbleweed to give it a vintage flag appearance.

Shizzle Design colors paint chalk clay paints American Paint Company painted Caledonia Vintage Marketplace display case Firework's Red Clear Shining Seas Pallet Flag

She did the same thing with the blue sign on the floor. This picture was shot a while ago before we got all the metallic mica powders, American Grit and bottles of Top Coat and Brush Cleaner.

Shizzle Design colors paint chalk clay paints American Paint Company painted Caledonia Vintage Marketplace barn wood sign blue Firework's Red Shining Seas

Those displays were a piece of cake, then came the Big Kahuna!

We wanted one large display case to hold everything for our Not So Shabby location so we went hunting and found a perfect China Cabinet.  First step was a major de-greasing because on the drive over to check it out, the owner went out of his way to shine it all up with Armor All!  Thank you sir, but you REALLY  REALLY didn’t have to do that ;) .

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After a thorough cleaning, all we had to do was paint it but wait, APC just added a new 7-1/2” tall bottle for their Topcoat and Surface Prep/Brush Cleaner.  Now we had to change shelf sizes!

APC’s Top Coat

American Paint Company's Topcoat bottle Shizzle Design #www.shizzle-design.com

I based everything in another one of my favorite combinations by mixing Wild Horses and Freedom Road.  I mix the brown with Lincoln’s Hat if I want a deeper color.  It’s not rocket science, just play around and see what shade you like.

Base Coat Wild Horses mixed 50:50 with Freedom Road

hand painted china cabinet hutch shizzle design grand rapids michigan display american paint company cece caldwell's 1

When I applied the paint, I slapped it on in all sorts of different directions to create texture and grab the paint later on down the road.  This was a while ago, but knowing me, I applied two thin coats of this color to build upon.

Now back to the additional space requirement. Since we don’t have the luxury of a hunky carpenter in our workshop, we had to use our imagination and asked ourselves…

What would Carter do?

my favorites Art Prize 2013 Grand Rapids Public Art Museum Shizzle Design photos best pictures Carter Oosterhouse

We love Carter, unfortunately he’s not tucked away in our garage so we had to take our own measurements then off to Home Depot to beef up our display.  Cathy took the bull by the horns for this part.  She’s a measure twice, cut once kind of gal, unlike myself who gets sidetracked a thousand times a day as my husband quickly gets my attention by yelling  “Hey squirrel!”

We super-sized the china cabinet by adding 2 x 8’s between the top and bottom halves.  They aren’t truly 8” but they were just wide enough to allow for the new bottles which is all we needed.  Then all we had to do is add a new bottom to the top of the cabinet and the painting could begin.

hand painted china cabinet hutch shizzle design grand rapids michigan display american paint company cece caldwell's 3

Before I shot this picture, I had started painting it in Navajo White but when I stuck a can inside to see how it looked in it’s new outfit, it was B O R I N G !!!

hand painted china cabinet hutch shizzle design grand rapids michigan display american paint company cece caldwell's 2

I did what any other painter would do, chose a different color which ended up being a wash of Smoke Signal, again in a “any which way” manner to build more interest to the finish.

APC’s Smoke Signal Wash over Base Coat of Wild Horses/Freedom Road

hand painted china cabinet hutch shizzle design grand rapids michigan display american paint company cece caldwell's 4

Ahh, much better!  I wet distressed everything but still couldn’t leave it alone, that would be too easy!  I tend to torture myself and take everything one step farther than necessary.  This time, I created a second watered-down wash using APC’s Dessert Cactus.

desertcactus #americanpaintcompany #colors #shizzledesign

I added this randomly to both the light and dark areas creating more interest and variation in color and texture.

I sealed the lighter areas in Clear Antiquing Wax and used APC’s Dark Antiquing Wax over the Darker sections.  Here’s a close up of the finish.

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apc display

Post courtesy of Shelly

Comments

  1. Erin Kaven says

    Really lovely finish! Squirrel. Love the beefing up of the cabinet too.

  2. Lynda White says

    I have two questions! I saw the end table (yellow, distressed) in your ad in Cottage and Bungalows magazine, February, March 2015 edition. Will you please give me information on the colors and process used to achieve the effect?
    I have tried to use your website to locate a store but can’t get the information. I live in Clayton, GA, 30525 and wonder if there is a retailer near me. If not, can the products be ordered online?
    Thank you so much for your help.
    Lynda White

    • mm American Paint Company says

      Retailers near you:
      1. Weathered Pieces @ Becca Consign & Design
      1595 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 104
      Cumming, GA 30040
      770-781-9511
      2. Buy Word of Mouth
      68 Branner Avenue
      Waynesville, NC 28786
      3.Southern Housepitality
      110 Mauldin Road
      Greenville, SC 29605
      864-299-0045 x-3

  3. Jo Vanderdoes says

    I have searched your website and other retailers for your Antiquing “light” wax and can only find dark and clear. Is light no longer available?

    Thank you!

    • mm American Paint Company says

      We do not offer light wax any longer. If you are interested in purchasing light wax we may be able to locate a retailer who can help if they have light wax in their inventory. Please leave a phone for us to reach you in the event that we locate some for you. Thank you for writing to us.

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