Drab to Fab

Kelley and I love turning old furniture into something new. The easiest way to transform your old, boring furniture into something new and fabulous is by painting it. Paint makes such a huge difference, and it's fairly easy to do. 

R.B. has had this old armoire since he was in high school. He used it in college, and it's been sitting empty in his guest bedroom ever since. Instead of just throwing it out, I decided to paint it. And, I figured if it turned out horribly, we could just get rid of it.

Shout out to R.B. for trusting me to paint this inside the house!

I forgot to take a picture before we removed the hardware, so here's a close up. 

Before I started painting, I rubbed Klean Strip Easy Liquid Sander Deglosser over the entire armoire. 

Via

The deglosser works like sandpaper, but it's much easier and quicker to use. I rubbed two coats over every nook and cranny, and I think it really helped the paint adhere. And, it's made for indoor use. So, no chemical side effects, and it even has a pleasant minty smell.

The deglosser dries in about 15 minutes, so I was able to get right to painting. 

And, here's the finished product!

I need help with my photography skills. I don't know why this looks so yellow. 

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I used Behr Deep Royal High Gloss paint for the armoire and Rustoleum Gold Metallic spray paint for the hardware. I also sprayed a clear gloss over the hardware, just to protect it a little. It took two coats of paint, and let me tell you...painting woven fake wood is not enjoyable. Those doors were almost the death of me.

When I move into R.B.'s house after the wedding, we're planning to turn a very small bedroom into a walk-in closet (which I will add to the list of things I promise to document on Z+M!), and I plan to use this piece in there. But for now, it's just sitting sadly in an empty room. 

What do you think? Have you used high gloss paint on anything? Would you use such a bold color, or do you prefer something more subtle?