Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A Bargain Bookcase Transformation

I have a small addiction to bargain hunting. I love flea markets, thrift shops, and most of all, the "sale" box at one of the local dollhouse shops. This box contains an assortment of problem furniture that the shop just wants to get rid of for one reason or another. Sometimes the furniture is missing drawers. Sometimes the furniture is a bit broken.  The last time I was there, I found a Town Square Miniature kitchen cabinet that was missing the rest of the kitchen set. I figured that with a bit of work, I could make the cabinet into a very different looking piece.
I never remember to take proper before pictures, so here it is the first photo I thought to take, after I'd already done most of the painting. The legs are just square posts, with some laser cut brackets added. I also changed out the cabinet's rather chunky original knobs for smaller walnut pulls. I may replace those though with something a little more elegant. I've stuffed most of my readable books in the there for the moment, and have it in the music room for the moment, though it won't stay there. I think it will go somewhere in the attic (Phoebe's room, Lottie's room, or the playroom), but I'll have to do some rearranging first.
I'm also undecided about the glass in the doors. Right now, the original Plexiglass is propped in there, and I'm hating it. I'm thinking about replacing the plexi "antique" glass, but that would make it much more difficult to see inside the cabinet. Another option would be to take the glass out entirely, making the contents much more visible, but I think that not having any sort of glass would bother me more than the plexi. I'm stumped. What would you do to the doors?

7 comments:

  1. Great project. I think some sort of antique or seeded glass would look great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice job! Could you put netting in the doors.... love to see things being 'bashed' . Would have been so nice to see the before you painted but I know when inspiration comes it hardly seems one should stop and take a photo!
    Regards Janine

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Eliza,
    I love your work and am very impressed with your painting skills. You really created a beautiful and unique piece.
    VEry well done!
    All the best,
    Giac

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful! I like the decoration.
    Bye Faby

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Eliza,

    I just love what you've done with your cabinet. I love markets and thrift shops too, nothing like a special find. I'm not sure what to do about the plexiglass, it doesn't look to bad in the photos and as Janine says mesh would work but you may loose the visuals of the contents, I understand your dilemma.

    The cabinet looks gorgeous!

    Fi x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great work you did on this piece!

    I often forget to take the "before" pictures, too... :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would put real glass in them. Some of the hand poured glass I have from France! It has bubbles and waves in it.

    ReplyDelete