The Repurposed Cabinets

I have been chipping away at my overwhelming "to do" list (I have to laugh at this... such an extensive and critical list). I've been much more successful at doing crafts and reading than I have been at cleaning. I have done some work on the rocking chair, but it is slow going (and at times frustrating). However. I'll share some of the results of my work.

This is a cabinet we bought (for about $5) for our bathroom to use for storing towels and other things (our bathroom has no built-in cabinets or shelves. This is pretty common in Germany). I've never been thrilled with it because... well, as you can see it looks cheap (because it is) and although our bathroom tile/tub/toilet are brown, it just made everything seem more dark. This was the first thing I started working on. In fact Josh wasn't even out of the house and I was lugging this cabinet (don't let the look fool you, it is heavy!) up the hallway and out to the deck to paint. I used some ideas/inspirations from Pinterest... and here is the final results:

There are a few things I was disappointed in. First, my spray painting skills are not nearly what they should be. You may not be able to see it in the photos, but trust me there are some definite runs/drips in the paint. I am a perfectionist, but I know when not to attempt something. The cheap cabinet was not worth the time/effort to sand and then repaint with better form. I also was somewhat disappointed in the Modge Podge I used for the decoupage. I couldn't (for the life of me) find Modge Podge in Germany - either on base or off. For those of you who don't know, Modge Podge is a miracle working crafting glue. It's not just a glue, it also makes an amazing clear coat. You can use it for just about anything - whether you're trying to glue something or create a clear coat/seal on something. Anyways, I couldn't find any real Modge Podge but found a recipe for some homemade Modge Podge online. It's actually pretty simple - cooking a mixture of flour, sugar, and water, then adding vinegar. It worked well, however it didn't dry clear like real Modge Podge - it dried with a bit of a sandy/cloudy look. It turned out okay with what I used it for, but I wasn't thrilled with it not being clear. I also was overall frustrated with this cabinet because I used up 3 cans of spray primer and 5 cans of white spray paint. Eeessshhh. But. Now that I have put the cabinet back in its rightful place in the bathroom, it looks much better. It definitely brightens the whole room.

This is a bathroom shelf-type thing which sits on top of another cabinet in our bathroom. This shelf/cabinet combo was left behind by the last people who lived here (well... at least I think it was. Maybe it was put there by the landlord. It was in the house when we moved in). I've kept the top of the shelf covered with a colorful beach towel as there were some water marks/stains on the top (which you can't really see in the picture). But I decided to brighten up the top of it a bit. The few decorations I have in the bathroom are fish/beach themed, and our predominate colors are brown and red. Knowing this, I attempted to stick with that theme.

The bottom half (under the shelf) is a simple two door white cabinet. At first I wasn't going to do anything with this cabinet, but after seeing how everything looks together in the bathroom, I am tempted to paint the door handles the same red as the other cabinet (above). I'm still debating...

I also saw on Pinterest (I'm telling you, it's a dangerous site!) an idea to dress up glass jars to use them for storage. I liked this idea. I would love to be able to put things I use frequently out in the open so I didn't have to dig into a cabinet when I need them. The whole idea is to take a jar, wash it, take off the label, and then Modge Podge paper (any paper. I used scrap booking paper, but I think it would be neat to use old sheet music or pages from a book) on the outside of the jar. I had a hard time getting my paper to cooperate with me... so I had to do a layer of Modge Podge over the top of the paper instead of using it just as glue. As with my cabinet, it didn't exactly try clear... so it looks a little cloudy. But. I still liked the end result. It was fun to do, so I'm trying to think of more reasons to make these jars. We have to recycle our glass anyways, so I may as well try to find a way to reuse it which is fun.

So. There is the fruits of my labor thus far. I would have thought I'd have a lot more to show you by now... but... well, I guess my only excuse is that my kitties are cute snugglers, I have found many interesting books, and I love being lazy. So there ya go.