Gotta love Sunday afternoons at the Flea Market. The only thing that really trumps a Sunday afternoon would be a rainy Sunday afternoon. Everybody’s ready to head home, and the dwindling supply of water-tolerant shoppers gets them itching even more.
When my husband and I made our first pass looking for a cabinet cool enough to make a statement in our soon-to-be-French kitchen, this happy a-little-too-yellow baby caught our eye. We loved the abundance of glass, the curved front, the little feet, and the odd (and oh-so-French) proportions. The entire thing was only six and a half feet tall, but hey, short is rather European, n’est-ce pas? It was reasonably priced, and well in the running with several others.
By the time we returned after some thorough scavenging, she was still there — and marked down by a third. Sold! We saddled her up and rode her home, and set about mellowing her yellow.
I loved the rough finish, the smattering of chips, scrapes, and bumps, and the uneven paint surface, so the only sanding I did was to remove a bit more paint, adding to the rustic look. I applied four colors, some with a brush and some with a rag — whatever felt good at the time. The bottom layer was similar to the shade of the new cabinets. I didn’t want to match, but I didn’t want her to scream in the night either. Second and third coats were grayed shades of green and then blue, followed by a top rub of the shade I like to call elephant, my all-purpose ager.
And then we hoisted her up on the counter. I’m not a fan of upper cabinets — too claustrophobic — but with her sundancing glass, she looks like a fancy window. Glass on top for the pretty things, and a cabinet at counter level for mugs and uglies. I couldn’t be more in love.
Paint colors used: First coat (yellowish cream) Behr Moonlight White 350E-1; Second coat (gray-green) Behr Contemplation 700E-3; Third coat (gray-blue) Behr Prelude 740E-3; Final coat (elephant) Ralph Lauren Indian Rhubarb NA63. Rub a little on; rub a little off. Voila.
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