Before and After: Wall cabinet from the Goodwill

Being a thrifty gal- most of the items i find to redecorate/hack come from garage sales... but if its not a weekend, the goodwill (or other thrift store) is sometimes filled with potential projects! (but not one of those hoity toity $50 for a vintage t-shirt shops- im talkin' real 2nd hand shit- the browse for an hour and pick up about 5 different items that you swear used to be yours kinda thrift store... )

Just the other week i picked up this piece here for a whoppin' $4.99.....

I was super inspired by this photo here that i found on design*sponge in their before and after section (a GREAT place for inspiration..)

So I went to work....

• First I removed all the hardware and took the backing off.
• Then I sanded it down- a super important step in any refinishing project...
• Once sanded, I simply spray painted the whole thing- remembering to tape off the glass so it would stay nice while i painted

After about 3 coats it was all set.

While drying, I moved on to the back.

I knew I wanted a stencil look, but i wanted to keep the natural wood showing though- so a traditional stencil wouldnt work.

• Instead, I used stickers and tape to make the retro-style image i wanted on the back.**

**Learned it the hard way lesson** next time- CONTACT PAPER! (the stuff you line drawers with). the stickers didnt wanna say and the tape took FOREVER to cut into the shape i wanted!!

• After laying all my pieces just right and making sure everything was on there nice and smooth, i spray painted over the whole thing with a cheery buttercup yellow.**

**Learned the hard was lesson** ALWAYS prime first.... i literally went through an entire can of spraypaint on an area that was no more that 12x24 inches... and it didnt stick to the wood well- it was bad... thank god the lacquer sealer i finished it off with evened everything out!

• Once it was all dry (i know-its SOOO tempting to do it early... but wait!) i peeled off the stickers leaving the original wood showing through and sprayed the whole piece with a clear lacquer.
• After the back was completely dry, I staple gunned it back on the cabinet, re-attached the hardware and ...

voila! new cabinet!

I just love it.. and for about $8 (between materials and the cabinet itself) you just cant beat it!

of course now im thinking i want to make it white instead of black... oh the never ending color choice dilemma...

anyways.... hope this inspires you to visit your local 2nd hand store cause its like they say: one mans trash is another gals retro-revamped curio cabinet!

So to summarize: