Storage is very important in a small space and after having to remove most of my caravan’s interior due to damp, it is in very short supply. I have precious little of the original storage left in the caravan – only the seats remain with their under-bench storage space and I have easily filled this up with fabric already! So it is time to work my magic on a pretty storage display cabinet.
My mum bought this unit for me from a charity shop because it looked exactly like one that her nan owned when she was a child – even down to the rose mirror pattern on the glass. The display cabinet was destined for the caravan and when we put it inside it fit perfectly over the top of the wheel-arch on the back wall – it was meant to be! But the dark wood looked too much like the old caravan interior and the wood was in such bad condition that it would have needed sanding and re-varnishing to get it back to it’s former beauty. I decided that I wanted to make a complete change so I bought a couple of tins of spray paint from the carboot sale and set to work on a sunny Saturday.
The first task was to give it a good clean and mask off the glass before sanding lightly all over. I then sprayed a thin coat of cream paint all over the unit (using around one whole can) and allowed it to dry before setting to work on the second coat of paint. Building up the thin layers of spray paint gave a gorgeous smooth finish and looked considerably better than I’d imagined. And much better than I ever could have achieved with my usual slap-it-on paint brush technique!
I thought about recovering the back panel but once the unit has been painted it somehow gave the impression that the existing diamond pattern fabric was cleaner and new so I decided to stick with it and reinsert the glass shelves. Minutes later the display cabinet was full of my pretty crockery and nick-nacks so I’ll share the photos of this with you soon.
See more of my caravan project posts by clicking here and please send me details of your own camper makeovers to [email protected] or tweet me @Cassiefairy – I’d love to see what you’ve been up to! And you really should check out Lisa Mora’s book Vintage Caravan Style
5 responses
Hi Caroline, that sounds like an incredible makeover – congratulations! I’d love to see a photo – my email address is [email protected] if you have a pic of your cabinet 🙂
Hi,
I have exactly the same cabinet and I nicknamed her ‘Ethel’ because she did not want to give herself over to a make-over, but now does she shine, I can’t see anything here to send you a pic – I did her in purple and pink, put in lights and added colour glass. I created an oriental look by using a flat paint (which I painted on) and then I added the acrylic layers with sanding in between. I took a while and I finally finishing her off with a T cut original and a 600 sandpaper and I keep her topped up with clear wax and she sure does shine. I’m just about to start on 1960’s china cabinet with the ubiquitous recessed handle and sliding doors and I have feeling she’s going to be called Gladys.
Thanks very much, I’m glad you’ve been inspired! Spray paint made the whole job much easier and I liked the fact that I didn’t need to wash up brushes etc at the end – I just peeled off the masking tape and… done! 🙂
I love this, such a pretty cabinet! I have just moved house and can’t wait to do some customising with old furniture! 🙂 Spray paint is a good idea actually! Thanks for the inspiration!