Damask Armoire Redo
Home Décor Projects & Tutorials
Damask Armoire Redo
Home Décor Projects & Tutorials

Damask Armoire Redo

I have been in love with a few furniture pieces I saw popping up all over Pinterest with one, giant, off-centered damask {e.g. Twice Lovely & Sawdust and Embryos.} I have been wanting to use that idea on a furniture piece of my own, and luckily I did not have to wait long until the perfect piece came along… and for only $20! {Thank you Craigslist!} I borrowed my brother and a truck and went and got this baby – it was SO heavy – luckily I had little involvement in the actual transporting process.

After I figured out more specifically how I wanted to transform this cabinet into an armoire, I bought my supplies and once again enlisted the help of my little brother. He added in a sturdier base with 2x4s& screws… this had been in a basement and it looked like the base was a tiny bit crumbly {not so anymore!} He also cut the closet poles to size for me by first marking the length with a tape measure and then
using paper to trace a circle around the pole.

Thanks Josh 🙂

The cabinet has a veneer finish, so after much research on the best way to paint it I decided to do a light sanding {just enough to start to see “specks”} and then one coat of Zinsser CoverStain Oil-Based Primer. I
only used a quart to cover the whole thing {BARELY!}

After letting the primer dry for a day or two, I applied my first coat of the color. I went with a nice greyish-purple in an ultra flat matte. I ended up doing two coats with the purple. After that was done, I used a damask stencil I picked up at Hobby Lobby for the background of the inside of the cabinet.

Next I added back in the shelves as well as the poles. We used your basic plastic “pole sockets,” placed equal distance apart.

To do the front damask, I reattached the front doors and projected the stencil where I wanted it using a standard overhead projector I borrowed from my parents. After tracing the stencil shadow, I used an all-in-one paint and primer in white {the same I used for the inside stenciling} and “flat” paintbrushes. I ended up doing 3 coats of this {it took several days!}

projecting the stencil; 2 coats {left} & 1 coat {right

After letting the final coats of paint set for a few days, my grandfather came over and helped my husband carry it inside for me {we removed the doors first.} It made the perfect addition to our play room!


Currently, this piece is serving as a combination craft cupboard & little girl’s “next size” clothing storage. Eventually we’ll probably dedicate all of it to her clothes {when a new baby takes over the
nursery}… but that won’t be for a while. We also put her current size coats, shoes, and hats in there for easy access when we’re getting ready to go.
 
It took a long time to get this project done – we’ve talking 1.5-2 months! But when you only have occasional nights and weekends to work on it, I suppose it makes sense. It was all worth it though!!

11 Comments

  2. katebro26

    Thanks! Yes I know, damask patterns just make everything look more awesome. If we weren't renting we'd probably have it on our walls our something awesome like that… but for now the furniture will have to do. Good luck deciding where to put yours 🙂

  5. 1House1Couple

    Hi Kate,

    That armoire turned out really nice 🙂 I love your choice of demask design.

    What I really like is how you went about the whole projector thing to get the image on there. I also like your stenciling you did on the back panels behind the shelves.

    I also love craigslist. I buy and sell awesomeness on craigslist…. weird story, I even found my husband on craigslist!

    I don't have a pinterest account, but the times I go on there, I love that place too.

    Is there anything I don't like about this post? Nope!

    Thanks for sharing, Kate 🙂

    ~Lisha

  6. katebro26

    Thanks 🙂 I spent a while looking at different "damasks" online, but finally just went with the plastic stencil Hobb Lobbs had rather than printing it out on paper (sooooo glad I did too!)

    Um, you found your husband on Craigslist?? I feel like you need to tell that story… write a blog post just for me lol 😛

    Pinterest is definitely addicting! It's worse than facebook. But so useful!

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