Bathroom Cabinet- Before and After

I have been hinting about my kids bathroom re-do but it has taken forever to complete.  Not that anything has been particularly difficult, it just has been a project that was too easy to put off. (You know how that goes right?!) Sorry about that.  I am super close to being done though. 

Before the full reveal, I wanted to give you a sneak peak and show you my newly painted cabinet.

My whole house is full of golden oak.  I hate it.  I have been planning on getting rid of it since I moved in but have been to scared to take the plunge.  This bathroom was the guinea pig and I LOVE how it turned out! 

Before

(pretty tiled counters.... ugly golden oak)

After

Isn't it lovely?!  I am so happy and excited about how it turn out.  The finish really is great.  Even my very skeptical, "I like wood," husband thinks it turned out amazing.  

I know there are many tutorial on painting cabinetry but here is my method.

Step 1.  Take everything apart.  Remove all the doors, drawer fronts, knobs, and hardware.

Step 2.  Sand.  I used a palm sander to sand everything.  You don't need to get to bare wood here, just rough it all up so the paint has something to grab on to.

Step 3.  Clean.  Wipe everything down to remove any dust from sanding.

Step 4.  Prime.  Since this particular cabinet was going a color, I had my primer tinted.  You want to tint your primer if you plan on distressing.  My primer coat was pretty thin, so don't worry if its not covering great.  Just be sure to put on an even coat.

Step 5. Paint.  I did two coats of latex paint.  I actually used the exact same color that I used on the walls.  You can use a roller if you want, but I just used a brush.  I did both the front and back of the doors, letting the paint dry completely before turning it over.

Step 6.  Sand again.  If you want a distressed look, sand the edges and any other place you want a worn look.

Step 7.  Stain.  Put a coat of wood stain over everything, wiping off any excess.  Let that dry.  It may take awhile.

Step 8.  Polyurethane.  I love the ease of wipe on poly.  I did two coats of poly, doing a light sand between coats.  A lot of people don't do poly, but it really gives it a nice finish and is a little extra insurance that it will hold up.

Step 9.  Once the poly is dry, reassemble the cabinet.

A long process, mostly because of drying time, but nothing really difficult.  And the results are wonderful!

 

I can't wait to show you the rest of the bathroom.  It's coming soon, promise!

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