How I did my storage cabinet..

Someone asked how I did the storage cabinet I have by my work table in the living room... I had found this drawer unit reasonably priced but it looked like it belonged in a dental office. Since I had finished a small chest in antique Chinese red for my bedroom, I decided to try my hand doing something similar in black to the big white thing...

I started by painting it with a high-gloss black and hoped to end up with a facsimile to the Asian chest on the left.... A little paint, stenciling, and more painting........

I did ALL the painting BEFORE I assembled the cabinet (much easier). First I used rustoleum gloss paint and put it on the cabinet pieces with a fine-finish roller ... a 6" dense foam that lays down a very smooth coat and is available at any hardware store.

I did the gold line with an Elmer's paint pen and the corner deco with a stamp and gold stamp pad (Michaels craft store.)Then using some old stencils and ordinary craft acrylic paint I put on the flowers.I wasn't even especially careful with the stenciling as I was going for an aged look in the end. The long stencil was too wide so I just used bits and pieces at a time. I sprayed the drawers with high gloss black paint and then sponged them with gold Folk Art paint from Michaels. It required no "artistic" talent using the stencils....just time and patience. This would have been sooooooooooooooo much easier if I could have done it in the summer when I could have laid everything out on a tarp and sprayed it..... It still looks much nicer than the big white box in my living room....

I had started off with different cheap units from box stores that were just junk and when I had some birthday money I splurged on a cabinet from here http://www.chandlercreations.com/site/1406927/page/629006 They have a great sale every so often and they also have free shipping... Now you even can get some models in black...