Cabinet Face Lift

We have a china cabinet. It's not huge, but it has great lines, lovely curved glass, and is nice and simple.

But. The wood needed a facelift. The unit wasn't in GREAT condition wood-wise. Lots of stains and wood imperfections. The wood inside the unit (holding the glass in) will also eventually need replacing, and then there would be the issue of staining to match. And the unit has always been a little dark...


So, we did the unthinkable: we painted the cabinet. Yes, I realize there are probably many wood purists out there who are now screaming at their computer. But believe me: this was the best call for this particular unit. Better quality wood and better cuts and better craftsmanship? We would have done our all to preserve. Here? Paint was the best option. I am all for preservation, if the piece calls for it. This one did not.
And here we have the almost finished product! I say "almost" because I still want to paint the hardware a charcoal black color, non-glossy.
The paint we chose is an enamel paint. A PAIN IN THE BUTT (sticky, takes forever to dry, and is HARD to get off of things), but it has the benefits of being a good coater and harder to chip than latex.
Are there imperfections? Sure. I want to go over the inside walls (where you don't really see, but I'm a perfectionist) with latex white paint. I couldn't get too close to the glass on the inside because any paint on the glass had to be carefully chisled off (which takes a long time). Latex paint would be easier to remove should any get on the glass. Plus, since it's inside, no one will notice any inconsistencies with gloss factor or paint type.

We're really happy with the project. We also took the opportunity to clean out the cabinet to a certain extent. It had become the landing grounds for things that we "might" want to keep, so those "might" things had to be sifted through and analyzed if we wanted to keep them.

I also bumped a brandy snifter with my behind while painting. It broke. And B dropped a pretty curved pint glass this weekend too. So in our clumsiness alone, we gained more space in the cabinet. Sigh.