A good credenza can house the stuff you don't want to share with the rest of the world. Apartment Therapy reader Iris diligently combed Craigslist, estate sales and flea markets looking for the right piece at the right price. In the end, she decided that she'd work with what she's got.
Her trusty IKEA piece — formerly brown with glass doors — is now a colorful Knoll-inspired piece that not only hides things more successfully than the old credenza did but is a bright spot in her calm and neutral space. Her secret? Paint, persistence and plywood for her new doors. Definitely inspirational, definitely doable, this is a project that could be tackled and finished over a long weekend like the one we have coming up (although using oil enamel, as Iris did, may lengthen the process as it can take some time to dry). She shared the details with us:
First, we removed the doors from the piece, making sure to keep all of the original hardware together. Then I lightly sanded it, and primed it with a high-adhesion oil based primer. We had the plywood doors precut to size at our local hardware store, and my husband sanded those down, and drilled the holes for the hardware, using the old doors as a guide. After he was done with that, I primed those as well. Once the primer was dry, I painted the sideboard with an oil based semi gloss enamel. Warning- this takes a looong time to dry. I followed the label on the can, and didn't apply the second coat for another 18 hours. Then, the same thing for each one of the doors. Two coats was absolutely necessary. I used a high density foam roller for the paint because I found that it gave the smoothest finish. Then, we put the original hardware on the new doors and attached those to the main cabinet. The last step was adding the new pulls.
Images: Flickr user ::iris:: all rights reserved, used with her permission.
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The final piece is imPRESSive! I commend your patience! Simply beautiful work.
Wonderful! Truly SMASHING! I'm inspired.
What brand paint did you use?
Where did you get the original brown doors from?
this would be perfect for my bedroom! any chance of selling it :)! smashing job!!
Beautiful!
Dude, this was posted on Design*Sponge hours ago today. Is that cool to cross-post? (It is an awesome hack, tho' -mad props to Iris)
I really hate that cheap looking dark pressed wood and frosted glass that credenza drags any room down.
The makeover is just fantastic!
Wow, I'm speechless! This is beautiful. Great job!
I'm with Tara1979. Is this that Iris sent it into both sites, or is AT pulling from D*S that quickly (and with no credit). I'm hoping it's the former.
I like the before It doesn't look like kids furniture.
Owe I want one to.
oops, typo not Owe LOL
HOT. who cares if its cross posted? is it that big of a deal that you *gasp* saw the same picture twice? it just gets it out there, and inspires more people.
Awesome transformation!
I will never understand how some people find the time to visit, and remember, so many design blogs. How ever do you find the time? I am, frankly, too busy having a life to surf every design blog on the net. I depend on AT to bring us the best of the best and don't care that it's posted elsewhere too. But, then again, I'm not really hip or cool and I don't even own a Nelson lamp. Good job, Iris. Thanks for posting here on AT, Abby.
Nice!
The plastic surgery was a success!... Now the next step would be to do something with all that haphazard arrangement on the top)...
Spivved up nicely...and what haphazard arrangement? It looks great with the white bit and pieces on top. Well done, very professional looking.
laughing too hard @ quiltmaster's comment! and i'm inclined to acquiesce. i'm not sure what happened to actually cause this apparent faux pas.. but i'm glad it did as i've never heard of design sponge and i would have hated to miss this.
congrats on the fantastic results!
Absolutely incredible transformation. Amazing job, and a pitch-perfect final piece.
The internet is a small world after all. AT seems to be good at crediting other sites when appropriate. Why can't 2 blogs post the same thing?
Glad, Iris took the time to use oil. It's a pain, but well worth it. It will hold up to wear and tear. Nice Job!
BRILLIANT!!
Inspiring!
That is so fun and happy. Way to unikea something!
Tara1979 and others,
I'm only getting around to responding to this now. Nope, I didn't pull this from D*S. I corresponded with the talented Iris, who shared this on the ATLA Flickr group pool, & this was written the day before it posted. I guess it's just a case of great minds thinking alike!
Looking forward to seeing what projects everyone accomplishes this Labor day weekend!
cheers,
Abby
Abby- Thanks for responding to the question about the cross posting. As I said before, I was hoping it was simply a case of Iris putting her amazing redo in front of a couple of great design sites. I can see why it would make the cut both places.
oh man! the before is much better! what a great piece of furniture (ikea style).
The after is fantastic!
Hard to believe that such a drab and unattractive credenza could so be brought to life... amazing! Well done Iris, keep up the good work!!!
Call me crazy, but I liked the before better! (Then again, I'm a huge fan of dark wood.)
That being said, the after looks great and very cheerful, just not quite my style.
Well done!
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! I Hate it so much. *Shudder*
thank you, thank you for sharing!! fabulous job!
I like the before, but I LOVE the after!
Very nice! But I wonder if Iris looked in IKEA for solid doors before going with DIY plywood. They make doors in a lot of difference sizes and something for another piece might have worked and saved all that sanding and prepping.
Or maybe not. But that would have been my first plan of attack.