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A few weeks ago I posted some things that I bought from a young couple at their garage sale. I mentioned this cabinet, but didn't post the picture. My plan was to paint it...but now I'm unsure what to do with it. I liked the traditional style of this cabinet, and wanted to have a cabinet to display some pottery that I inherited from my daughter. Also, it has holes in the back for cords and will be a great place to display my North Pole Village at Christmas.
Below is the furniture in the breakfast room that I was going to replace. It is a really old washstand that belonged to my husband's grandmother. My daughter wanted this piece to go in a small spot in her house, so I went ahead and let her get it. As long as it stays in the family!
I know I said I was going to paint this cabinet when I bought it and I probably will...eventually! It's not that I'm lazy but I'm unsure what color to paint it. I didn't want the spot to be empty while I am trying to make up my mind, so my husband and I brought it inside and polished it. We made a few small repairs and put the missing hardware back on. The cabinet looks so much better! 
Here is a close up of the dishes that my daughter gave me. The pattern is Daisy Chain and was designed by Mississippi artist Gail Pittman. This pattern has been discontinued, but is still one of my favorites. The colors in the pottery go with the color scheme in my kitchen much better than my daughter's kitchen.
My original plan was to paint it like the cabinet in the picture below. I saw this cabinet in antique store in Collins . My kitchen cabinets are finished with this same glazed color. 
Or I could just leave it as is! It looks so much better after furniture polish and with the hardware put back on.
I wish I was more confidant about decisions like this! I know that once I paint it, that's it...the mahogany finish will be history! And it sure would be easier to leave it as it is now. What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by and PLEASE give your opinion!
9 hours ago
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38 comments:
Good morning, Diane ...
I love your china cabinet and wouldn't dare paint that beautiful rich mahogany. It looks so pretty in your breakfast room with your Daisy Chain dishes.
Sincerely,
Janie
The color (especially after the polish) is GORGEOUS!!!!!!! I'd leave it as is. I think your pottery just POPS with the dark wood surrounding it. I'm afraid if you painted it like the other one, it wouldn't be as striking as it is now. Love it!
Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog to say hi! :)
Kari
Good Morning Diane...
Gosh, after you polished it and put the hardware back on I think it looks FABULOUS....I don't know that I would paint that beautiful cabinet. Love those dishes...they also stand out in it and may not show as well in another cabinet color.
Hi Diane...
I agree with the others! No paint!
Your dishes "POP" inside that cabinet now...and I know they wouldn't if you painted it the other color.
I also think your Christmas Village would be better in the color your cabinet is NOW!
WOW...what a find! And it's a good thing you "questioned" painting it and didn't!!! LOL!!!
~Blessings,
Jan
I think it has that rich red patina...so at Christmas time, it will probably look great with your houses...and it looks wonderful right now, too, with your pretty dishes in them.
It's really up to you, it might look nice in cream or black, but it looks nice as is, too :)
Great find!!!
Bella
Morning Diane! I think it is GORGEOUS just as it is! Really sets off your dishes and your christmas village will look equally beautiful with the dark wood! I too am hesitant on painting wood because of the work and it never feels as rich to me!?(unless it is really beat up)Love those dishes too!Have a great day - Sincerely, Jeannette
DON'T PAINT IT! I am a traditionalist so maybe you should't listen to me Diane. Those dishes are beautiful in that cabinet. I just love the look. Remember, painted furniture is a phase and I really like it, but that wood is too nice to paint. One more point, usually paintd furniture is a lesser grade of wood.
Good luck with your decision.
Jeanne
I am a big fan of the natural wood look. I wouldn't paint it. I think it looks very pretty like it is. The polishing looks very nice. The China is so pretty. It looks great displayed in the cabinet.
take care,
Dawn
Hi Diane , I agree, I like it the way it is . For the life of me , I cannot paint a piece of furniture that already has a nice finish on it already . You might also think about putting the pretty papers on the back wall of the cabinet like so many are doing. Go look at Rue's at Peanut Butter And Jelly Life . Looks great !
Beautiful cabinet! I am having the same dilemma here! I want to paint my kitchen table and chairs and then as soon as I'm sure that is what I'm going to do...I chicken out! What if I don't like it!?! Sorry I'm not much help! It does look really good all polished up with your pretty dishes! Maybe wait until after Christmas and see how you like your things displayed the way it is.
Have a great day!
Kim
P.S. Thank you for the birthday wishes for my son! :)
I'm with ya' - I've lived with a husband for 39 years who absolutely HATES covering up nice wood with paint - so that tape runs in my head all the time. I'd leave it - it looks really pretty. My grandmother had that same cabinet (only as a corner cabinet) in her dining area - it brings back good memories to me. The dishes do just POP in there too. Nice pieces!
I don't envy your dilemma! I always hesitate painting REAL wood too. I'm not sure I'd paint that beautiful cabinet of yours if it were mine. It looks pretty with your dishes!
Diane,
I love the cabinet just as it is. Amazing what a little TLC will do for a beautiful piece of furniture.
It is stunning with those dishes inside.
Gretchen
birdnestcottage.typepad.com
It's so pretty after the polishing and the dark color contrasts so well with the china.
My vote would be leave as is. It's a beautiful piece of furniture.
Hmmmmm, I guess I'm going to be in the minority here. It does look beautiful the way it is, but I can envision it white, and it would look gorgeous in white, I think it would really make those beautiful windows stand out, and also your dishes would really pop. I love those dishes! We painted our hutch white, bought it from our pastor, he wanted a new one for his wife, but now every time he comes into our home he just can't believe how gorgeous ours looks since we painted it, and I think he'd like to have it back! tee hee!
If it were mine, I wouldn't make it distressed white, but pure white, glossy. Yummm, gorgeous, like frosting on a cake.
Either way, it's a beautiful piece of furniture!
I agree with the others, too pretty to paint. I save my paint for the pieces that don't have such natural beauty. I like the antique store photo; I would add some gold accents to that piece, just along the edges.
The cabinet is beautiful, as is, Diane. I would not paint it. I love the dishes.
The white cabinet in the inspiration photo would be wonderful done in a chinese laquer red!! Just thinkin'.
I would leave it as is, I too had a similar problem, I bought a hutch that was posted over on Rhoda's blog last week, once I cleaned it up I just loved the way it looked. I feel like the others once it is painted there is no going back.
It's a pretty piece and your dishes are FANTASTIC I love them.
Kathy ;)
Morning girl...ohhhh that is a gorgeous cabinet...I have lived with traditional furniture nearly all my life and it will always be a part of my style in some ways but I also love painted furniture...thus the evidence of it in my home...I even painted my solid oak cabinets you know! I look at the cabinet as it is and then I look again at the pic of the glazed white one and I have to say I love how the details and windows stand out on the painted one..it just looks so beautiful and anything you put in it would really stand out...hey who threw that! lol Seriously..I would paint it because I know if I didn'[t like it I could always take it to a refiniisher and they would put it back close enough to the original for me but the issue here is what you like and what you want around you...so girl do what makes you happy! I know...I was no help at all...I'm good at that! lol lol have a great week sweetie!
I would leave it. It's such a beautiful rich color. I love your idea about the North Pole Village at C-mas. I have a neighbor that has a cabinet with the C-mas village and it's BEAUTIFUL!
Hi Diane!
We had haila nd thunderstorms yesterday ...it felt like the end of the world...lol!
The cabinet is very pretty, and I like you would be afraid to paint it. I know the glazed look is in, but I always loved real wood, and if antiques are painted they lose theor value. It may not be an antique now but you never know how long it might end up being in your family.
Thiose dishes are very pretty too! You are lucky to be able to trade such nice things back and forth between with your daughter!
Hugs, Pat
Hey, Diane, it's raining here today too.
I'm with most everyone else...DON'T PAINT IT! It's a pretty mahogany (or cherry) and look like a very nice finish. I would only consider painting a piece like that if it's already beat up. You can't beat that OLD wood. It's gorgeous AS IS.
Rhoda
Hi Diane, There AINT no way I would paint that beautiful cabinet. Excuse my southern language.LOL:)Those Gail Pitman dishes POP against that mahongany. It really is a beautiful piece of furniture!!!! Nancy
Over the weekend I glued toile to the back of a shelf. And Rue today put scrapbook paper in the back of one of her pieces similar to yours. So that would be a quick and cheap way to enliven it without changing the real look of the piece. Can always take that out or put something over it. I wish I'd done what someone suggested after I'd already done mine. Said to cut cardboard the size of the back of the shelves, tape batting to it, and cover with fabric. Then just insert it without adhering it if you want.
Brenda
I like it both ways! good luck...sorry I am no help at all!
I like it both ways! good luck...sorry I am no help at all!
Thank you for your love and encouragement.
Afternoon, Diane. Oh, how I love your cabinet! You know, I had the same dilema about whether to paint or not to paint the little china hutch in my breakfast room. I decided not to for now. Just live with yours awhile and then if you decide later on to paint it, you can. But if you paint it right off the bat, you could be sorry on down the road - especially since it has such beautiful wood! Oh and your dishes - beautiful!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Hi Diane,
Just wanted to leave you a note saying thanks for leaving a comment on my site. It is nice to see someone leave a comment now an then for validation. I love your china cabinet. I would probably leave it the same because I myself am not confident enough on how it would look after I painted it. Looks gorgeous like it is and love those dishes. Please stop by again. Cheryl
It looks like a totally different piece of furniture... NICE JOB!!!!
I think it is a gorgeous cabinet and would leave it as is. Your beautiful dishes really "pop" against the wonderful wood!
~Kelli
the cabinet is a classic piece in great condition. It really does not need a change of finish...unless it clashes with the room's decor.
Diane, I love the cabinet and the pottery in side. Right now, the mahogany really shows off the pottery. I can see the D56 looking really good in it as well.
That being said, I like the look of the painted piece as well. Decisions decisions. Tough aren't they? ;-) Isn't it great that nothing needs to be done right now and it looks great as it is. :D
Although I'm a big lover of the shabby chic chippy glazed paint...I think that white color would get lost on your beautiful yellow walls. Now the color of the wood not only looks pretty with the yellow...but it really sets off those gorgeous dishes. What a great buy!
Hi Diane!
First of all, thank you so much for stopping by my blog today! It was so nice to "meet" you! As for the cabinet, I adore the photo of the whitewashed cabinet, so I say go for it and paint it white! Especially since it will match your kitchen cabinets! Great find!!
-Carrie
HI Diane! I think you should leave it the way it is! It has a beautiful finish and really goes well.. and this is from the woman who paints everything!!! If you want to change it up, use scrap book paper in the back to freshen it a little with some double stick tape... :)
Hi Diane :)
Well, after reading a couple comments, I know people were being honest about liking my small redo LOL
I think you should leave it as is for now. Honestly, I can't bring myself to paint perfectly good furniture and it was hard even painting those beat up chairs we found. I'm such a purist! :)
Wait and see if you like it the way it is. You can always paint it later.
rue
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