Vintage Sewing Cabinet to Nightstand

The name of this piece is the Perfect Sewing Cabinet, but as you can see it is far from perfect! I picked it up for a few dollars at a local thrift store.

Vintage Sewing Cabinet

It's not a large cabinet. I knew it would be perfect as a nightstand in my guest room as I needed something smaller to go next to a murphy bed.

Vintage sewing cabinet with two drawers.

It features two drawers which were missing the original pulls, so I filled the holes with wood filler.

Perfect Sewing Cabinets, Mfg The Caswell-Runyan Co., Huntington, Ind.

This piece was manufactured by The Caswell-Runyan Company in Huntington, Indiana and is called the Perfect Sewing Cabinet.

The top of the cabinet opens up.

In addition to the two drawers, the top of the cabinet opens up which also accesses the top drawer.

THE MAKEOVER: 

Shellac over damaged finish.

The finish is far from perfect. I will paint the entire cabinet white and then add some special touches to brighten it up. First I used a foam brush to apply two coats of shellac to prevent bleed through.

Applying the first coat of white paint.

Normally you would want to sand the damaged surface smooth. But since I am using this paint I knew I could skip this step and build up a slight texture with multiple light coats of paint. (I don't think this method would work if using an acrylic or enamel type of paint.)

Brushing on the second coat of white paint.

I began by appying two light coats of paint in the same direction. I applied the paint evenly, but didn't worry too much about brush strokes.

Apply paint in opposite directions to create texture.

Next I applied a third coat of paint going in the opposite direction. I alternated the direction with each additional layer until I got the coverage I wanted. It would be easy to sand in between coats if this method results in too much texture, but I didn't need to do that.

Apply clear wax over dried paint.

I painted the bottom of the cabinets with two coats of paint. I sealed the entire piece with clear wax. Now for the fun part!

Wadded plastic wrap and decoupage paper.

I purchased decoupage paper called Yellow Chinoiserie (brand: Mint by Michelle). It's a little pricey, but it came with three sheets of paper which was exactly what I needed for this project. 

Apply ModPodge with a chip brush.

I began by applying about a 1" area of ModPodge (water-based adhesive) with a chip brush.

Position paper over adhesive.

I positioned the top of the paper to the adhesive. 

Applying adhesive in small-ish sections.

Then I lifted the remaining paper out of the way and applied more adhesive to a small section.

Press the paper with a wad of plastic wrap.

I smoothed out the area with a wad of plastic wrap as recommended by the manufacturer. This helps prevent the paper from tearing as it is pressed into and smoothed out over the wet adhesive.

Smooth the decoupage paper with a wad of plastic wrap.

I continued this method until the entire section was covered. You will notice some wrinkles in the paper. That's OK with me as I wanted this look, but there were instructions for a smoother finish if that's more your cup of tea.

Cut away excess decoupage paper with a razor blade.

After it was dry, I used a razor blade to cut away the excess paper from the inside corners.

Cut between the drawers with a razor blade.

Next I cut through the paper where the drawers are. 

Remove excess paper with a sanding block.

I used a sanding block to easily remove the paper from the outside edges.

AFTER: 

Painted vintage sewing cabinet.

And here is the finished project! It fits perfectly between the murphy bed and the wall.

Vintage sewing cabinet used as a nightstand.

Currently the guest room is very neutral, so I just love the little pop of color the nightstand adds.

Decoupage paper on furniture.

I added some vintage knobs to the drawers.

Add color with paint and decoupage.

I love love love the little touch of color next to the bed. I think it's perfect!

Paint and decoupage on vintage furniture.

Thank you for visiting The Black Sheep Shoppe. I hope you enjoyed the project.

Supplies used for this project:

Shellac & foam brush

Gesso white matt paint & brush

Clear wax

Decoupage paper

ModPodge & chip brush

Razor blade

Sanding block