From Modern Lines to Cottage Charm

Do you guys ever underestimate how long a makeover will take? You take days to come up with an amazing idea. You draw it out on paper or maybe even a napkin. You talk it over with your team and by team I mean yourself, your bestie with the actual skills and your two little dogs. I swore this would take “an afternoon.” It all started with this media credenza. We bought it back when I was decorating everything in this place with coastal colors and I painted it a pretty shade of blue/green.

This piece currently resides in the home office but the modern lines really didn’t bother me because it wasn’t in MY office. However, as soon as I started gathering items for a nature inspired makeover, I knew we were going to have to give the credenza a major facelift. I started out by painting the body with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre.

Once the paint was dry,

I applied a layer of Annie Sloan Dark Wax using a lint free white cloth

on the top and around raised detail of the trim work.

While the wax was drying, we cut 6 double bead wainscot hardboard panels that were purchased at a local home improvement store using a handsaw.  As always, when you’re working on projects such as this or any DIY projects for that matter, use common sense and safety precautions.

Next, we attached the wainscoting panel to the front of the threefold door on the credenza using Liquid Nails and a caulk gun.  If you’ve never used Liquid Nails or a caulk gun before, make sure you read all directions carefully and take necessary safety precautions.

Once the wainscoting was in place, we used Liquid Nails and a caulk gun to add trim to the inside of the threefold door. This helped to cover the edges of the wainscoting and also to help create depth.

For an extra layer of protection, we used painter’s tape to hold the trim in place and let it set overnight.

The next morning, I decided to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White to cover the wainscoting but left the trim unpainted.

The mix of white trim, painted wainscoting and aged look of the dark wax was just what the credenza needed.  It has a fresh feel now.

Even after working on this piece for two days, it’s still hard to believe we were actually able to transform its modern lines from this

to a credenza that now has cottage charm.

Can you believe I actually thought this would “just take an afternoon?”

Many blessings,

CoCo