Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

  • Shop Our Houses
    • Our Current House
    • Our Richmond House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
  • Before & Afters
    • Our Current House
    • Our Previous House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
    • Our First House
    • Our Second House
    • Our Showhouse
  • DIY & Decorating Tips
    • Most Popular
    • Home Improvement
    • Painting
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Crafting & Art
    • More . . .
  • Painting Projects
  • Plants Guides
  • Shop
    • Our Fav Home Finds
    • Our Lighting Line
    • Our Books
    • Book Club Picks
    • Black-Owned Businesses

Young House Love » Reader Redesigns » Painting A Wood China Cabinet White And Adding Fabric To The Back Wall

| By Sherry Petersik | April 27, 2010 | 67 Comments

Painting A Wood China Cabinet White And Adding Fabric To The Back Wall

When Emily sent us her amazing china cabinet makeover we just had to share her before & after pics. Here’s her letter:

I’ve been following your blog and have been inspired to move away from a house full of dark furniture and lighten things up a bit! We had some dark $10 clearance dining chairs that we purchased last summer but we decided to give them an airy overhaul (we found discount fabric and payed a professional to paint and upholster the chairs and they still came in under $100 a piece!). We also had been on the lookout for a china cabinet to store all of our servingware (which was sadly being stored in our guest room’s closet) when we came across one on Craigslist for just $75. It even had a working light! All it took to totally transform it was some leftover topcoat and fabric from the chairs along with around $40 of primer, paint and brushes from Lowe’s. We just love the new look- and we hope you like it too. Keep up the good work! And thanks for sharing your lives! – Emily

Here’s the cabinet before the big makeover:

China Cabinet Before

And here’s the same china cabinet with a crisp new paint job and some leftover chair fabric lining the back:

China Cabinet After 2

China Cabinet After 3

Isn’t that incredible? It looks like a $1000+ piece and it was just $75 on Craigslist. This is such a great reminder that old pieces of seen-better-days furniture can always be upgraded in any number of ways (new hardware, paint, fabric, playful paper drawer liners, antiquing, etc). There really is no limit to what you can do with a smidge of determination and a little elbow grease. Great job Emily- thanks so much for sharing!

Psst- Looking for a step by step furniture painting tutorial? Well look no further.

More posts from Young House Love

Filed Under: Reader Redesigns

Fab Freebie: You Pillow Designer, You
BONUS Fab Freebie: The YHL Baby Pool!

Comments

  1. Tasha says

    April 28, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    I hope she stops by soon. I really want details on that fabric. Gorgeous.

    Reply
  2. Emily says

    April 28, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Hi Friends!
    I couldn’t get in my car and home quick enough after work to write on here! Thank you Sherry and John for choosing me to be on your blog, I feel like a celebrity! Thanks to all of you for the sweet sweet comments!
    The Fabric: Hancock Fabrics, last summer, I couldn’t find it on the website nor do I know the name! I will keep searching!
    Application of fabric: HARDEST PART! I made a pattern with paper, cut the material then used an upholstery staple gun to secure it! I thought about glue, then what if it was crooked? The staple gun was quick and easy. Can’t see the staples for my junk!
    Chairs: The chairs were purchased from this huge warehouse in Humboldt, Tennessee that is like a giant yard sale! They buy things from auctions, colleges, and hotels by the truck loads! The chairs were from a hotel conference room! I almost fainted when she told me $10 a piece, bought 6, then bought two different ones for the end chairs (also $10 ) If I can locate a before picture I will post a link to my blog http://emilygamble.wordpress.com/
    Thank you all again!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      April 28, 2010 at 7:29 pm

      Thanks so much for stopping in with that info for everyone Emily! You’re the best- and your makeover is seriously amazing.

      xo,
      s

  3. gez says

    April 28, 2010 at 10:21 pm

    Coincidently I just spotted similiar fabric on dining chairs on the Ballard Design home page but in green. They only have it in green and chocolate, and it costs $24 per yard. http://www.ballarddesigns.com/mercadoSearch.do?action=search&newSearch=true&freeText=domino+fabric&Search.x=33&Search.y=3
    I know that isn’t any help to anyone who has their heart set on gray but if it is the pattern you are after and you don’t mind the price…

    Reply
  4. Katelyn Likes This says

    April 29, 2010 at 10:10 am

    Oh, I love a good furniture refurbish!

    Reply
  5. Mandy says

    April 29, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    Hi all,

    I do believe that fabric is Robert Allen’s Cats Cradle. I just can’t figure out what color Emily used.

    Great job on the makeover!!!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      April 29, 2010 at 12:08 pm

      Thanks for the tip Mandy!

      xo,
      s

  6. Mandy says

    April 29, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    You’re welcome!

    The sad news is that it appears to be discontinued. :-(

    Reply
  7. Cara says

    April 29, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    Beautiful! I love it!!

    Reply
  8. Angela says

    May 24, 2013 at 3:30 pm

    How did you line the back of the cabinet with fabric? Did you use foam board? Do you have instructions somewhere? thx!! :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 3:33 pm

      Hope she drops in with that info for ya :)

      xo,
      s

« Older Comments

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
*This site contains ads and affiliate links*
See our disclaimer & privacy policy to learn more

Latest Finds

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SHOP OUR LIGHTING

Young House Love Shades Of Light Capiz Chandelier

GET POSTS BY EMAIL

We’re Digging

Traditional Rug
The “Magic” Rug
Smokeless Solo Stove Firepit
Smokeless Firepit
Outdoor Solar LED Path Lights
Solar Path Lights
Criss Cross Office Chair
Our Desk Chair
Blue Air 211 Air Purifier
Our Air Purifiers
Eufy 11S Max Robot Vacuum
Our Robot Vacuum
Kohler Memoirs Toilet
Our Favorite Toilet
Livable Luxe Book
Fav Design Book
SEE MORE OF OUR FAVORITE FINDS > >

  • About
  • FAQs
  • Press
  • Contact
  • :)

© 2025 Young House Love ® · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · A Fun Wordpress theme on Genesis Framework · Hosted by Liquid Web