Back in Maryland, my former studio space had a big vintage armoire that I used to store all kinds of books, materials and supplies. We moved it to our new home in New York last month but I left it in the garage at first. I wanted to start fresh and not use that clunky old thing we thrifted 25 years ago.

My new space has freshly painted walls in the dreamiest grey-blue and nice white doors and woodwork. And despite having 2 closets, I really missed the kind of storage space the armoire had. So this weekend we decided to paint it!

armoire- studio project-1

Ok, don’t @ me about painting wood. This piece was made in the 60’s and while it’s better quality than a lot of furniture made today, it has it’s issues. One being that someone over-stained the outside a weird shiny dingy brown color that I never liked. (This is the best “Before” shot I have. We got carried away and took off the doors before I had a chance to take a pic!)

Wanting to expedite the process, we used a special kind of paint that allegedly did not require prior sanding/priming. Let’s just say it was an experiment! It worked ok but was very smelly.

armoire- studio project-2

And here’s the (almost) finished result! I still need to buy and attach new knobs and I’m toying they the idea of adding some peel-n-stick wall paper the door panels. I had a moment of panic when I realized that it might look a bit like a refrigerator but I think the hardware will help it look less so.

armoire- studio project-3

And, ta-da! Check out the spacious interior! I found some heavy duty felt bins on Amazon that fit nicely in the side shelves. The storage will be used for tools, shipping materials and a few other things. It looks so nice and clean now. I almost hate to put anything in it, haha! I’ll be sure to share what the armoire looks like with the final details.

Slowly but sure we are getting settled in the new place and I am finding my way again in the studio. Stay tuned for more updates!  And to keep an eye on new class projects coming up, be sure to hop on my email list.