Red Radio Cabinet

You may have seen a similar cabinet on Pinterest. Like me, you may have even pinned it. Twice. And you might have also thought, "I NEED that." Of course, radio cabinets aren't all that easy to come by, but when you do find one on Craigslist. In your town. You BUY it! And then you paint it RED.

Okay, so that's what happened. One dark and stormy night, the ever-beleaguered Hubby went out and brought home this bad boy: an antique wood radio cabinet.

I seriously thought about painting it white. "White goes with everyone's décor," I said. But my daughter convinced me to go for the red. "Not too many people can fit red into their house," I said. "Yes," she answered, "but that means the ones who can will be REALLY excited to find something in red."

Okay!

Here's a quick rundown of the process. First, Hubby removed the fabric "speaker" in the front. Then I sanded a few of the rough spots. Not enough, though. After I painted, some of the dents showed through, but we'll call that "character."

Then I primed it with Zinsser primer. This step may or may not have been necessary. I was going for a bit heavier distressing than usual, so I could have probably gone without the primer.

Then I painted the whole piece red. (Acrylic craft paint, Walmart craft section.) After that, I sanded it with a sanding block.The red was a tad on the orangey side, but I didn't mind because I knew I'd be going over it with a dark stain, which is the last process: to brush on stain and wipe it off. The stain helps bring out the sanded wood, essentially staining it again. It also adds depth and a little shine to the piece while giving it a layer of protection.

I really love how she turned out! Once again, I wish I had a bigger house, because I'd keep this one! Alas, it is moving on to greener pastures.