Another project that I completed last week was giving this little oak cabinet a facelift.  Don’t be distracted by the Gorton’s Fisherman.  We’ll get to him later.

So would you believe me if I told you someone was going to throw out this little gem?  True story.  There wasn’t anything wrong with him before his little makeover yet he was cast aside anyway.  Luckily, I swooped in and saved the day…and his life.

Plus if you have been following along for a while you probably know that I love solid oak pieces.  I know sometimes oak can look a little country or dated in a bad way but they’re typically well made and sturdy.  And that loose open grain of wood.  There is something about it that I just love.  It still comes through even under a layer of paint.

I started painting the entire chest white with Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Ironstone.  Then I decided that it would need a pop of color.  I painted Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Aubusson Blue on the drawers and to highlight the accents on the doors.  I went over the blue with a coat of white.  The results remind me of the ocean!  The entire piece got a coat of clear wax.

Queue the Gorton’s Fisherman! My parents picked up this oil painting of the sea just days prior.  Ryan interpreted it as a captain who died at sea.  My mom referred to it as the Gorton’s Fisherman.  I just liked the colors really.  What do you think?

Turns out the ocean in the painting and the painted drawers are pretty well coordinated, don’t ya think?  And I love the pop of yellow.  I’ve been on a kick with old paintings of sailboats and the sea.  I want to put together a gallery wall full of them at our beach house.  I have 3 like this so I guess it is a collection now!  I just need to figure out where to display them.

Back to the furniture at hand…I opted to keep the original brass hardware on the drawers.  They’re large unique pulls and shockingly were all there.  Finally, I lined the drawers with old blue prints.  I have a pretty great stash of blue prints that belonged to Ryan’s dad and were created by him.  They are all 30-35 years old and most are dated and even have an address.  I can’t wait to put them all to good use.

Overall, I can think of about a million uses for this curvy little cabinet – bedside table, office/printing station, extra kitchen storage, end table… I am sure it will be put to good use.  As for the Gorton’s Fisherman, I can almost guarantee that you will be seeing him again soon.  Wink.

The oak cabinet is currently available for sale at West End Garage in Cape May.  We should be receiving our shipment of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint any day now and it will be for sale in our shop and online.  Let me know if you want to reserve a color!

Linking to Miss Mustard Seed & Primitive & Proper