China Tales

No, I have not recently started globe trotting and taken off for the far East.  (Sounds fun though doesn’t it?!)  Rather, my husband and I finally acquired a new-to-us China cabinet.  And then promptly redid it!

Let me tell you, it helps to have a very handy husband around when you want to tackle a project like this.  Because he’s amazing.  He has all of the tools on hand, can custom match stain, and, perhaps most importantly, trusts me when I tell him to do things a certain way. 😉

We found (or rather my mom found) this china cabinet through the newspaper second hand.  We had been hunting for a bit for a piece that would be a good fit for us and this one had a “can’t lose” price of $100.  So we snatched it up and figured we could make it work.

China Tales

Things that were killing me about this piece:
1. the trim across the top – faux burled wood is NOT a look I am into

2. the hardware in general – dated and scruffy

3. the plastic (yes! plastic) trim around the the drawers – for shame!! the company put plastic trim on this beautiful wood piece

Handy husband to the rescue…

Watch those doors and drawers become COMPLETELY updated with the help of a belt sander, trim, nail gun, compound miter saw, and custom stain. And finally, new hardware. (Have I mentioned he’s amazing?)

Doors:

China Tales

and Drawers:

China Tales

I hope you will all agree with me that the piece looks a great deal better and updated. And I finally have a place to put all of my beautiful china and crystal! (Which coincidentally my husband also picked out!)

China Tales

It is so “grown up” to have a fully stocked china cabinet. I had a bit of a moment when I saw the finished product and realized that I have now, somehow, officially become an adult. It’s all perspective I suppose.

Yesterday was my 33rd Birthday and my dad left me a comment on Facebook sharing this quote which perhaps you will recognize.

“At that time Frodo was still in his tweens, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three.”

Welcome to the world of responsibility!!

40 thoughts on “China Tales”

  1. Happy Birthday, Angela! Love the quote. Congratulations on coming of age and acquiring a lovely china cabinet! I still don't have one, guess I'm not an adult yet!

  2. Happy Birthday! I turn 33 next week, and I don't feel like much of an adult either yet. Maybe I'm missing a china cabinet! Your husband did an amazing job. Usually when I see cabinet makeovers, they're done with paint because it seems so hard to match stain. So that is really impressive.

  3. Oh my WOW!!! Just amazing! What a wonderful birthday find 🙂 Hope your day was the best yet! You may be a "grown-up", but being a kid at heart always makes life more exciting 🙂 Enjoy your grown-up, kid at heartness!

  4. i have to admit that i liked the burled bit, but plastic trim? seriously! fortunately my husband possesses this same set of wonderful skills, though i had never thought of having him do this type of revamp! looks great! and happy birthday!

  5. Happy Birthday! The China cabinet is so fancy! I love what you/your hubby did with it! I can't believe the plastic, that's crazy!

  6. Wow! It's gorgeous! I wish I had the talent to do that sort of refab work. Your hubby is a meastro.

    Happy birthday! Hope you spoilt yourself

  7. Oooh, happy belated birthday! My dad quotes from LOTR too, haha!

    My boyfriend and I have been attempting to re-paint and re-upholster some simple chairs for, like, a year. I procrastinate because I'd rather be sewing or, well, just doing something else, and I guess because we don't have the know-how to make it look entirely professional. Still, it's fun, and I look forward to the day when the Echino can finally go on it!

  8. Happy belated birthday. How great of your dad to send you that quote. Means so much more than Hallmark. You know for sure that he is thinking about you with love. Your husband did a beautiful job giving that china cabinet a second life to live at your house. I also thought at the beginning of the post that it would be used for fabric storage. Now you have a beautiful place to store your precious china and crystal that is not made of cardboard. lol Take good care of that man – he's a catch! (Inside joke behind my DH and I.) N

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