cupboard love

mentally i've rearranged my workspace dozens of times..and i have physically moved things around a lot too while trying to make the space functional and aesthetically pleasing..but no matter what configuration i tried it just didn't work so a while back i swapped the spare room and workroom around..that of course was after much deliberation and i even wondered at one or several angst ridden moments whether my spacious bedroom might make a better workroom..and in reality it would..but in the end i decided not to relinquish my large airy bedroom which has a garden view and where outside i have strategically planted deciduous and non deciduous plants to cool my room in summer and warm it in winter..

over the last year or so i'd been looking in op shops for a glass fronted cupboard for my workroom to store my vintage sheets and pillow cases..several months ago i found the very style of cupboard i'd had in mind..even though it was an op shop purchase it wasn't cheap and i had to pay extra for delivery..when i bought it i wasn't sure whether i would strip the dark brown lacquer off or paint it..my decision was made when i did a test strip patch and found that the timber had been stained black prior to being lacquered and it was resistant to removal no matter what i tried..

the cupboard sat outside under cover waiting to be painted for ages when one very windy day it was blown over onto it's front..it lay in its prostrate state for a few weeks because it was too heavy for me to lift into the upright position..there was an unhinged door looking like a cumbersome broken limb lying awkwardly under the heavy cupboard and shards of glass everywhere..i gave up hope that my cupboard was salvageable and so i decided that the easiest and cheapest method of disposal was to break it up and take it to the tip..i felt sad because not only had i lost several hundred dollars but i'd also lost a lovely cupboard that had taken me ages to find..

on one of my son's visits i asked him to lift the cupboard into the upright position so that i could assess the damage before breaking it up..to my great surprise the broken limb door had sustained no damage at all apart from having come off its hinges and while the glass was broken in the other door it was still in situ..remarkably that was the only damage the cupboard had incurred..

i've mentioned previously that recently my daughter has been helping me finish some renovation work and furniture painting..i can't take any credit for the cupboard painting because she did the two undercoats and two top coats that it needed..all i did was take the door with the broken glass off, remove the remnants of old glass and beading and get some new glass cut to size and together we replaced the glass and beading before we reinstated the doors..after such a long saga it felt pretty amazing yesterday to be able to finally put my fabric in the cupboard and to stand back and admire the pretty colour coordination..ah..it's cupboard love..

unfortunately i don't have a before photo but it was lacquered a very dark brown

now i'm planning my next vintage sheet quilt..