I am soo excited to finally show you this. I have been working on it the last few weeks… and it has been soo easy and fun. Luckily there wasnt too much work that needed to be done on it. It was already in great shape. Haha I think a lot of you will disagree with the decisions that I made. But I think the final product is REALLY fun. The best part is.. I can change it up later if I want a different look. I first want to say though that I am no expert at this and by sharing this with you does not mean that I think I am. hahha. I just love creating stuff. I actually didn’t know AT ALL what I was doing. I was just doing it.
If you have been following me on twitter through this project you would probably already know that I found this china cabinet at Savers (thirft store) for only $80. It was originally $150. I saw it, I loved it, so I talked about it for a few days, and even called everyday to make sure it was still there. Haha. Brian and I rented a trailer thing in order to go get it. It was a sign that it was suppose to be ours because it hadn’t gone anywhere for a week.
I told Brian that I had $80 cash and I was going to see if they would take it for that. When we got up to the counter I told the manager that it had been there for a week and asked if he could give me deal for it. he said “hmm…. how about $79? WHAT??!?! brian and I smiled at each other and i said “I”LL TAKE IT!” hahaha. ANOTHER sign, right?
Below is my process. The china cabinet was missing the glass shelves as well as the glass in the front doors. That actually worked in my favor because i did not want the glass shelves OR the glass in the doors. After i cleaned that thing like no other i painted the trim gray with white accents. I wasn’t to concerned about staying within the lines because I sand papered the paint off a little to create a rustic//used look.
I wanted a pattern in the back of the cabinet so I taped it up and painted gray stripes to match the trim. One side has vertical stripes and the other has horizontal stripes. It was SUPER easy and mess free.
Anthropologie is famous for their pretty handles. I am a thrifty/cheap girl so I went straight for the sale section. It was a small selection but I didn’t really care what they looked like or even if they went, because I thought of that as part of the hodge podge “thrown together” look I was going for. They were MORE than half off at $2.69 each. YAY!
I took measuremets for the shelves and went down to home depot and had them cut the wood for me. I didn’t paint or finish the shelves. They are just plain wood… with holes, cracks, and blemishes.
This is my horse statue that I found at a hole-in-the-wall thrift stop with my mother-in-law during our thanksgiving trip. The girl saw me debating to get it and she kept offering a lowering the price. Poor horse. I finally felt bad for the horse so i bought it at $4. We went over to a supply shop and bought bright pink paint. He feels a lot better with a new wardrobe. haha. Here’s the before and after. His makeover is pretty right?
I think these items in the cabinet might be temporary. I just found them around the house. kinda fun. I will enjoy the storage at the bottom of the china cabinet. Sorry moms.. There will probably be no china in this china cabinet.
Thoughts? You like it? I would love to hear your reaction…. even if you don’t like it. hah. It was really fun. and a great first home project for me.
+ - 74 comments
Amber Ulmer - Promise,
this is such a rad piece & you totally brought it to life for sure!
We love this style of stuff so much, just have yet to find stuff like that around here… note to self… must hunt more!
we just posted a blog referencing Design Sponge. If you haven’t seen it, you should totally check it out. We have similar tastes and I think you would dig it!
xo
Julie Salzmann - Ugh. You’re ridiculous. I LOVE IT! It’s super rad.
Marisa - love love love this! the colors, the stripes, everything! great job on it
liz - I LOVE that you found such a sweet steal at Savers. I just found out there’s a Savers by the school I’m going to–i’ve yet to visit, but I’m gonna. Most of the furniture we have in our apartment the girls and I found dumpster diving, thrifting, or alley-walking
. I live vicariously through your project 
. Keep it up!
Jamie - i love love love it!!!
Hannah - amazing use of colour!
Elisabeth Carol - I LOVE it!! Ridiculous!
Carol Asher - I am a thrift store junkie!! But you just opened my eyes to some of the things I could do with some of the pieces I have found. I just didn’t buy cause I never thought of changing them up. Woo hoo inspiration has arose. I’m loving the colors. Makes me want to go home and redo everything in my condo. lol
annette - $79!!! Wow! Love it!
samantha owens - amazeballs
Jessica - LOVE!LOVE!LOVE! Very creative you did an amazing job!
Tina - I love it. I love that it is so you. Hehehe like I know your something
You are making me miss my first house with B/W checkered tile floors and electric blue ceiling fan and chandelier, and mustard walls. Sad. I conformed and went neutral 
Really sad. But I still have my electric blue couches though! You are inspiring me to spruce! Might need some Promise photo artwork soon…….
Dorothy - so beautiful!! I love it! you’re awesome!
promisetangeman - tina!! your pad sounds AWESOME! maybe again someday soon. and YES i think you do need some promise artwork.
hehe.
Prudence - Lovely. The nice thing with something like this is you can switch stuff out. At Christmas throw some vintage ornaments in it or whatever.
I have two vertical, narrow bookshelves in our dining room on either side of a fake fireplace. In one of the cubbies I have a few things from my childhood, and stuff I received from my grandmas and my husband’s grandmas. I’m not very artsy so it doesn’t look as fancy as your cabinet.
amy t schubert - I definitely want something like that …. but for my guest room, with clean towels and blankets behind the glass doors for the guests …
Courtney Joy - The knobs and the stripes on the back wall are my favorite =)
promisetangeman - amy- i love it that YOU have plans with my cabinet. SOOo cute. love the idea.
Allison - LOVE it! Mine wouldn’t have china in it either – I don’t even own china! It would probably hold games. Awesome job and love those knobs
tiffany zajas - Ooooh, I absolutely love it! The color choices are great…the mis-matched knobs…it all turned out perfectly.
My husband and I have a couple pieces of furniture that we found at thrift stores that we’re needing to paint and re-finish as well. This is great inspiration to me!
Jessica West - absolutely love it!
I also love that you kept the yellow.
Perfect find
ashley bugg - I. Love. it. seriously. SO SO SO fantastic. love love love!
Angel - Promise, this turned out really good! I love love love the stripes idea!
Jessica Williams - Promise- I LOVE this! Great job- you do fantastic work! xo Jess
alex.kruk photography - I love it ! It is beautiful, great job !
JV - Such an inspiration to give the stuff in my bedroom a makeover! Thanks for sharing the process and letting us take a peek into your home!
Kristi - Super RAD! Can I use the word rad still? Hee hee! Looks great. I actually use the china cabinet that came with my rental house for my/my son’s art supplies. I love seeing it through the windows. Bright and colorful and the right kind of mess. Pink horse is super pretty.
Rachel Myers - Love it!! you should come decorate my apartment please!!!
s h e r r y - WOW. I love it! <3 But yellow and grey are 2 of my 3 favourite colours- so maybe I’m a little bit biased. It looks so good.
I love how unique it is… The unmatching knobs are great. <3
Andrea - Promise- AMAZING! We’re going through this process with a bunch of Savers/Goodwill finds for our nursery and it’s super fun! Gotta love Anthro’s sales too. Super good job. You’re an inspiration
Kristy - Its phenomenal… anthropologie could not have commissioned one cooler!
vanessa-raquel - Lovely! I was just in Anthropologie today obsessing over the adorable handles! Perfect thrown together fit.
aimee tangeman-grover - Turned out REALLY good Promise! I see me sitting on the shelf
VRY niiiiice.
Mary-Beth - you are awesome!:D love what you did with it. such a super cute job, and i bet you had lots of fun doing it too!
Lauren - it looks beautiful, I have been wanting a yellow china cabinet from ikea for awhile now, but you totally scored on this because it is old. I love finding great things at thrift shops, that is where I do most of my crafty shopping! Great job!
Rachel Durban - AHH, so awesome! love it!
ashley - I absolutely love this! My husband and I have been looking for a similar piece for our dinning room. This has given me some ideas on how to be more creative with it. Thanks!
Crystal - I do little home projects here and there. Haven’t had the good fortune of having larger pieces to refurbish. BUT… this I LOVE! I’d steal it and keep it for myself. ; )
Mackenzie - I am so inspired! I absolutely love it.
Corey - Ok, I am probably the only guy who will comment on this but I don’t care – I love this kind of stuff. This is cool! I especially like the alternating stripes in the back and the funky knobs. On the shelves you could get some bright colored stain (I think green would compliment the yellow) and stain them to keep the wood variation. I love changing up our house and adding different things all the time. It’s like a canvas!
promisetangeman - COREY!!! i love your ideas. thanks for commenting. SUPER RAD!
cassy - Oh my gosh it looks amazing, you did such a great job on this! I love the gray trim, and the door knobs I think it looks really cool how you got different ones and not all the same knobs it makes it look very unique! :]
Sarah - Love it! I love refurbishing. You should check out my Refurbishit blog if you get a chance. Sarahpring.wordpress.com I don’t blog often so it should be hard to fand : )
wrecklessgirl - i think you are amazing! so stinkin cute.
April Russell - I am in love with it. I do wish I could find something like this to do. I love the projects! Great work!
Carol Asher - Corey – you are my hero. Love to hear a guys point of view. ha ha ha. I realize I’m not Promise but I just had to speak up.
Brianna - that cabinet is AMAZING. when i have a house, i’m paying you to help me!!
Orchid Grey - this is AMAZING! thanks for your sweet comment, your blog is awesome!
kristin rogers - Wow…that is painfuly cute. That must get passed down through generations cute! Ahhh… Im almost mad, I like it so much!
Anastasia - Aw, I love it! I really love yellow & grey together and the fact that the knobs don’t match makes it even better!
Michelle - Beyond cool!! Gotta love Savers… my home-away-from-home!!!
Patti - I love what you have done with the great find..I have been finding great “stuff” for many years and the Mr. always thinks it’s junk…. until I get ahold of it and make it “mine”….oh what you can do with paint and sandpaper!!!! I just want to offer something to you….. Next time you find something, I have a huge truck and I would be willing to haul anything for you… please don’t rent anything….. I would love to offer my truck services to you…. anyone who knows little Kate is a friend of mine….
Erica - Totally love the cabinet. Will you make me one in black & red?
I thought you said you didn’t want glass doors? What are the doors made of then? Love it, love it. Tally bummed they got rid of the Savers here in So Cal. BTW the first pict of you at Savers with your quirky grin, is just like the girl I remember, the one I babysat! 
linda Goodrich - Promise, the horse is lovely! I am pretty sure that horse was in my house back in the 70′s and 80′s so thank you for rescuing it and giving it a makeover. Love the cabinet…feeling inspired to finally get to work painting the buffet cabinet I had bought at the church garage sale a couple of years ago.
Rylee - I LOVE IT!! i could definitely see it at anthro! I’m so so so impressed!
YEARBOOK!! HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009 | PROMISE TANGEMAN ART & DESIGN - [...] 11. MY FIRST HOME MAKEOVER PROJECT. haha I am not suzie homemaker whatsoever… So I was soo excited that this was my first project to redo. i painted and re-did certain elements of this china cabnit that i found at Savers. I love a bargin and I love to re-configure exsisting things. So fun. I hope to have more projects like this in the future. View the full post HERE. [...]
Redo the Cabinet... « Simply Grove - [...] she purchased at Savers for $80. My kind of find Promise! You can read more about the project here. And please tour the rest of her site. You will [...]
Melissa - What a great find. I love this so much! You did a fantastic job refinishing it. Now I’m going to have to refinish mine since you have inspired me.
Katie - i adore this cabinet! cheers to you for this lovely work!
Bryta - You have inspired me.What a beautiful find you have made couture.
jadie - hey promise, just wanted to let you know you gave me the extra little push i needed to finish my china cabinet! thanks!
(there are pictures of it on my blog if you’re interested.)
your’s looks amazing, of course. the knobs are my favorite!
iris ashley - wow this is amazing! i don’t see how anyone could not like what you did with it, because i would totally have something like this in my home. great job!
Emily Stone - I adore this so much! I dream of becoming an Interior Designer and I want to have some sort of signature where I make something, whether it is a painting for a piece like this, in every clients room/ home. You have inspired me so much! If I had the money and it weren’t 8 o’clock on a tuesday night, I would run out to thrift stores and antique shops and make one myself! This is amazing! I love it. Keep creating, its inspiring!
Peace!
the BLAH BLAH BLAHger - That is retardedly GORGEOUS! Congrats on a killer deal and amazing job!
helen - i love when thrift shop owners give discounts!
sarah - I love it! I need to shop at your Savers. Mine has not produced such great gems I love the stripes!
Katy Pope - ok. let me just say that as a fellow designer, this rocked my world. like i got excited and fired up. so, i’m just gonna throw this out there and say that you are super talented and we would be best friends if our paths crossed. haha. and also, me and my boyfriend have a love for taking old furniture and giving it a make over. it is way more fun than just blowing cash on a piece that someone else got to enjoy designing. But i am currently in the process of redoing a chest of drawers and a coffee table. seeing this has added to my inspiration.
kbye.
ashley - that is beautiful and different! i bought a corner china cabinet at a garage sale last year and have been wanting to funk it up! you inspired me !
colleen - …wo wsuper job..love how you kept the yellow there…calmed it down with thegrey!
Ami Catori - You did a great job! I was wondering if anyone knows what style paint job this cabinet would be called….The yellow base with the blue-ish gray trim. I have an old china cabinet myself,from my grandma, with these colors( i HAD the matchig dining room set, but lost it in a cross country move). Anyway i want to get a new dining room table and chairs to match this beautiful fun piece. Any Ideas? Anyone?
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Living Room at The Glade | Let's Face the Music - [...] I could also go wild and do something like this or the reverse of it. Wouldn't this add a bold shot of color into a [...]
Lynnell - Love it so much that I’m starting on my two china cabs. tomorrow, thanks for inspiring me.
jenerra - I know i’m late, but this is BAD! U laid this out….. (when I say bad I mean GOOD)