Simple Pottery Barn-inspired armoire has me amazed

This simple Pottery Barn-inspired armoire had me amazed at how good it turned out and how easy it was to do. I have this older armoire in my kitchen that my kids dislike, but I need it in my kitchen because of the lack of cabinet space. Then looking at Pottery Barn one day, I saw a $3,000 cabinet (I can’t find the exact one that I was looking at now). That was my inspiration. This one isn’t exactly the one I was inspired by as I can’t find the picture of that one now. This is another with the same type of cane fabric look. I like the look, it was just a fresh Idea.

Prepping for the Pottery Barn-inspired Armoire

I gathered cleaning supplies, TCP, and painting supplies. I knew that it needed to be cleaned with a degreaser no matter if I decided to sand it all down for that more beachy life decor everyone was buying or if I decided to stain or paint it. The pictures below are the beautiful armoire before I started to work on it. It was pretty much 80s style but in good shape.

Starting on the PB-inspired Armoire

As you can see, I didn’t go with the bleach wood look. It isn’t that I don’t like that look but I decided I wanted something warmer and didn’t show stains easily. After all, It was in the “dining” room area. I cleaned it with orange degreaser cleaner from the Home Depot and then TCP. I did both because the armoire is near the kitchen with grease and such gets into the wood.

Picking out the paint

Several sites recommended the aviation paint for holding up well on furniture that has a lot of use or moisture in the area without peeling, chipping, or fading over time. Going with the gray color was the natural choice from the bit of gray tone in the beige tiles in the kitchen. English Tea party is the paint color. It seems fitting given the fact that this is sometimes called a high tea or buffet cabinet or Armoire. I now have a gray side table for a table in the kitchen so it probably was a great choice for me. Although these gray pieces made me re-think the whole kitchen/dining room paint color, I eventually repainted both areas.

Sanding and Painting the Armour

I sanded some areas that were a little bit damaged and I considered having the pull-out buffet table part natural wood but as you can see I decided against it. Putting a hot plate down on this softwood needed an extra coat of protection like paint.

The paint was first applied with a paintbrush and then rolled with a cabinet paint roller. This method doesn’t have any brush lines but ensures good paint coverage. It did take two coats although many websites said it would just take one. All of the hardware was removed for painting.

Cain or Cane Fabric for my PB-inspired Armoire

The cane fabric is more difficult to work with as it was in a roll and didn’t want to lay flat. I laid it out flat for a few days and it made it easier to work with after that. Cutting off the fabric is easy with a sharp pair of scissors but it does make a mess with little straw pieces going everywhere. I put a dot of hot glue in each of the corners and then ran a bead of wood glue around the edges. The hot glue held the fabric in place while I put the clamps on the fabric and the wood. This way the fabric would stay in place giving the wood glue time to cure.

Also, I waited a week for the doors to dry and the paint to be completely dry but not cured. It takes 30 days before it is fully cured. Then I reattached the hardware and the cabinet doors. Styled it up and overall happy with the transformation of this piece.

Costs for the project

Besides, the costs of the cleaner, paint (around $45.00), and paint brushes (left over from another project). The cain or cane fabric was $28.00 and I didn’t have enough left over to finish any more cabinet doors. I could finish one of the small cabinet doors below but I would need more fabric to complete the other one. That is just to give you an idea of what I had left over, not that I was planning on doing anything more when I ordered it.

What do you think of my PB-inspired armoire?

What do you think of the transformation of the pottery barn-inspired armoire? You may not like it or just not your style. However, I hope it gives inspiration for you to try any furniture redesign you have in your home. This was simple and fairly cost-effective.

Always trying out new things is the sunrise colors of the kaleidoscope.