Hobby Room Update

Remember the hobby room? It’s a small room just off the main room in the basement and it has access to the garden.

 

When we demolished the kitchen I moved the old cabinets down there so I could store all our tools, paints and then some. I hated the yellow fake pine laminate doors and drawer fronts though. And the greyish green of the cabinets too.

 

 

So earlier, this summer, I removed all the doors and drawers and the hardware and did a makeover on them.

 

First I cleaned everything with a de-glosser.

 

Then I filled a myriad of holes from when the cabinets were screwed together in a completely different way upstairs.

 

And then I painted all the visible (outside) bits pure white. Aah. So far so good.

 

Then I put all the old hardware back. The brass isn’t my favorite but I didn’t want to have to change it all out so it stayed.

 

Oh, and after I re-hung the doors I also painted the edges of the doors and the edges of the drawer fronts too. See, I had plans.

 

Wallpaper! I found this single roll with white lace on grey at half off at my local DIY store and one roll was enough to cover all the cabinets.

 

So I did. Only to realize the next day that I hated the result AND I couldn’t pull the drawers out without tearing the wallpaper of the drawer above and below because the drawers are so close to one another.

 

So I tore it all off again. I know. Major waste of time.

 

Actually I didn’t tear it all off, just all on the bottom cabinets. I painted those white  and left the lace on the top ones where I quite like it now that the rest is white and calm.

 

I recycled the blind I had in the former bedroom nook and bought the green plastic rug which some of you have already spotted in previous posts.  I also flipped the counter tops over to the grey side as the white side was already badly covered with paint drops and splatters.

This was one of those posts that took months from start to posting. The photos have been sitting in a folder on my computer but here the post is, finally.

Will show you some additional images on the same topic tomorrow!

Comments

[calliope]

Good morning!
These seem like laminate/MDF cabinets.
How do you paint this material??
Thanx!

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

I used a deglosser to make sure the surface was clean and keyed and then used a water based paint for trim. If you're doing it in a more high traffic area than this, like in your kitchen you should probably use a primer first. Ask at your local paint store, I'm sure they can help you with the correct products for your project.

[akiyo]

Amazing! I wish I was half as organized as you too! ;)

[May / amycapdet]

A lot of work, all in all, but with rewarding results! I wonder how it'd look like with the top cabinets in white too :)

[demo]

when I saw all wallpapered cabinets I thought it will be hard to sit in this room longer looking at the lace, and in the next sentence you wrote, you hated the result..
waiting for the next step!
.

[Maria]

Always amazed how you manage to recycle so many things!
We're doing something similar now in our utility room (grovkök); reusing the old kitchen cabinets to create more storage.

But the big question is: what kind of counter top to use? Which kind of counter top did you use here? It really needs to be something that can handle anything: water, paint, oil, my husband ;) etc.

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

I have Numerär from IKEA there http://www.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/50117446/. It's the same as in my kitchen, in the laundry room and on Wille's desk and it's pretty great. Can't promise that it can handle your husband though :).

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

That may still happen :).

[nicolezh]

Love the "new" white look- I often find myself trying out different patterns to find out that I prefer a simple white or light grey much better!

[Fröken Prickig]

Great result!

[Johanna]

Great work!
But where did you get that cool rug?

[Leena]

Ah I could die for a hobby room like this! Or even one in the first photo.
I like wood colour of the cutting boards with all the white. This room is so white and clean that I could think this is a laundry room.

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

I got it at "Indiska" this summer.

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

I know, I love having the space to lay out projects and tinker about.

[Figs&Rosemary]

I really like it- and I can imagine the effort put into redoing th cabinets this way, so tons of kudos to you :)
Are those additional cutting board abow the drawers? I couldn't figure out over the photos...

[Valerie]

Fantastic! I have been waiting and wondering about your hobby space! Now I can't wait to see what you will create in there!

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

Yes, they are cutting boards which is great because I can just whip one out when needed. I usually pull them all out and place them on the countertop so they're really stable and hammer away or whatever.

[devil]

Such a great use for the old kitchen cabinets. I agree that the lace wallpaper was a better idea in theory than in real life.

You have amazing patience to not throw things when that didn't work out. Had this happened to me, you'd have probably heard me hollering and swearing half a world away. :)

[Dusa]

Every time I see that rug in your posts, I fall in love with it all over again!

[Liz]

Good makeover! I also remake things out of ugly things - magic can happen :-) I bought a cabinet with brass hardware last year which I didn´t like and I just bought a small tin (14ml) of Humrol paint (36 kr) at my local paintshop or at Kreatima http://www.kreatima.se/produkter/hobbyfarger/hobbylackfarg/humbrol-metalcote-14-ml-528058
I just cleaned off the brass, there is a primer version of that paint also, but I didn´t use that, just painted them silver with a small thin brush and it looks great! I love that paint when it´s quite thick and you only need a little paint on the brush and covers completely. I have painted metallic desklamps with it as well. Pretty long drying time but worth it!

[Debbie from Chicago]

You did a fantastic job!

[K @ Shift Ctrl ART]

Wow, it looks fantastic. Love it!

[Cynthia]

I would love a room like that!!!

[Catherine]

I really like the lace on top with the white on the bottom cabinets. All lace did look a bit much but I think it looks lovely now. Great reuse of your old cabinets! Love a good recycling project.

[strikkelise]

You just never give up until you're satisfied, do you. I admire your decorating stamina, and your ability to recycle stuff. It looks great, even more so knowing that you reused that old kitchen.

For painting laminate doors, my über paint competent mum told me to wash them squeaky clean, let dry, then go over them with what we in Norway call rødsprit (denaturated alcohol) just seconds before painting. That will usually eliminate the need for a primer (I have done this in kids' rooms, for instance). Works wonders for an impatient person like me.

[Louise]

The synchronicity of life sometimes is amazing ... I always read Young House Love (YHL) and your blog, one after the other (probably because YHL "introduced" me to your blog!). Today, on YHL I noticed an ad for a stencil company (http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/). If you still want to have a more cohesive look between your upper and lower cabinets ... and you have time on your hands (!) ... and you feel up to doing some more tinkering (!!) - well, then maybe you can find something at this site to help you. There were some lovely patterns that reminded me of your style.

[jeannette]

loooooooove the lace look. thanks for this.

[lisa]

I hope so - not a fan of the lace!

[vita_margarita]

As always, good job done.

[Suzanne]

Lovely. What a dream work space. Such inspiration! Someday...

[May / amycapdet]

;-)!

[Benita ~ Chez Larsson]

I've actually been in contact with them earlier regarding using their images fpor a blog post on stenciling a floor and they offered me a set of stencils which was very sweet of them but then in the end I decided not to go for it after all. They do have some lovely designs though!

[jja]

I LOVE that carpet. Carpet in a craft room, how stylish! This craft room seems better equipped then some real shops.
I don't like the look of the upper cabinets at all.

[Angelica]

Sooooo nice!

[emilie aka la marmotte]

waouh ! SUPER !
:-)