I have had it with the junk piling up in my country kitchen!! In the corner by the french doors; I see at least 7 pair of shoes; a 5# bag of sweet corn seed, 2 bookbags, sack of seed potatoes, dibble, bulb planter, stack of newspapers for recycling, bag of cans ditto, plus various jackets, caps and other sundry clothing items just hung hither and yon.

I can't afford a nice armoire for that area at this time; but I can afford this cabinet at Wal-Mart that has everything that I'm looking for - clothes rod; shelves, etc.. Only problem is, the outside is that slick white finish and with white walls in the kitchen; it just won't look good. Does anyone know if this stuff can be painted? And does anyone know of any type of surface treatment that might make it look decent? The kitchen has a lot of dark reds, dark greens and yellows in it; (chicken stuff) medium oak trim and cabinets. The living room is open to the kitchen and has blues and reds in it.

Any help will be most gratefully appreciated!

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

Answers

Is it a metal cabinet or one of those "wood products" cabinets? If it's metal...no problem! Just sand blast and repaint (spray) with one of those antique country colors. Use a color that suits your decor. There are so many choices nowadays! That's what I'd do, anyways. But I'm not sure about those cabinets made of "wood products!! Harry is a fantastic welder and is always making stuff out of metal, so that's what I'm usually repainting :-)!!

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

Why not just cover it with contact paper? That stuff is inexpensive, comes in all sorts of designs and colors and holds up wonderfully. Best part is its easy and neat to apply.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

ooh, ooh, stencil it! Keep it white but stencil some flowers or something on it. Walmart has all different kinds in their craft section.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

It might be laminate. I'm not sure if you can paint on that or not. Perhaps a Google search would turn up the answer? If I have time, I might try searching on it, but I don't guarantee it.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

If its the white particle board or pressed wood, then it IS difficult to paint. Try spray paint. Or wallpaper. Or finding an antique beat- up something and upgrading it. My problem with the pieces you describe is that they hold little weight and bow easily. One badly placed screw and it is unforgiving and near impossible to repair the crumbling that occurs. Can you tell I have had trouble putting one of those things together? Actually, it was a microwave stand for my dad, but same stuff. We have never been happy with the particle board. Maybe you could make a primitive bench seat or rough pantry for storage? Cobble it together out of wide planks then sand and paint it as if it was ancient? A trunk and some peghooks?

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2002

Polly...I've occasionally bought a piece of unfinished furniture that's available at Kmart. It's a little more expensive than the Walmart furniture, but at least it's REAL wood and you can do it "your way"!!

-- Anonymous, May 19, 2002

I don't know how much you intend to spend, but have you looked at the unfinished wood furniture at places like Menards and Fleet Farm? I've seen some there that are very reasonably priced, and not made out of formica covered pressed oatmeal. You can stain that, or paint it, or do a combination as you may wish.

I've always had a hankering to do some tromp l'oel painting on a cabinet face myself...I thought it would be fun to paint it to look like a darkened coop with straw on the floor, and either chickens or rabbits inside it & then paint or staple chicken-wire over it.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 2002

Thanks for all the answers, guys! You know how at Wal-mart they have the cabinets all set up on a shelf about 3' tall with all the boxes stored underneath? Well; I had them pull the cabinet down where I could get a good look at it and I decided not to buy it after all, since it is pretty junky. I guess I'll just keep looking...You've got me thinking with that chicken wire idea, Julie! And with Dee's stencils...on an unfinished cabinet maybe... Jay; I promised myself I would never try to do contact paper or wallpaper again - I would require weeks of therapy to get over the trauma!! The ability to work with that stuff seems to be one that I just can't acquire!!

I had thought about different things I could do in that area - armoire, peg rack for jackets over a deacon's bench, peg rack over a dresser or sideboard.... I keep looking and can't find anything decent at the antique and junk stores that fits my budget. I guess maybe I'm just too picky!! I am strongly affected by my surroundings here at home and don't like to spend time in rooms that have annoying decor - like the laundry room with its white washer and almond dryer; or the family room with it's weight bench and treadmill!! Maybe I could stuff all the garden crap in a bushel basket and call it "country decorating"? I know!! I'll write a poem about my disgusting gardening sneaks and then I can call them "art"!!

They've got permanant grunge / the laces are gone / Dog chewed one heel / there's a hole for a corn

They've been my friend / through rain and mud / they've seen their share / of sweat and blood

They've walked some miles / down country roads / they've carried acorns / and kidnapped toads...

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2002

Okay, I want to hear about the kidnapped toads!

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2002