Custom Creamy White Cabinet

"Here she is, my friends! Completely made over from top to bottom, this gorgeous family heirloom is a hand carved Schlingmann Wertmobel cabinet that belonged to my clients parents in Germany. Even after making the trip from Germany to the U.S., this beauty was in near perfect condition and honestly, I was a tad bit intimidated to put paint on her flawless goodness. But wow! The makeover made each carving, each curve, each detail even more stunning and truly stand out.   My client chose a custom creamy white for the exterior and a beautiful gray for the interior all from General Finishes. The white is Antique White mixed with just a smidge of Harvest Yellow-for every cup of Antique White, I added 4 teaspoons of Harvest Yellow. The inside is Perfect Gray and it is definitely a perfect gray! I distressed the details by following each line of the carvings. I call this intentional distressing because it is a very intentional design element as opposed to distressing the places that might naturally be rubbed/bumped from day to day use. After a coat of topcoat, I added Van Dyke Brown Glaze wiping it back and letting it settle in the cracks, crevices and carvings. Tip: a coat of topcoat first, gives a barrier between your paint and the glaze so it’s easier to remove from the places you don’t want it and doesn’t leave a dirty, muddy finish. Also, adding General Finishes Extender to the glaze gives you more open time-it doesn’t dry as quickly-which gives more work time to get the look you want. I finished the piece with multiple coats of flat topcoat for durability and just a tiny bit of sheen to match the look of the piece. I gave all of the hardware a good scrub with Dawn dish soap and Bar Keepers Friend and then added Rub n Buff Gold Leaf gilding wax on the raised parts to brighten it and really make it stand out."