Painted Jewelry Cabinet: What to Do When an Easy Upcycle Doesn’t Sell

Please forgive the photos in this post. This was one of my first painted jewelry cabinet projects way back in 2014 and I didn’t really expect to blog it. But I thought it was important to share to show that sometimes you have to do things over again.

I forgot to take a picture of this old jewelry cabinet before I painted it the first time.  But it was one of those plain Jane brown woodgrain jewelry cabinets.  Similar to the one below.  Complete with scratches and ugly fake stained glass.

Painted Jewelry Cabinet Before Painting

This is one of the first cabinets I painted when I first started buying old jewelry cabinets from thrift stores and yard sales and repainting them to display my jewelry in the shop.

How I Painted the Thrifted Jewelry Cabinet

I first dry-brushed it off-white.  I think the color was called “chalk”.  That was just a regular latex paint from Ace Hardware.  Then I finished it with Minwax polyurethane in walnut.

Oh… I also removed the faux stained glass and replaced it with hardware cloth.  The glass is usually pretty easy to remove.  Most are held in with little metal pieces and all you have to do is unscrew them. (NOTE: I have LOTS more jewelry cabinet makeovers with more detail so please check out the link below to see all of them.)

ALL My Jewelry Cabinet Makeovers

I used it on my shelves and at flea markets for a long time and it never sold.  Then I felt like it needed more color so I painted it “spring green”, also from Ace Hardware.  It finally sold at Treasure Island Flea.

Now I’m completely out of painted jewelry cabinets.  I have a couple of unpainted ones in my storage unit but I think I need to go shopping!

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More Jewelry Cabinet Makeovers

Since sharing this “fail” project I’ve painted close to one hundred thrift store jewelry cabinets and boxes! I’ve learned a lot. So please don’t just me by this one project! Keep clicking and take a look at some of my favorites:

• How to Make a Uniquely Beautiful Turquoise Drip Jewelry Cabinet
• Green Jewelry Cabinet Makeover with Black Glaze
• How to Update a Boring Old Jewelry Box with Hydrangea Transfers

Thanks for reading!

‘Til the next project,

 Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim

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