I've been busy fluffing the house - there's nothing like Spring to get a person in the mood for cleaning and freshening up. And, the anticipation of houseguests will also do it! Our son is on his way home from Iraq (on leave) and our daughter, son-in-law and grandson will arrive next week. Oh joy!
This little cabinet was one of my fluffing projects. I started revamping it with the intention of doing everything myself, but it wasn't long before I found myself in trouble. My husband had to step in and rescue the situation, but because of that it came out so much better than I could have done. This is actually it's second makeover. Originally it was a snake cage! I found it in front of a neighbor's house, ugly and worn. It had glass in the front and a hinged screen on top, and was really horrible inside. I almost passed it by but I could see some possibilities, and I did need a cabinet just that size. Will made a top for it, and I did some serious rebuilding of the original legs with bondo (great stuff!), then I painted it white. It stayed that way for a few years, never quite finished, so I decided to get back to it a few weeks ago. I sawed off the legs and replaced them with the straight parsons legs, and that's about as far as I got on my own. Will said we might as well do it right (I'm all for that, although it did sound a bit like an insult), so he brought home molding, door frames, and the wire door inserts. I must say it's very handy having a husband who works at a custom cabinet shop and can bring home all this great stuff! He attached the molding along the bottom, put the doors on, and we painted it "kettle black". It's finally really finished, and I love it!!
The plate sitting on the cabinet is called "The Prom Dress" and is from a painting by Norman Rockwell. When Will and I first saw the painting, years ago, we were struck by the fact that the girl could have been our daughter. I don't know who the model was, but she looked so much like Alanna that we had to have a print or something. We ended up with two prints and this plate, which has become one of my favorite things, naturally!