The long-awaited drinks cabinet DIY finally happens – Kelly Bertrand tackles her personal do it yourself Everest
Capsule x Resene
This is the one I was scared about.
If you’ve been following our DIY/ upcycling/ home décor makeover series – firstly, thank you – but secondly you’ll know that we, the artistically-challenged founders of Capsule, have never had any experience in the art of a décor flip.
So we started small – small interior items, makeup trays, frames – before progressing to a simple set of drawers which, I’ll say it, remain one of my greatest achievements (I have a Bachelor’s degree and I still stand by this) and remain pride of place in my bedroom.
There were triumphs, a few hiccups and lots of learnings that we’ve passed on to you – the importance of primer; how to sand things properly, how to pick colours and, as a little sneak peek of Emma’s upcoming story, why you don’t paint inside (spoiler, it’s a trail of blue cat paw prints).
But it was all leading to this for me – the project I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do, but never had the confidence or know-how to do it. The drinks cabinet.
Now, I like to think I’m a classy lady (thinking and being are two different things) and, as a lover of both hosting and pouring myself a good drink, having my own chic home for my booze and accompanying accoutrements has been a dream BUT do you know how expensive new ones are!?
Too much for someone trying their best to plan a wedding that I can actually afford to go to, that’s who.
So when I found an old drinks cabinet on TradeMe for $100, I knew that it was finally my time to shine.
Our DIY Drinks Cabinet Makeover:
The vibe – Looking at this 30s-40s ish piece of furniture (I mean, I’m guessing!?) I knew I wanted to both pay tribute to the past, while also modernising the piece to the point I wanted to actually keep it in my house, which is very minimal and tonal. In saying that I was determined to use a colour rather than a shade of nude (or beige as was my first thought), so one colour seemed to work for both the shape of the cabinet, and my own preferences – green.
Green is pretty much the only colour in my house (I’m working on it) but it’s truly a hue I absolutely adore. I wear it, I surround myself with it (nature etc) and I genuinely think that it’s simply the best colour in the world. This pinnacle project, then, HAD to be green.
But what green? Resene has billions (ok hundreds) of greens, so it was a tough choice. My decision-making process? Wandering around my local Resene ColorShop with a Starbucks and a handful of swatches looking like a nut job as I held them up in different lights and muttered their jazzy names to myself (Alcapulco! Alfresco! Alo Alo!).
Eventually, me and the long-suffering Resene employee settled on Resene Waiouru, an earthy martial olive green that, according to the Resene website, is both “solemn and practical”. To me, it was a modern update on a lot of the shades of green I’ve seen in deco art, with a nature-inspired grounding, that I just genuinely loved and knew I wouldn’t tire of.
But knowing that it was on the darker side, I also selected some textured cream wallpaper to line the shelves, thereby committing myself to a level up on this project – applying wallpaper. The plot (and fear) thickens.
The process – step one, sanding. Is it a pain? Hell yes. Is it necessary? Hell yes. Whether you use a mouse sander like I did (highly recommend) or by hand, you have to get any gloss/varnish/paint off that bad boy before you start. It’d be like doing your makeup over last night’s makeup that you didn’t take off before you went to bed.
Then, the ‘magic’ part in my opinion – the primer. I didn’t know this existed before I did my drawers and thank you so much to the Resene assistant that, in no uncertain terms, ordered me to buy some because she was right. I genuinely don’t think you have a hope in hell with these kinds of projects if you don’t prime. I just did one layer, but made sure to cover every nook and cranny. It smooths it all out and lets your finish look *immaculate*.
The fun part – the colour! This is where you see your vision finally taking shape and it’s so bloody exciting. Use a little roller where you can – so much easier to get an even finish – and then use a paintbrush for the corners and the joins. Biggest learning on this one? Paint the inside of the cabinet first, because you can then shut it and paint the outside. You can’t do it the other way around, as I found out. Also, I made the mistake of not taping the hardware up enough so I got green all over the original gold, but some turps and cotton buds sorted this out on the other end. I also decided I didn’t care about the inside hinge of the cabinet door, so that was scarified to the paint gods because I couldn’t figure out how NOT to paint it. It’s fiiiiine.
Then the part that scared me the most, the wallpaper (I wen for number RTS505). In theory it’s easy – it’s just three squares. But me and any kind of maths – measuring, remembering numbers – is not my strong point and the fear of f-ing up was probably much more than the actual thing. I can report it was actually fine – I measured a centimetre or two extra, popped the square of wallpaper onto the shelves to measure, and then used my craft knife (gently) around the edges to get a perfect fit. I then popped the glue on the shelves, not the paper – also crucial for, you know, gravity – and smoothed out the paper with a ruler and hey presto, a bloody good fit. The lesson here? Don’t let wallpaper scare you. It’s easier than you think. And if you really stuff up, you can always chuck a bit more paint on it.
The result: As I’m writing this I’m in shock because I’ll be DAMNED I DID IT. In my humble opinion – and trust me, I’d be the first person to say any of my projects looked like crap – my new drinks cabinet is polished, and elegant, and glorious and stunning and all the adjectives I myself would love to be described with.
The colour is gorgeous and goes perfectly with the glass and light wood accents of my living room. The wallpaper softens and lightens up the piece, as well as adding another design accent. And my collection of cocktail glasses is displayed gorgeously and is almost begging me to use them to make a martini.
I can’t believe I’ve managed to pull this off with barely any skill and honestly the real takeaway here is that if I can do it, my god, anyone can. I’m not known for my patience – as I’ve said before, my partner’s nickname for me is ‘Rip Shit and Bust’ – but I was able to do it with minimal mistakes (OK fine I DID measure one of the wallpaper squares wrong but hey it could happen to anyone) and I’m jazzed with the final result.
If you’re thinking of a similar project but you’re letting fear or doubt hold you back, please don’t. I can’t describe the feeling you get when you actually manage to *create* something you actually want to keep in your house, and if you’re not sure, start small like me with little shelves, tables or frames you’ve got lying around and want to turn into something fun. Head to your local Resene ColorShop and ask for help – they’re so lovely even when you clearly have no idea what you’re doing.
And, most of all, have fun with it! I’ve used painting as an act of self-care when my mental health has been fragile and it’s been a lifesaver. I can’t wait for my next project!
