Antique Oak China Cabinet

China Cabinet Before

China Cabinet After

We acquired this gorgeous oak China cabinet and immediately saw its potential. It was in almost perfect condition, with three mirrors, two glass shelves and two wood shelves. It had the original hardware and needed just a little work to expose its original glory.

Of course, as with all projects, I get "before" photos before beginning any project. Luckily, this large cabinet had wheels, which made it much easier to maneuver.

Other than minor scratches, the cabinet needed little other than touch-up and a good cleaning. I carefully removed the shelves, then unscrewed the angled shelving brackets, each made of brass, as well as the original brass handle and put them aside to be polished. The bowed glass door's molding had a few missing nails, so I used my pin nailer to reinforce the tiny 1/4" molding, holding the glass firmly in place. (I love my small nailer!) This process can be a bit dicy, because the molding holds the glass in place, therefore you don't have a lot of space in which to shoot nails, as the last thing you want to do it break that glass! Once that was done, I cleaned the interior glass first, then the exterior, which showed a lot of dust and smudges, likely from being stored.

Curio Cabinet/Desk

Curio/Desk Before

This may not be an antique, but it is certainly a unique item of furniture.

Curio/Desk After

Lucky for me, it didn't require a great deal of work as it was in pretty good condition when I acquired it. I replaced the makeshift wooden pegs (made out of dowels) which held the glass shelves, with metal shelf pegs. Much sturdier. I then glued soft felt to each peg to protect the glass shelves. I thought it was a unique piece of furniture, because on one side you can display collectibles and the other side was a pull down desk surface which instantly turned this flexible fine piece of furniture into convenient place to compose a letter, pay bills or use a small laptop computer to do your homework (if you're a student.)