The scrapbooking cupboard project: 1

A long time ago when the world was young and you could still buy second-hand furniture at the Salvos op shop in Bowral (alas, no more, and it was an industrial unit and FULL of promise...) I went hunting for a cupboard for my scrapbooking gear.
.
As I said, an industrial unit - a warehouse with narrow aisles some rather dimly lit, and you needed to look in EVERY aisle, for who knows where you might find the right thing? I wasn't quite sure what the right cupboard for scrapbooking might look like. I wanted to store paper, of course - 12" squares of paper being a scrapbooking basic. Also, I already had a cupboard for bits and pieces, such as stamps and punches and scissors and so on. Here's what that one looks like:
.

.

This one was an eBay find, from a fairly local seller, so I was able to pick it up AND it fitted in the car.  I never planned this as a dollhouse, but always saw it as quirky storage.  My guess is that it's a home made dollhouse, possibly from a commercial pattern/plans.  The windows are rather nicely detailed, aren't they?  Let's not talk about the lilac, though...  So what I wanted now was a second cupboard to be a base for this one, and more storage, preferably for paper.

.

Principle of op-shopping/vintage furniture shopping: know kinda what you want it to do, but don't assume you'll know what it looks like.  Size-wise, I wanted something this dollhouse/cupboard could sit on, and the space I have in mind is only a little wider (between a door and a built-in) so a standard bureau/chest of drawers was likely too wide for the space.  And this one needed to fit in the car too, so it could come home (delivery was not an option).

.

Up and down the aisles, looking, looking.  A couple of quite old pot/bedside cupboards had potential - and price tags a bit higher than I was hoping for.  Looking, looking... and then, at the end of an aisle, tucked away up the back, this:

.

.

I'm quite prepared to admit it's not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.  Horrible handle (of course that can be changed).  Not very interesting timber.  BUT... look at its dimensions.  Very good, in relation to the lilac dollhouse.  Do you recognise this sort of cupboard?  I don't remember seeing one before, although I'm old enough that they would likely have been in houses in my yoof.  Take a gander inside, though...

.

.

It's a cupboard intended for the storage of LPs and other vinyl records.  Whoopee!  Paper storage, anyone?  I'm guessing it dates from the 1950s/1960s (if you know more than my limited knowledge, please do leave a comment!).

.

And so they have both sat waiting to be Renovated and Installed, and I finally got round to getting the gear I needed today at the hardware store.  I plan to paint both, to unify them.  Not sure how much going to town I'll do on the dollhouse - different colour for the roof? window frames?  Hmmmm....  But for now, painting, inside and out.

.

It's never that simple, is it?  Having invested under $100 in total for the above two cupboards, my toddling around the hardware store paint section was not a cheap venture.  I got a couple of those spongy sanding blocks, because the last ones I had are looking Sad and Well-Used.  I was tempted by a cheap sander (how are power tools under $30 unless Chinese people are making them for nothing at all?) but stayed with the hand-powered spongy sanding blocks.   One coat sealer will seal the timber (not good to have paper against unfinished timber) and also deal with whatever the lilac paint may be (?acrylic?enamel?).  While I got four litres of that (it's likely to come in handy for other projects), I chose two litres of paint and hope it will be enough for both cupboards.  I did get a sample pot of a different colour of paint for the roof...a couple more minor bits and pieces and well, that's well over another $100.

.

But I know, when I'm done, I'll have had the enjoyment of giving both these pieces a new life; they'll be fun to use as well as practical; and a new $200 cupboard from a pine shop or some such just wouldn't be the same at all at all (as one of my Irish aunts would say).  It will also be good to have the scrapbooking stuff corralled, organised and findable in one place.

.

So tomorrow, it's out with the daggy painting clothes.  We've been having some rain every day this last week, so I'm not sure how long it will take each coat to dry if it's showery again.

.

I'll let you know how it goes.

.

PS.  I do some scrapbooking on the side - mostly for presents.  My quilting paraphernalia, as you might expect, doesn't have a hope in Hades of fitting into two cupboards....!