Credenza Makeover

It's been a long time since I've refinished a piece of furniture.  After refinishing furniture nonstop for a store two years ago, I had major burnout.  But ~ I've been hanging around Miss Mustard Seed's blog lately, and the "refinishing bug" has bitten me again ~ at least long enough to complete a major credenza makeover. This credenza consists of three matching cabinets that I placed together to make one long credenza, which gives me lots of storage.  I bought them unfinished and they have been stained dark for the last twenty years.  I forgot to take before pictures, but I'm sure you can imagine what dark wood looks like.  Here they are with their new, distressed, off-white paint.  

 

  I'm still getting used to them being so much lighter.  I did like the warmth of the dark wood, but I'm in the process of refinishing my hardwood floors and I found it was just more dark wood than what I wanted and felt I needed a little contrast.  Here is a sneak peek of the parts of the floor that are finished.  

  What I do like about them now is that they seem to push the wall back,  and make my small living room look larger and brighter.  

  As you can see, one of the cabinets sits behind the end of the sofa, so I keep things in it that I don't use very often.  The other two cabinets hold my extra  sets of dishes, glasses, and vases.  

  To update them a little, I bought new knobs from Hobby Lobby,  but used the original back plates with them.  

  They run the length of one whole wall which allows me ample space  for table lamps and several vignettes.  

 

  While on a roll with painting, I also changed the frame on this old cross-stitch sampler from dark stained wood to a coordinating green with two other paint colors and  wood showing through where distressed.  This green looks a little bright in the photos, but is actually rather dull in real life and gives the perfect touch of color to the sampler without jumping off the wall.  

 

  I apologize for the quality of these photos, which are not only a little blurry,  but also have a lot of glare on the glass.  

  Now I need some inspiration to get some sewing projects finished. ~ Linking with   French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday ~ Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Feature Friday