Dear Blogosphere,
Our bathroom is nearly complete. We have to do a little painting, put the baseboards back up, and remount the medicine cabinet.
![DSC_2518[1]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-aAGKwT-tOSY/TuWj5iuDvYI/AAAAAAAACLY/x8b36b4UgmA/s1600-h/DSC_2518%25255B1%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg "DSC_2518[1]")
Sadly, our medicine cabinet, which has never matched the bathroom, still doesn’t match the bathroom. I like it, but it’s a completely different color from our other cabinetry (notice it on the floor on the left below).
![DSC_2519[1]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-darQF4x_Ob0/TuWj7IYkddI/AAAAAAAACLo/yy3X7WWJuhY/s1600-h/DSC_2519%25255B1%25255D%25255B4%25255D.jpg "DSC_2519[1]")
So, here’s my question for you: Is there a way to paint or stain or otherwise make this cabinet match better? Or should I not care?
Comments welcomed.
2 comments:
It depends! :)
What is it made of - is it something covered in veneer or is it wood? I don't know so much about veneer, but if it's solid wood, you can sand it down and stain it lighter. The actual color of the lumber I used for my bookshelf is closest to the middle-colored stain (I stained 1/3 very dark, 1/3 very light, and didn't change too much about the rest).
The challenges are going to be the workmanship of it, IMO - it's not easy to make it look perfect if you're doing it for the first time. If you stain it (which looks more natural), you'll need to sand it down, stain it, and then put a polyurethane protective coat over it. The biggest issue for me was getting the polyurethane to dry well, with no drips. (My bookshelf has a ton of drips.) Some people have told me it's better to brush it on, while others have said I should have gotten the spray polyurethane. (I can't remember why I went with the brush, except that I think the spray can was wayyyy more expensive.) I think even the spray stuff can drip, but it's not as bad.
Also, it will be a LONG process. You have to sand it all down, and then you stain, then you let it dry (which takes a day or two? i can't remember), then you sand again. Then you polyurethane, then dry, then do that again. So, definitely doable, but realize that it won't be a one-day project.
Aesthetically, I think it would look better either a matching light shade or a much darker shade. Jon made the point that the noticeable grain is way different from the not-much-grain of the vanity. If you want to ditch the grain, you can paint it. It won't look natural anymore, but just don't try to make it look like you were going for natural and it should be fine. (In other words, don't paint it light beige. Paint it green or dark brown or blue or something, with some new, distinctive knobs to make it look like more of a statement piece.) I think if you paint it, you can skip the polyurethane but you'll need a coat of primer. so it might be a wash as far as workload.
That difference in color would bug me, too. Re-staining would be a BOATLOAD of work, and getting the color to match your existing cabinetry can be tricky. My vote is for painting. Use an accent color that you know will be elsewhere in the bathroom (like that sage green bathmat you've got in the photo) so that it "goes", or paint it plain ol' ivory so that it will always match whatever other colors you decide to put in there. I love Brooke's idea of switching out the knobs for some unique ones!
Priming is a good idea, or buy a paint-and-primer in one to cut out that step. No sanding, just paint it then seal it with polyurethane when it's good and dry. Varathane makes a nice water-based kind that's easy to apply with a wide sponge brush. You can find it at OSH.
There's my two cents. Good luck!!
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