A Gold Showstopper

Friends! This month I’ve joined some pretty fab ladies for the The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest.  This months theme is Showstoppin’ Tops sponsored by ETI Envirotex.

What exactly is Envirotex Lite? It is a water clear reactive polymer compound that cures to a thick, glossy coating. It is the equivalent of 50 coats of varnish! Huge thanks to Envirotex for providing the resin to really help make this project a showstopper. You can read my full disclosure here.

I’ve had this old phonograph cabinet sitting in the garage collecting dust for ages now. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do with it, but I knew it had to be something that got the conversation going when you looked at it. I love the look of Gatsby style décor and knew I had to somehow incorporate that into this piece.

After a thorough sanding I gave the cabinet two coats of DecoArt Satin Enamel paint in black. Then the cabinet sat in the garage for…well, like 5 months. Thankfully this challenge came along or else it would still be sitting there! But how to make it a showstopper? Two words: gold leaf.

I applied the gold leaf to the top in a random pattern. As I let that dry, I masked off the edges and created makeshift troughs out of old cereal boxes and taped them under the ledge around the top. There wasn’t a lip on the top of the cabinet to keep the epoxy from dripping & I didn’t want it dripping down the sides of the cabinet!

Now I wish I had some pictures of the whole resin mixing process…but I don’t. I was so so worried about missing a step and messing up the whole thing! Thankfully that super focus paid off. I mixed equal parts of resin and hardener, following the instructions to a T. Once it was mixed, I slowly poured it over the top of the cabinet. I ended up having to mix two batches as I did not mix enough the first go round.

You guys. This stuff is GREAT. It self levels and it’s so easy to work with. It dripped over the edges and my troughs worked like a charm. Every 10 minutes or so, I took a brush and cleaned up the drips under the ledge until it hardened enough that it no longer dripped. Some of the gold leaf did not completely adhere to the top, so some spots show some floating gold. It’s such a complete beauty! I used a BBQ lighter to skim the top and pop the air bubbles that came up once the resin settled and started to dry.

The gloss had me so excited! I let it cure for a full 72 hours before even touching it. Once it was dried it was time for the finishing touches! I had some antique brass drawer pulls from D. Lawless Hardware that I was really wanting to use on this cabinet. They tied in so beautifully with the top!. I gave the legs a coat of gold spray paint & then called it done.

I can’t say enough how much I love this piece. The glossy golden top turned out so much better than I could’ve hoped and it adds the perfect amount of glam to the room.

I’m totally loving this piece and the result of the resin. I can’t wait to get started on the next project!

If you are a blogger who has a love for furniture revamp & are interested in participating, you can send an email to [email protected]eveyscreations.com.

Make sure you check out Christie’s fantastic Mermaid Tray & Jessica’s awesome Buffalo Check Stool Makeover!