DIY Drinks Cabinet With A Twist

Photography by Amanda Reelick.  

Whether your preferred tipple is a kombucha cocktail or classic martini there’s something so appealing about mixing it using a retro-style drinks cabinet.

As well as providing a handy place to stash glassware and other breakables, display cabinets add an eye-catching feature to a living room or dining space.

With fresh coats of Resene paint and the simple addition of painted metallic panels you can turn a plain old cabinet into something truly fabulous. 

You will need

· medium-grade sandpaper
· gloves and cloths
· medium paint brush
· Resene Testpot Roller Kit window scraper
· tape measure and scissors
· wallpaper glue
· 1 litre Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel in Resene White Pointer
· Resene Anaglypta Wallpaper
· Selected base and topcoats testpots from the Resene Metallics and special effects chart

Step-by-step

Step 1

Prepare the cabinet by giving all paintable surfaces a light sand and wipe clean. If you need to give the surface a more vigorous clean use Resene Interior Paintwork Cleaner.

Step 2

Paint all surfaces, except the back panels, with an even coat of Resene Lustacryl in a colour of your choice. I used Resene White Pointer.

One option is to use a small roller, such as the Resene Testpot Roller Kit, on the top and main outer panels for an extra smooth finish.

Allow to fully dry, before using a window scraper blade to carefully remove any excess paint from the glass. Or use painter masking tape to protect the glass before you start painting.

Step 3

Cut panels to fit the back of the cabinet using a tape measure, scissors and Resene’s textured paintable anaglypta wallpaper in a pattern of your choice.

Step 4

A basecoat is recommended for all Resene Metallics and special effects colours.

The basecoat Resene Chicago and topcoat of Resene Pure Pewter creates a lovely mellow silver look.

For extra depth and a mixed silver and gold effect, I added a little paint from testpots of Resene Rose Gold and Resene Proton.

Use a dry brush to dab small amounts of paint onto either the raised or lower surfaces of the paper.

Blend it in a little with a dry brush or cloth. 

Step 5

Allow to dry before gluing the panels to the back wall of the cabinet.

Step 6

Fill the cabinet with your best glassware vintage collectables.