Curios are not as popular as they used to be. I think people tend to find that they look old and outdated. However, it doesn't have to be that way! There are so many fun ways to bringing a curio back to life. Do you remember me telling you about my DIY competition for the grand opening of Deseret Industries? The winner gets to donate to a charity of their choice-mine is the Underground Railroad. They are an awesome group that helps rescue kids from sex trafficking all over the world. Well, I tackled a DIY Curio update for this event and those tips are here for you too.
This is the piece from the DI that I picked out for the grand opening. See? Old fashioned curio needing a desperate update!
And this is what my end result looked like! Beautifully updated and repurposed for much better use.
View our complete video here
Bringing a Curio Back to Life (affiliate links)
- Remove all the doors and hardware including hinges and door latches. I also removed the glass from the doors and took off the back and the mirrors.
- Sand everything down using a 220 grit sand paper and then wipe and vacuum any remaining dust off
- When everything is taken apart, cut down the bead board to fit where the glass on the sides and the 2 bottom doors used to be.
- To hold the bead board in place I used the previous clasps that held the glass in place.
- I wanted to reuse the old back so I carefully used a putty knife to pry the mirror off the backing.
- Cut the bead board the same size as the mirror for the back.
- To install the new back, I used double sided sticky tape to stick the the backing and bead board together and hold the bead board in its place while I screwed the back in place.
- Next, I used ½ " thick MDF to make new shelves as the old curio didn't come with shelves.
- After everything is cut it is time to paint! I used Chalky Chicks Old Lace Paint in my Erlex HV5500 paint sprayer
- After the paint is dry, I added chicken wire. I used my upholstery staple gun to attach the chicken wire.
- Use tin snips to remove any excess chicken wire.
- Assemble all the pieces back together. Make sure to double check that you are putting the hinges back on correctly.
- Once everything is back together, do any touch ups needed.
- Then seal it all with Amy Howard's Bee's Wax.
if you are wanting to give that old curio a much needed update, give this a try!! It's simple and significantly less than purchasing a whole new piece of furniture.
Have fun bringing a curio back to life!
Rojerstark says
Very well described and product associated blog.
WG says
How did you fasten the shelves? Wow this is an amazing makeover - I don't know that I have that much ambition, though! And do you fasten the bead board to the doors with screws also? Thank you!