On Tuesday, I gave you some of the elements that go into Building a Mad Men Bar, and today we are going to transform this vintage wooden piece into our own.
I’m loving the bold look of black and white chevron pattern and want to combine this secondhand dark wood cabinet with a chevron pattern to create my own Mad Men-style bar.
To create a chevron paint finish you’ll need:
- a quart of high gloss white paint
- a quart of high gloss black paint
- 2 paint brushes
- painters tape
- gloves
- drop cloth
- a piece of cardboard
To get started, lay out your drop cloth in a well lit and highly ventilated area. Next, tape up the edges of your painting surface, making sure to get every spot you want to keep clean.
Once your piece is taped where needed, start painting a thin, even, first coat of your base color.
Allow this first coat to dry, add a second coat. Add a third if needed, just be sure you do thin layers to keep the surface clean and even.
Take your cardboard and cut out one piece that is the width of the canvas you are using (mine is the cabinet doors) and one triangle. Make the triangle the size you want your chevron pattern to be. Mine is 6.25″ x 9″ x 6.25″.
Using the triangle as a mini-template trace over it with a pencil all along the width of the cardboard piece. Cut it out and this will be your template for tracing your first pattern line onto the cabinet.
Hold up the cardboard template and press it tightly against the cabinet. (Tip: Check yourself with a ruler to make sure the zig-zags are evenly placed.) With a pencil, trace the zig-zags and carefully tape along the pencil line. DO NOT TAPE until completely dry.
When the first line is all across the cabinet, take your cardboard template and tape along the zig-zag line.
Cut along the taped line; this will be your template. Hold the new template up along the taped zig zag line on the cabinet. With a pencil, tape along the new zig zag line. Do this until you have the entire cabinet filed with a penciled chevron pattern.
Tape in between each pencil line until the entire cabinet is a taped chevron pattern.
Paint the un-taped surface glossy black. This will take a few coats, so be patient.
Once fully dried, carefully remove your painter’s tape and touch up any areas that need it. Add a hook onto the interior of your cabinet door to hang a bar rag on. You can even add these wine glass hangers if you want.
Stock your bar to perfection and you’ll have a fabulous destination for you and your guests come 5 o’clock cocktail hour.
Chevron inspiration photo is from Curbly’s very own Sew Your Own Chevron Fabric by Mod Home Ec Teacher.
