Our Sideboard Makeover - Rainier House

Our house has a weird front room that we decided to turn into a dining room in the first few months of living here. We figured the space would work for family gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas since the table in the kitchen area is too small to accommodate a large group. Shortly after purchasing a dining table we started looking for a sideboard to get the space ready for hosting Christmas. I found a piece at Home Goods that I didn’t hate, and the price was less than some other comparable sideboards I had seen online. It was a good place holder until I could find something that fit the space even better.

The Sideboard Before

Fast forward to the summer of 2020 when we decided to rip out all of the carpet in our house and transition to hardwood floors. As we were moving the sideboard into the other room, we accidentally broke one of the glass panels.

Initially I thought about getting a new piece of glass cut to replace the broken one, but I was having a hard time finding a place nearby that cut glass. I considered buying a new sideboard altogether, but then pandemic supply chain issues started becoming an issue and I couldn’t find anything. My next thought: let’s just re-furbish it and try something completely different.

Inspiration

Rattan materials have been in style for some time now, and I actually really love the natural element they bring into a room. Since I wouldn’t be able to achieve the right stain color on the current wood, painting the sideboard a dark, moody color was the next best solution.

The Plan for the Sideboard

For this project I had 3 main goals: update the paint color, update the look of the hardware, and replace the glass with rattan. While looking for replacement hardware I decided that it might be best to eliminate some of the handles on the middle cabinet door. Yes- what looks like a series of drawers is actually one cabinet door with multiple handles. All of the added hardware made the piece feel too busy and they weren’t very functional, so they needed to go.

Sideboard door — What’s with all these handles?

The other design element of the sideboard that I wasn’t in love with was the cross-pieces on the glass doors. Since I was switching out the glass for rattan, I knew that I didn’t want them distracting from the rattan. I was also worried that they would pose a challenge to creating a seamless look on the doors. After inspecting the cross pieces more carefully, we realized that they were attached separately with small nails that could easily be removed. So-long cross pieces!

Sideboard doors — The window pane look is not my favorite

Materials

Wood filler
Putty knife
Orbital sander
Sandpaper, course and fine
Tack cloth
Drop cloth
Wood primer
Paint
Paintbrush
Cabinet hardware
Rattan
Staple gun

Paint

For this project I was initially planning to use a leftover quart of paint from a previous project. When we were working on the fireplace project (you can check out that project here) I had purchased a quart of Sherwin Williams’ Peppercorn. We ended up going in a different direction for that project, so I was left with a perfectly good quart of paint.

While I absolutely love the Peppercorn color (we used it on the front door and shutters of our house), it wasn’t right for this project either. Peppercorn pulls a LOT of blue. In testing it on the sideboard, it almost looked periwinkle in the space, which is definitely not the look I was going for. The paint was also a flat sheen, and after talking to someone at Sherwin Williams, they recommended using their enamel trim paint instead. The enamel paint holds up better to frequent use and wipe-downs. For the color, we chose Iron Ore (SW 7069).

Rattan

The rattan was purchased in a roll from Etsy. I chose a “radio weave” square webbing, which is more modern than the traditional cane webbing. For this particular project, 4 ft. x 18 in. of webbing was needed, which was enough to cover the doors with a slight overlap.

Hardware

For the hardware I snagged some modern, brushed-brass hex-shaped handles and knobs from a CB2 sale.

Process

I started by removing all of the hardware and the cross pieces on the doors. Then I filled all holes with the wood putty, including any intentional distressing on the piece. Next, I sanded down the sideboard and wiped it down with a tack cloth to remove any dust. I then painted the whole piece with a primer before painting it with the enamel paint. I used a flock foam roller for a majority of the sideboard, and then a paintbrush for harder to reach areas. Two coats of paint provided full coverage.

After prepping and painting the sideboard I worked on prepping the rattan. In order to stretch rattan, you need to soak it in water first, for approximately 30 minutes. In addition to making the rattan more pliable, it also allows for a quick wash. Because rattan is a natural material, the fibers can contain some residual dirt.

I then placed the rattan on the back of the doors and used a staple gun to attach it. Any excess rattan was cut using a pair of scissors. The final step involved attaching the hardware.

The Revamped Sideboard

Total Cost of the Sideboard Project

Overall, the total cost of materials came out around $180. I had to buy rattan, wood putty/filler, a roller and paintbrush, drop cloth, paint, and hardware. We already owned the orbital sander, putty knife, primer, sandpaper, and staple gun. Overall, it was an affordable (and stylish) solution to updating our sideboard.