On Friday night I finished the medicine cabinet I’ve been working on and hung it in the bathroom.
I initially considered making my own since I couldn’t find just the right thing, but IKEA has these nice little solid wood FÖRHÖJA cabinets for $20—much easier and cheaper than building my own from scratch, and the size is perfect.
I sanded all of the surfaces lightly and painted the whole thing white—one coat of primer, two coats of paint to match the trim/paneling in the bathroom. When it was absolutely completely dry, I measured out a cross on the front (I used Pia Wallén’s Crux as a guide for pleasing proportions!).
The trick to getting a crisp, perfect line is to first put on a coat of the base color over the tape and let it dry. It will seal the edges of the tape and keep the top color from bleeding under. It’s very easy, you just have to be patient and let everything dry completely between coats. I had to use three coats of gray paint (which is just white with a few drops of the black paint I used on the ceiling stirred in) to get full coverage.
43 Comments
that’s lovely! am glad you shared that trick about base paint over the tape- have never heard of that but will be using that method from now on.
thanks for the painting tip – once i tried to paint stripes on a plaster wall and got so frustrated i gave up!
Nice! I want to see what’s inside =)
Thanks for the tip — I’m sure it will come in handy!
Great tip!
That’s beautiful! Great job!
Love it… how perfect!
looks great! i love pencil in the second photo, do you happen know the brand?
Reva: It’s a Faber-Castell pencil, completely black all the way through, even the wood. I’m not sure if they still make them.
I love first aid crosses. The proportions are just right. I plan on making a quilt top out of them.
while I am NOT the sort of person who peeks inside other people’s medicine cabinets, I imagine how delightfully ordered and and arranged yours is, and I hope you are planning to show the contents. :->
It turned out fabulous! Thanks for the painting tip too, that’s actually a really good tip to paint it with the base coat first. It makes sense because it would seal off any gaps in the tape, preventing the other color from getting underneath.
I’ll definitely keep that in mind for my future painting projects. Thanks!
This masking tip can become as addictive as heroin!!!
Use with CAUTION people!!!
I went paint line CRAZY when I learned it and to this day it has never completely gotten out of my system… 8^P
Great job! I might completely copy this!
This is the same technique I used to paint black and white stripes in my hallway (on a textured surface, no less) and it turned out fabulously.
Great tip, didn’t know it. Nice cabinet, too. Sometimes you just can’t bet Ikea!
Looks great. Can’t wait to see a pic of the entire room. Did you end up painting the inside white as well?
This is just PERFECT.
Very nice! It’s an affordable alternative to this: http://www.unicahome.com/catalog/item.asp?id=18137
my medical design love is twitching! i love it!!
Claire & kelly w: There’s nothing in it at the moment, but I promise to take a photo of the inside when it’s stocked up, just so you can see our fabulously displayed Neosporin, toothpaste, and wrinkle creams. ;)
DiP: I hope you’re in treatment for that!!! Next thing you know you’ll be painting layered tartans, just because you can…
Brandi: I painted the inside of the door and the front edge (since it’s visible with the door shut), but I left the interior of the shelves unpainted.
AHJ: Oh, don’t think buying that Cappellini cabinet hasn’t crossed (hah!) my mind!!!! This is a very sane alternative though, yes. ;)
lau: My Lau-love is twitching! xox
From your pictures I know that your entire house is beautiful. However, if I were ever to be invited to a party at your home I might just disappear into the bathroom and stay there. The black ceiling, gorgeous floor tiles, amazing mirror and now this?
If I could fit that mirror in my bag you’d be in real trouble.
Just perfect. This bathroom is going to be so beautiful. But I’m starting to think you’re a bathroom tease, how much left to do????
That’s fantastic. Did you think of sending it to ikea hacker?
super!
Great!
I didn’t know that cabinet but I’ll buy one for my kitchen. I’ll leave the black board and use it to keep tea bags or peppers and such. Great find!
Brilliant paint tip … so obvious, but I never would have thought of it -!
Love your cabinet, the use of a grey cross. Makes going to the cabinet for ointment or balm of some kind well worth the boo-boo.
Girl, you are somethin’ else! You come up with the coolest ideas and can actually get them out of your head and into real life. Impressive.
awesome!
how scary that people want to see in your medicine cabinet!!! eeeeee!
you did a bang-up job, lady! where do you find the time to be creative. it’s madness.
xoxo
LOVE it!
It’s beautiful (of course)! And I love the low placement on the wall.
It looks great, I love it!
I LOVE this! I have all my supplies in a plastic storage box with a red medic sticker on it, but this is MUCH cuter. I may have to copy this.
really nice idea!
very very cool! love the grey cross.
Really love it. I think I might borrow/steal that idea! Thanks for the inspiration.
Great Idea! And it looks so simple, like the kinda thing I could pull off.
I love it!!
this is very cute…and yes..a very simple and expensive alternative…
just show us pictures of the whole bathroom, already!
turned out so well
We can’t wait to see the reveal!
Joy and Janet
Help! I love this cabinet, but I can’t find it on the Ikea website. Do you know if they still sell it?