Secretary......china cabinet....depends who you ask! I have been stalking this beautiful condition beauty for almost a year. I've been waiting and pining after her hoping the price tag would magically change. Guess what! It did! I've had this boring black particle board hutch by our front door for years and have HATED every second. Well, on a trip to town I decided I had time for a quick stop at the flea market even though I had been there just 2 days before. I walked up to the secretary and looked at the tag and *BOOM* it had been lowered $55 in two days!! I went to the gal who works there and asked if it was one of their pieces or a consignor's and she said it was theirs. She then offered to call the boss to see what his bottom dollar was and I excitedly followed her to the desk. When she got off the phone she said he was going to take another $20 off the price and I said SOLD!!! When I drove back to town to pick up the secretary in our "Danger Ranger", as we lovingly call our multi-toned 87 Ford Ranger that is only driven to Lowe's and back home, I was greeted with two great guys who loaded her up and gave me the skeleton key! BONUS!!! 

This is where she sat begging me to take her home. The secretary was in really good condition and it took me a few weeks to decide whether to refinish or paint. I started the project by removing all hardware except for one of the pulls on the bottom. I put it on the door backward so the screw back was on the front. The door has a pressure latch and is a NIGHTMARE to open without something to pull on. When I was done painting I just used a pair of pliers to grab the screw back and pull the door open. After I brushed the dust away I used Klean-Strip liquid sandpaper deglosser as an extra precaution. 

After applying two coats of paint I lightly sanded and distressed the piece with 220 grit sandpaper and finished with a good coat of Minwax finishing paste wax for shine and protection. 

Now comes the tricky part! I had NO idea how I was going to paint this fretwork without removing the glass. The glass was secured wonderfully and I knew I would really tear it up if I tried to remove the tiny trim that held it in place on the back. This was my solution and it worked out perfectly! 

Pretend the green paper is painters tape ;) 

I shimmied waxed paper between the glass and the fretwork because the paint will not stick to the waxed paper. I then took long strips of painters tape and shimmied that through the middle fretwork and "flossed" it towards the edges. The painters tape doesn't stick to the waxed paper allowing you easily pull it between the fretwork and glass. I could then spray everything and not have to remove the well secured glass. It worked like a dream and didn't stick in the least! 

This is sooo much nicer than the cabinet I had before! I'm in love!!! . .

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~ Anne