Bridgerton Style Drawers Part 2

Completion of the Bridgerton Style Cabinet

Here is an update on our recent project. We started upcycling a Bridgerton-style miniature cabinet using WoodUbend and lots of Posh Chalk Patinas and Stencils.

We’re delighted to share that we have now finished this project…here’s how we did it and how it turned out!

Bridgerton Style Cabinet – Quick Recap

Having painted our cabinet a luxurious purple, we used a variety of WoodUbend trims and appliques plus Posh Chalk Aqua Patinas and Pigments to take an ordinary looking cabinet to something that would have a real sense of drama to it. We had also applied our Mystery Thorns stencilling to the sides for added interest. Our next steps were going to be important – how would we complete the transformation to produce something that felt authentically historic and high class?

Further Stencilling

The first thing that we decided to do was to add more stencilling to further embellish the project. Using a brush and a stippling technique, we re-used our mystery thorns stencil to add bright colours to the sides of the cabinet. Posh Chalk stencils are so durable – they can be simply washed with warm water and then used again as if they were new!

Applying stencil to the cabinet side — Using Posh Chalk Stencils

The cabinet sides

The sides of our cabinet were beginning to look decidedly spartan, what with all the work that was being done to the other areas of the cabinet. It was exactly the sort of area that would lend itself to some additional WoodUbend.

We selected a couple of appliques from the WoodUbend range that we thought would be perfect, both in terms of size and design.

Since 3rd generation WoodUbend is so flexible, one doesn’t always have to worry too much about size and space. Simply by applying heat, either from a hair dryer or a heat gun, is enough to make the moulding completely malleable – it will literally flop in your hand! So cutting, when the mould is in this state, is incredibly easy, and you can be ultra-accurate with your slicing.

Having chosen the most appropriate mouldings, we applied a combination of Posh Chalk colours to them, to make them into a colour that would compliment the existing ‘background’ colour of the cabinet…but also stand out a little too. Solly Jo has her own signature painting style – ‘blending’. This is the process of working towards a multi-coloured effect without being able to detect the shift from one colour to another. Solly used this blending technique on the two appliques that were destined for the cabinet sides.

Close up of blended appliques

Then, we simply used a wood glue to adhere them to the sides. They were soon fixed in place!

A move upmarket

We were also of the opinion that, whilst we loved the regal nature of our bold purple colours, the cabinet would benefit from some toning-down. This would also make it much of a classical piece.

In order to do this, we wanted to add a real depth of colour to some of the WoodUbend pieces.

For this, we built up a rich colour using Posh Chalk Aqua Patinas (Red Medium Cadmium and Violet). The colours were effectively layered on top of each other to produce the resonance. Solly added some water in order to get the patinas to mix better. This is easy with our Patinas, since they are water-based. The patinas also left a wonderful, lustrous sheen to the appliques, which we loved as it felt particularly ‘high-end’.

Solly Jo then dry-brushed the peaks of the WoodUbend moulding to give them a further accent.

As one of the last things on this project, we took the same ‘Mystery Thorns’ stencil that we had used on the sides of the cabinet, and applied them to the cabinet front. This pulled the whole of the design together beautifully into one consolidated whole.

Close up of WoodUbend applique on the cabinet front — WoodUbend style in action

The finished piece

We are delighted in how this piece has turned out. We’re so proud of the transition that took place – from a very ordinary looking piece to an item that, in our opinion, wouldn’t look at all out of place in a period drama!