Coral sideboard makeover

Hello everyone! Not many posts lately as I’ve been busy working on the new house. I thought you wouldn’t mind if I shared a few projects on the blog.

I had been admiring mango wood carved sideboards and I really wanted something in a bright colour to make a statement, but couldn’t find the money to treat myself to one (see a few faves 1, 2, 3).

So instead I made my own version for under £140! Plus I have glue, paint and primer to spare. I’ve placed it in our recently painted dining room and temporarily decorated it with pretty blooms and a couple of complimentary pictures. Keep reading to learn how my sideboard came together!

Since I wasn’t flush with cash, my solution was to scour Facebook Marketplace for something suitable, where I found an IKEA Hemnes sideboard that had been half-heartedly upcycled from white to black, yellow and teal. It was £50 instead of £229… an excellent start!

For the colour I chose the shade Coral Flair by Dulux but had it mixed as Valspar V700 satin wood at B&Q. It’s that perfect bold orangey pink that feels quite elegant. I only needed 500ml but had to buy 1L for £25.

Now the fun part, working out the carved effect! I ordered a 3mm sheet of decorative mdf normally used for radiator covers. It was 1200mm x 620mm and cost £38.90. From that one piece I could cut two panels for the front of my cupboard.

Using a piece of greaseproof paper I made a template for the inner rectangle for each door then folded in half in find the centre length. Mapping out the best pattern placement took a couple of goes but the fold line ensured the design was centralised in the door.

When ready, I drew round my templates and cut everything out with a jigsaw. This wasn’t the best tool for the job but it was all I had. The nature of the design meant I needed a couple of floating triangles. I cleaned up any wonky cuts with a small hacksaw to get the fit just right.

I sanded back the unit using a small mouse sander, then primed the unit with wood primer (£11). Then everything had two coats of coral paint. I did the same number of coats on the mdf. It was a pain in the butt getting into all the grooves of the mdf so I’m pleased I didn’t buy a more intricate design.

The mdf was stuck in place with Everbuild Instant Nails (£4.75), but it created lots of gluey bits like those you see in this close up photo. In hindsight I maybe should have mounted the mdf before all the painting as the glue was annoyingly messy. I touched up the paint with a little brush to cover the blobs all up.

To finish off I added 5 gold handles (£6.99 for 6pcs). I know I could have gone for a more flashy style but I wanted the carving to be the star. And I lined the drawers with more of the gold and white contact paper from my drinks cabinet upcycle. The perfect coral sideboard… and it’s one of a kind too! Happy days.