edited; a pony cabinet...to pony or not to pony? pics added

[hathorcat]

Oh its beautiful!

You should absolutely do as you wish with it when it comes to colour but like others I adore the original wood on this one its perfect for the style

[shabbychicdee]

thank you so much cat, i have more photos to come.
Houston and i have been inspiring each other only he has one up on me with the worlds most amazing french style pony cabinet.

i feel like i should do a blog here with all the things iv built and bought or found for pony displays
iv always been meaning to..would it be a corral thing?

[northstar3184]

I love the cabinet as is. I wouldn't paint it.

[HoustonCollector72]

I have come find your latest cabinet,  indeed is very the same style as mine, but this one has like a step on the top,is a very nice touch and the back and shelves are wood , mine has  mirrored back with some gold design on the mirrors, yourd look newer than mine and more sturdy , mine is very light ,not heavy at all, the glass on it is very thin, love the leaded glass on yours

[MiRaja]

It's such a beautiful piece, and the finish is so nice and beautiful.  It's so hard to find pieces in such wonderful condition, and while it's your piece to do as you like, I think it should stay as it is.   

So many antique pieces are being lost because they are being painted over and converted into something else when they're very, very restore-able, or are in perfectly fine condition as-is.  It's sort of the same argument a lot of people have for MLP and customization, when it comes to antiques.  What we have in terms of antique furniture is extremely finite.  There will never be any more pieces like this and others, and once painted and changed, there really isn't any going back( I mean, you can strip it and refinish it, but the amount of work it takes to remove paint from wood is extremely excessive and very difficult that even trained carpenters like my father simply won't touch a painted piece for restoration ), and it takes out a piece that someone would be very happy to have as-is.  And that isn't directed in the least solely at you, but anyone looking to paint antique wood furniture.  There is a lot of concern in the market about shabby chic, especially, and I have more than a few angry moments in antique stores, I admit, when I see a piece that was really something glorious, be painted terribly in terrible colors; not to say you paint poorly or have bad taste in colors, not in the least!  I'm just digressing all over the place.   

I know there are several places about an hour out, that have a lot of salvaged wood furniture, some pieces are newer, some older, and they have condition issues where painting them or entirely refinishing them is the only hope of fixing them or making them remotely displayable, and those are the sorts of pieces that I would be fine with being repurposed or painted.  But then I am a big furniture purist, especially anything remotely antique, just because I know how rare these things are, and what pieces are left are going for insane prices at fancy galleries or are being bought up by people who have nothing better to do with their time than to take antiques and make them tacky for a living.  It makes antique furniture very inaccessible for those who aren't rich, and who don't mind a piece that is a bit loved on or roughed up.  Me, I love my antique furniture because it's so much better made than a lot of what is made now, and I find the scuffs, scrapes and bumps just a bit of added character. 

I have this massive piece I've had for over ten years now, I believe it's turkish made, but it looks a lot like a Japanese kitchen tansu ( which is why I bought it, because previously to that, I couldn't find any nice cabinets that looked Japanese and would fit my kimono collection! ).  It's dark wood, and about 10 feet wide, and 7 tall.  It has a lot of damage and scrapes around its 'base' shelf, but it doesn't bother me, as it is completely and absolutely functional, and to me, still looks beautiful. 

As I said, your piece is extremely beautiful, and was made by a craftsperson with a very high-degree of skill.  The glass work is absolutely exquisite.  It's from the 1920s-1930s for sure, it is very clearly Art Deco in its styling.  You don't in the least need to store China in it, I don't think it's a China cabinet in all actuality.  Rather more a knick-knack and collectible cabinet, something for you to store your pretty things inside, and your photos and picture frames on top.    China cabinets of this time are generally taller, classically a glass display at the top, but drawer and door storage at the bottom for ease of access for taking plates in and out of and other fine kitchen implements.  So, this piece of yours?  Is perfectly suited for holding your ponies, as ponies are certainly collectibles and pretty things. 

Do you mind if I ask how much you paid for this piece? 

If it is every bit in the condition it looks to be in, I would honestly appraise the value at anywhere around $450 - $900.  Art Deco pieces like these are extremely sought after.  You might want to insure it! 

[shabbychicdee]

hey Houston, thanks so much indeed this ones old, i would say 1920s. i feel like calling it petite, its light too and has no chunky parts to it, i have another 20s oak wood furniture and its quite chunky and heavy. i love combining my 2 fav things in life, mlp's and antiques
btw can't wait to see your.

MiRaja; don't worry, i have absolutely no intention of customizing it/up-cycling. the comment at the start of this post was more of a conversation piece and i never really saw it before i bought it so had no idea of condition, anyways as a side hobby i do up-cycle furniture. never antiques. unless they are totally messed up from years of use or storage i might do more mid-century like i have or most likely country style 80s furniture. none of its been very old. 
im planning a post on all the things i have up-cycled for my home and for my mlp/toy displays. i might slit the mlp things on corral and the non mlp things in 'of topic'.
oh yes everything in my house is insured.
 iv noticed on ebay they are very expensive,  i just notice yesterday while browsing, most things are very expensive here in nz  but im surprised these aren't as much, i was lucky getting this piece but they are quite common here, its like every granny had one.....or 2.  it was $100nzd which is $72usd ($50pounds)...lucky huh   it just had some fading on top and a shattered glass pannel at the bottom.
 im so in love with it all as is 

i am totally with you on the shabby chic thing. i have changed my opinion on certain pieces over the years the more involved i have got in antiques the more im seeing the light.  at first i loved seeing certain pieces done up of the same area as this one (1910-1930) in the US but now i don't, im starting to like the before pictures more then the after pictures some of the wood used , maple i think, is very rare in NZ so its very sad to see it covered up.  and im going to my husband...WHY oh why. im seeing it a lot with Victorian houses here or house that are 100 - 130 yrs old and so many people are getting them modernized inside, losing all the great beautiful detail, anyways it breaks my heart. i think we are in the same boat.
btw i would have loved to be a Carpenter and was very good at it when we did it at school but it wasn't encouraged back then for girls to do things like that  in my adult years i have done a bit of set construction when i worked in theaters. would love to get trained in furniture.  ..............
then i would build the most meanest baddest pony cabinet any one has ever seen   



Post Merge: May 28, 2015, 01:48:27 AM

to get back on pony track i have quickly taken some pony-fied pics of it fulled........sadly shortly after the pics were taken i had to pack aaaaaalllllllllll my beloveds away for winter into dry storage as things are getting damp and im super paranoid about cancer spots, mildew, tail rust and other sorts of awful things happening so in the airing cupboard they have gone

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[daffodil101]

Squeeeeee!!   

[Icey]

The little Merry Go Round is so stinking cute. I have never seen it before, but I never really looked into collecting the petite ponies.

[ButtercreamDream]

Wow, it looks like it's in amazing shape!  I would say don't paint it!  The original wood is looking great, and you don't want your ponies standing on a painted surface anyway.  lovely find Dee!

[Mirnyj]

It looks wonderful! Great job with the decor.

[PrincessStarlily]

The ponies look great! I'm a bit torn between paint or no paint, though. I think its current color gives it a real antique feel, but painting it shabby-chic off white (letting some wood show through, buffing the edges, etc.) would also look great. I think you should decide based on how you want it to look in whatever room it's going to be in.

[ringwraith10]

It looks so beautiful the way you decorated it with ponies! Looks like everything worked out wonderfully!

And I am glad you decided to keep it as-is. Looks great like that.

[shabbychicdee]

thanks so much guys
xx

[SpookyCookies]

that's a beautiful find and I am so happy you kept it original! I collect Victorian era furniture and I can't touch it if it's in great shape like yours is.  Now I have a dangerous idea for my wallet....OH BOY!! 

[Foxtale]

It't beautiful. I voted to keep the original color scheme and just clean it up. It is a beautiful piece.

Personally I think its great to put ponies in. Maybe the "fancy" ones lol. Otherwise, china is good :p