Moody Rum Cabinet Transformed in Ash, Pressed Fern & Wood

A Rum Cabinet for My Brother

This cabinet was a personal one.

My brother asked me to make him a nice rum cabinet. That was pretty much the brief: "A nice rum cabinet."

He wasn’t too precious about the details either. It was very much, “I don’t care what you do, I trust you.” Which is lovely, obviously, but also slightly terrifying when you’re the one who has to bring all the random ideas together.

The cabinet needed to be fairly large because his rum collection isn’t what one would call small. It also needed space for glasses, bottles and all the little bits that come with a proper drinks cabinet.

So I set about finding the right piece.

Finding the Right Cabinet

I eventually found this large vintage cabinet with a lovely mix of glass doors, wooden side cupboards and plenty of storage.

It had good bones, lots of space and a beautiful wood grain that I knew I wanted to keep in some way. It felt solid, practical and interesting, which is exactly what we needed.

The brief was a bit of a mix, but it did have a few clear ingredients.

He likes skulls. He likes green. He liked the crocodile-print wallpaper I’d used on another set of drawers. And he preferred silver tones over gold.

That was enough to get started.

Pulling the Ideas Together

At first, I wasn’t completely sure how I was going to make skulls, green, crocodile print, dark paint, silver and a rum cabinet all work together.

Then I found some brilliant floral skull transfers, and that gave me the direction I needed.

I used the skull and floral transfer inside the main cabinet section, set against Fusion Mineral Paint in Pressed Fern. It’s such a lush green, and it gave the inside a really rich, moody feel without making it too dark.

The green brought the whole piece to life when the doors opened. A little surprise inside, but very much his style.

Ash on the Outside

For the outside, I used Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash, a dark grey that gave the cabinet a much stronger, more grown-up feel.

I didn’t want to paint the whole thing and lose that gorgeous wood completely, so I kept sections of the original grain exposed. That contrast between the dark painted finish and warm wood became one of the best parts of the piece.

To bring it all together, I added geometric line details across the doors and top, using silver rather than gold. It gave the cabinet a sharper, slightly masculine edge, and it worked beautifully with the glass doors and dark grey paint.

Skulls, Silver and Crocodile Print

The skull handles were such a good find.

They added just the right amount of personality without making the cabinet feel novelty or too themed. A little bit gothic, a little bit fun, and very much my brother.

Inside, I used the crocodile-print wallpaper detail he’d liked from another project. It added texture and interest to the shelves, and helped tie the whole brief together without shouting too loudly.

That’s often the trick with a piece like this. You can include lots of personality, but it still needs to feel like furniture someone wants to live with every day.