DIY Design: Cane Console Makeover Look for Less

Good morning! I’ve been slowly working on a DIY Custom Cane Console Makeover for Less. I’ve been pinning cane consoles for such a long time now. And Farrow and Ball’s Down Pipe for even longer. Read on to see how I transformed a Cane Console Table from Target based on Cane Tables that are considerably more costly!

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you click and purchase, I may receive some compensation. Thank you!

R recently borrowed the desk by the windows in the family room for his office/the Guest Bedroom at the Beach Cabin, leaving an empty space that has since collected lost (then miraculously found) library books, a 10-year old iPad, and the dog crate. Sooooo… I started thinking about how nice it would be to have a console cabinet in the space. This cane media console from Target fit the bill almost exactly. It didn’t block doors, overlap windows, and was narrow enough to leave a walkway to the doors to the porch. Annnndd… what a perfect place to store some cocktail mixers for relaxing on the said porch! Oh, and maybe some extra linens and towels too 😉

 

The Inspiration

First, let’s start with some inspiration. When I started searching for cane consoles, there was admittedly some sticker shock. But, they were all so stylistically inspirational too! If the budget had allowed, this sideboard from McGee&Co. gets first place in my book! I also love this console cabinet from Ballard Designs. And this Anthropologie sideboard too.

Cane Console Options

Because of the limited budget, I started searching for some cane consoles that were more affordable for this project. There were definitely some IKEA hacks that caught my eye. However, by the time I ordered the the product, paid for shipping, and executed the “hack,” I wasn’t sure it was worth the savings. This media console was still expensive but under $1000. In the end, this console was the winner due to its dimensions and pricing. All of the options would look lovely as is against white walls. However, since I already reached my paint-it-white quota for the year, it seemed like a good idea to paint the console.

Down Pipe

Ahhhh… Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe! This is another design element/paint color that I’ve been wanting to try for over a year. It was a top contender for the kitchen cabinets in our Modern Traditional Kitchen and is just as magical as the Studio Green we ended up going with. Both of these colors seems to change colors throughout the day (and they are all beautiful!).

If you were to search Down Pipe on Pinterest, you would notice that the color can look very different in different spaces, so as always, it is important to try out a sample swatch to see how it looks in your space.

Because I have paint color FOMO, I tried a few other swatches as can be seen in the photo below. I tried Wescott Navy, Studio Green, Philipsburg Blue, and Pigeon.

I’m very happy with the way that Down Pipe coordinates with our Beach Cabin Kitchen cabinets, which are Philipsburg Blue. Of course, I’m now tempted to paint them Down Pipe as well. You know, since the foam roller and paint are out already…

The DIY Design Steps

*This is just an account of what I did as a hobby DIY project and what seemed to/not to work for me. This is not professional advice!

After choosing and ordering this cane console from Target, transporting it boxed to the Beach Cabin, and taking out all of the pieces, I began the DIY part. I decided that it would likely be easier to paint the individual pieces outside before assembling the cabinet inside. 

 

After deciding on Down Pipe, I went to the paint store to have the color matched since there isn’t a Farrow & Ball store by us and I was anxious to begin (and finish) this project. (I had sample pots of Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe, Studio Green, and Pigeon on hand from when we did our kitchen at home.) . The paint store was able to look up the color and match it. (I used a quart of the same kind of paint that I had used on our Beach Cabin kitchen cabinets because it has held up so well!) I asked that they show me a sample of a side-by-side to make sure that it matched before leaving the paint store. It didn’t match exactly. They could have worked for an exact match, but I actually liked the color even better for this project. So I left it.

I also had tinted primer on hand from our kitchen at home. However, when I had sanded and primed to test the paint, it peeled off. I likely needed to sand better and/or use a deglosser. But ,instead of doing that, I opted to mix in some Chalk-tique. I still lightly sanded the pieces of the cabinet that I was going to paint but skipped the primer. I then applied 2 or 3 coats (as usual, I lost track) of paint, letting the pieces dry in between coats.

Some of the paint did chip off when assembling still. I really should have used a deglosser and/or put more time into sanding. Lesson learned.

And then I took forever and a day to assemble the cane console.

In order to make this even more customized, I purchased these pulls in bronze from Pottery Barn. They fit perfectly. Well, one of the holes worked perfectly and the other was covered. Good enough. I used the washers that came with the pulls but used the screws from the original handles because they fit through the cabinet doors best. 

And then for the most fun part! The styling. I purchased the gorgeous runner from The Counting House. The vintage look seems to work well with the cane console table. The gray blues in the rug tie in nicely with the Down Pipe. A couple of different styles of vases were tried while putting the finishing touches on the cane console. The hammered metal tray is the perfect size for carrying drinks to the screened in porch or setting the mood with a candle. The sailboat print was bought locally one summer from James Brandess’ shop in Saugatuck, Michigan. You can check out his work here. The Indian wood block stamp was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law from their last trip to India. 

Of course, this project took MUCH longer than I had anticipated (as almost always happens when I attempt any sort of DIY). But, the end result was worth the extra hours. Now to keep the kids from stashing their Pokeman cards and vessels of glow stick gel in there.

Have a great week!