Jacob Summer’s & Sons MCM Cocktail Cabinet with Mother of Pearl

This sideboard was such a delightful find and even more delightful to work on! It’s a really solid piece with lots of storage space as well as looking beautiful inside and out (pictures include some progress shots, original sketch, and the item before transformation).

This piece has had a vast amount of work added to it to transform it into a luxury item (process details below). Due to how well constructed this piece is, it wasn’t an option to take it apart to work on without possibly damaging it as it was mainly nailed together! Which made for a pretty fiddly job to work around, haha.

The large cupboard doors on each side were originally french polished and are an art in themselves - too beautiful to put a paintbrush anywhere near! This piece has a fantastic and simplistic mechanism, so when you open the central doors, the central part with the drinks tray comes out at the same time! Just wonderful!

Inspiration for this piece: The custom blended pink colour, gold gild, mother of pearl tiles, glass mirror tiles, gold tray rim, the textured back piece of the inner central piece and shiny tips, were inspired by Fabergé eggs!

The palm trees: inspired by a deco butterfly wing ring that had a tiny picture of palm trees that I always remember my grandmother wearing.

The hexagon shapes for the tree trunks: inspired by a trip to The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland .

One of the flowers on both central doors: inspired by a vintage telephone dial.

The rocket shaped plant next to the trunks: inspired by The Gherkin building in London.

The rest of the design, including the drawers were just from my own imagination 🙃.

MEASUREMENTS:

H: 36 inches (91.5 cm)
W: 54 inches (137 cm)
D: 22 inches (56 cm)

PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS:

🔸 Whole piece cleaned inside and out

🔸 Central doors removed, stripped of old finish, then finely sanded

🔸 Clay cut and shaped into designs, painted with a darker base colour applied, then the pink, then sealed, then gold gilding wax applied

🔸 Wallpaper decoupaged to the inside central doors and glass holders removed, stripped, painted, gold wax gild to the edges, then reattached. Satin varnish finish applied.

🔸 Inner tray that comes out as doors open: stripped of old finish and sanded

🔸 Back-piece of inner central part: cut and shaped clay layer added for a textured finish - painted in flat black, then black gloss carefully applied to each edge and tip. All sealed

🔸 Sides of inner central piece decoupaged in beautiful slightly twinkly wallpaper, then sealed with satin varnish

🔸 Central piece (where the bottles go) stripped of finished, painted, decoupaged (inside), sealed, then gold gilding wax added around the rims

🔸 Glass mirror tiles applied to back of tray piece

🔸 Mother of pearl tiles applied to the tray, cut to size (shape of tray), grouted, buffed with a jewellers paste, then waxed and buffed again

🔸 Gold tray rim: gold leaf applied, varnish sealed, then waxed

🔸 Bottom of tray edge: painted, varnish sealed, then waxed

🔸 Inside large cupboard spaces: painted and decoupaged with beautiful black and gold wallpaper, then satin varnished

🔸 Inside large cupboard shelves painted, decoupaged and satin varnished

🔸 Inside of big doors: waxed and buffed

🔸 Both drawers outsides: clay cut, pattern created, painted, sealed then gold wax gild applied

🔸 Both drawers inside: decoupaged with beautiful black and gold wallpaper, then satin varnished

🔸 Lager cupboard doors on both sides, and sides of whole piece: deeper scratches and scuffs repaired, then wax layers applied and buffed

🔸 Bottom pelmet of whole piece including feet: deeper scratches and scuffs repaired and gold gild wax applied to bottom of feet, then buffed

🔸 Knobs on central doors and drawers: painted in the same pink, then a gold overlay applied

🔸 Top surface of whole piece (was pretty well used and marked!): stripped of old finish, layers of furniture oil applied, then waxed and buffed I think that’s everything…! :-)

*Please also be aware that vintage/antique items I sell may have age related marks / nicks / patina, especially depending on the age and original purpose of the item. I see the beauty and history in these, so will either leave them in, or work with them to add to the overall aesthetic of particular pieces*