My dad's 60th birthday was coming up and I had no idea what to get him. Then one day, a good friend texted me a picture of an unloved, vintage cabinet that he'd found at a local flea market. I knew instantly that it could become a perfect bar cabinet for my dad.

First, I had to clean it! It was filled with dirt, grime, and who knows what else.

Once everything was cleaned, I dove in with a coat of Chalky Finish in Relic for the inside. I love how this paint quickly covers all the nastiness.

For the outside, I went with Chalky Finish in Honor. I didn't start out planning a nautical theme, but it started going that way and I went with it since my dad loves fishing, boating, and sailing.

I added some gold accents to the trim with Americana Décor Metallics in Gold.

The wood on the top was in pretty good shape, so I decided just to give it a fresh coat of stain instead of painting it. I went with Minwax in Red Mahogany.

To protect all of my chalk paint, I finished it off with two coats of Americana Décor Light-Satin Varnish. This is a work-horse of a varnish and I keep going back to it for that perfect finish.

I still had some metallic map wrapping paper left over from a special gift for my mom, so I decoupaged it to the bottom of the inside of this cabinet. It really tied all of my colors together and hid the imperfect bottom.

A few bottles of his favorite liquor and some accessories and this cabinet was ready for gifting!

I added a motion-sensing LED puck light to the inside at the top. I like how nicely it illuminates the inside.

I painted a plain, wooden wine rack gold match, and decorated the ends with small pices of the map paper that I decoupaged in place.

I accented the door with a perfectly matching map doorknob that I found at Hobby Lobby. They have the best selection of knobs, pulls, and hooks!

Speaking of hooks, I added a handy 4-hook hanger to the inside (also found at Hobby Lobby), so he could hang his bar tools from it. For now, I hung some cute travel-related word art.

My dad was as pleased with the result as I was with the transformation. I just love breathing new life into an old vintage piece of furniture!