Catherinet, I am glad to hear you say you are taking the cabinet back. Doing that much work for a relatively cheap cabinet just doesnt seem worth the effort. You could potentially run into a number of issues. The finish on the cabinet might not be a polyurethane. If could be a lacquer or some other cheap industrial finish that wont be compatible with your new finish. In general, once you have some sort of top coat on a piece, the best way to change the color is with a toner. A toner is basically dye suspended in a compatible finish or other chemical. I could go into that process further, but honestly I think taking the cabinet back (in spite of the back pain) is your best bet. Good luck. Marc

When you first posted, I didn't have a picture of this pie safe that I just re-finished that I purchased at an estate sale right before we started our renovation last year--sorry the pics are so big, don't have a clue about how to re-size . I had to do a little re-arranging but knew this is what I wanted to end my cabinet run with. It's definitely the largest pie safe I have ever come across (16 beautiful tins) and as soon as I saw it told DH I was going to bid on it. The safe sat on a back porch for many years and half of the paint had come off, half was still on. I didn't try and get all of it off although did get most of it.

I’d see what’s under the paint and if it would be possible to strip it to a natural finish. This is of course dependent on many factors … what colors are other wood pieces nearby? If painting is the only option, I’d consider an antique white: Other colors … greens: Blues: Reds: Grays: Coral: I also think the current color would work well. Or darker yellow pulled from rug: Just wanted to show a variety to see if any appeal, but again, it’s hard to say without more context. ETA — Even with the glass doors, you could still do some sort of fun stencil patterns. Examples: https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Buffets/Pink,/color,/19115/subcat.html I’d look for some fun new knobs to use, too. Etsy has a great selection of unique ones. And I like these from Anthropologie: Knobs

Some type of desk, possibly an end table. Can't tell how tall it is. The image is not great. Looks like it's a space-saving design and the top can slide over to the seated user or slide back to cover the storage bit. Practical for the right spot.