Take out the center corner piece and place the unit on one wall as one unit or even two units separated in the middle to create a space for perhaps a desk if space permits. Do have them taken to the ceiling with built in boxes with doors that lift up for added storage. Finish with crown moulding. Reuse what you have. You will need to spend a lot to replace what you already have. A little imagination will completely transform these and you will be very happy. Definitely paint it to blend it into the wall. A good primer will take care of the knots. The finished product will look like a custom built-in closet.

I like these cabinets; I think they will be more pleasing to you painted; change the knobs out. Do you like to stencil? Try an interesting pattern. Paint it over when you get tired of it. Good luck
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I can't tell if all the double door units are the same size, but if they are; try switching the glassed doors with the solid doors on the far right. That could improve the balance. Then you'd have two cabinets side by side that will serve as a solid "wall" and then the lighter units ( mirror, glass, open shelves) would form the other wall. I think the slight rearrangement , if possible will help the mirror not look so orphaned.

agree with painting them... also, I think it may be nice to pick couple of panels and paint them with chalk board paint or magnetic paint... so she can draw on it or you can hang her arts on it.

Painting them is a great idea. I'd see if a carpenter or cabinetmaker could make you panels for the doors that have the panes and fabric--making the doors all the same. Ask the same cabinet person to remove the spindles and replace them with corbels for support. I'd also consider replacing the mirror with a full length mirror--girl's love this touch to their rooms! Put photographs and collectibles up on top that can be easily moved to keep clean.

I'm glad you're painting them. There's a lot of storage in there and it would be a shame to lose it. I really like the idea of antique white - goes with everything! Please post pictures once you're done. I'm sure the transformation will be amazing!

I'm only sorry I didn't see this a lot earlier than I have. I hand paint furniture for a living and paint loads of pine, amongst many types of wood and the primer I use is Zinsser Bin - have a look here: http://www.zinsseruk.com/product/b-i-n/ you will need about 3 coats of this - once you have put on these coats, then you need to purchase Dulux Quick Drying Eggshell - I use Magnolia - you should only need one coat of this: http://www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co.uk/servlet/ProductHandler?code=DDC10317

Then I put wax on top of this after leaving it overnight. Brushing it on very very lightly in the direction of the grain - and after about an hour - buff it to a sheen. This gives it a French Antique Style effect. The wax I use is this Antique Pine colour : http://www.briwax.co.uk/products/briwax.html#CART.

I know you have started, but perhaps you could 'finish' it like this - if you wanted a totally different look?

I'm not sure if I can give you my website details just so you can see some of the furniture I have done like this and some other paint techniques. But, at least it will give you an idea of how it should turn out. http://www.decorativeideas.co.uk

Also, definitely put some new handles on if you can - say in acrylic glass - there are some really pretty ones around i.e. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/glass-furniture-knobs

Personally I quite like the fabric behind the door, but would definitely change it to match the bedding/curtains that will be used!

I wouldn't be afraid to paint wood... not everyone cares for the grain. I'm currently on the lookout for a secondhand dresser for my daughter's room. I don't want to worry about off-gassing from wood substitutes, and frankly the craftsmanship is lacking today.

Looks like you have a good solid piece made out of wood. Take off the skirting, I'd ditch the corner unit and the spindles piece. Arrange the cabinets so you have two cabinets flanking each side of the ones with glass. Line them up in a row on one wall, BUT instead of painting some wild crazy colour, go with something that will grow with her. Much easier to change out wall colour and bedding than having to refinish the furniture!

Okay -- I see you started painting and that is fantastic. If I had been the first responder to the images you put up I would have said PAINT PAINT PAINT. I would have also given you a link to a blogger who I dearly love who does tons of painting over wood. And here it goes -- day late and dollar short but http://www.centsationalgirl.com/ She is awesome when it comes to makeovers. Plus she has every tip, trick, and thing you must know as well. Including best primer, brush, wood filler -- etc. So don't be afraid to paint, goodness it is the one thing we can always change -- and if you don't like it (which I doubt) you can always sand and strip that puppy back down to natural wood and restain. Good luck, I am off to paint a dresser as we speak.

Absolutely paint white. Since this is a little girl's room, give spindles some whimsical color. Paint the spindle white all over, then paint the ball-like parts a bright girl color, and if you'd like more embellishment add a stripe of gold paint to the crevice between the balls and the tapers. You could use craft paint. At a later date you can always repaint white.

I was going to suggest chalkboard paint and magnetic paint - I see someone else did that already. Great idea! You might even remove one of the doors and have shelving inside with books, good looking baskets, etc. I also think painting the wood to match the walls with minimize their looming size, or breaking them up into smaller units if possible - maybe on either side of the bed, connected with a shelf over the top and light under the connecting shelf to illuminate the space below.

There's "frosted glass" spray paint available, by both Rustoleum and Krylon. I find the latter to work a bit better - the Rustoleum seems to sometimes be a bit blotchy. Anyway, I find it much easier and cheaper than the sticky stuff from HD. If it doesn't work for you, it's not that hard to remove with some paint thinner. I'd paint the insides of the glass, by the way.

My front door's glass had become blotchy in between the panes. Until I had money to replace it, I painted both sides of the glass with this spray paint., and painted the wood surround with a color complementing my house colors. Everyone just assumed I'd bought a new door!

In my bedroom...NO! But in a little girl's bedroom...painted white...Adorable!! Even the spindles will look good for your little one's room.

what about taking off the doors and using as "open storage"? can u sand or strip them and give them a white washed look?

My progress so far.......
I've just ordered beautiful door knobs too. Thanks for everyone's comments. It's really keeping me motivated. X

Beautiful victorian door knobs.
Oh and notice the door on the left with frosted glass stickers and on the right without. What a difference, thanks again for the tip.
Still got a lot of work to do - scape the paint off the glass, finish another four doors and paint the carcass. X

While you may not be a fan of this wardrobe, it does provide a lot of storage space and has some really beautiful detailing (Those mullions are fabulous!). I think a little work on them will go a long way!

It's looking awesome! Can't wait to see the finished product. You're doing the right thing!

oh, it's looking so great! Those blue doorknobs will be so cute. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Already starting to look fantastic. You are doing a great job. Now it will be a great visual asset as well as a storage asset. Keep us posted. We love seeing the pictures at each step of the journey.

You are doing a fantastic job the doors are looking beautiful.

Love the doorknobs.
One thing you could do with the side shelves is make the lower shelves into a little dollhouse for your daughter and either use the top shelves for display or if you add a side panel this could be additional storage space

Why not get a little whimsical and paint them a very pale sky blue, add some clouds (perhaps a sun peeking through and balloons floating through the air? Place one of her stuffed animals inside the closet and looking out through the glass. Whatever you decide to do, for a small child, I'd treat the cabinets more like a canvas and less like a piece of furniture.

Don't forget to get rid of the spindles on the right. You can even put just straight pieces instead.

Wow, looking better already, good work! I don't mind the spindles.... they are kind of girly and once they're painted they're not really a big deal.

If you are keeping the spindles, once they are painted white, detail them, just a little bit with gold paint.

I like them! I'd use them separately; the solid, double door units could be placed on either side of a bed.
The unit with with glass doors could be used in a kitchen or dining room to display and store china,
The spindle end unit might be used somehow (?) possibly in a closet. The corner unit cold be placed
in a corner of a room where a little extra storage is needed. Well, I see you've painted some . . . . "Tant pis".

Finally finished. It was worth all the hard work. My little girl thinks they look great.

Your little girl is right. They do look great! Bravo on a job well done!

Fabulous job! Congrats on a great completed project. Love the Tiny Dancer with Winnie the Pooh over her head!

Awesome transformation. Glad you moved the mirrored door, it's new location is great.

What a transformation! Brilliant job and a lovely little lady!

Aww!

Applause!!! Nice work.

Great work and it is nice to see you used your own 'take' on this!

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing. Isn't it amazing what paint and a bit of hard work will do? You've done a great job, and look at all the lovely storage space you still have!

You did a marvelous job, and I love the light effect you have going on, too!

Are you keeping the color on the wall? If so, perhaps you could paint the cabinets a few shades lighter or darker than the walls.
More of a monochromatic look... Add color and interest in your bedding, curtains, etc...
Just a thought!

I am so happy for you -- that was a huge amount of work to accomplish and they look stunning. Thank you for sharing all the stages of your endeavor to create something beautiful in your own world with the rest of us. Big "HI FIVE" from the painting girls in Pittsburgh for a massive "JOB WELL DONE" -- You Goal Girl!!!! On to the next project. Don't stop there now you know how much you can change your own world with your two hands.

Fantastic job. You have really transformed the units and given them new life. They look beautiful. I am impressed at how quickly you accomplished such a tough job. Congratulations!

Hi they look wonderful. Have a similar situation myself. Would appreciate thoughts etc. Also what type of paint to use would be great. Was thinking of chalk paint however not sure how that would look. Thanks in adv!

Chalk paint is great and you can get some wonderful effects with it, but because it's all over everything stationary right now, I think it's going to start looking pretty dated, pretty soon.

What will begin to look dated? Chalk paint? What do you suggest as an alternative? Appreciate the advice. New to all this.

Hi beginnerdiy - personally I don't think Chalk Paint will look dated at all. One of the good things about Chalk paint is that you don't need a primer, but after saying that it does depend on the wood you would be painting over because if you were to paint over something like mahogany wood, then I would suggest that you use a primer. The best as far as I am concerned is Zinsser BIN or Zinsser 123. If you don't want to use Chalk Paint then I would recommend an Eggshell paint, but you would need to prime with this first. Say, a couple of coats of primer and a coat of Eggshell. Hope this helps :)

Denise Hardy- thank you for the advice. I'll stick with the chalk paint then. Will keep you all up to date with the final product!

killz will keep knots from turnimg brown after paint defently fill them if your going to paint tho and they need primer anyway I'd use killz on them with a paint of your choice

As you can see by my photo the wardrobes are laminate on top of MDF. I've pulled the laminate off and it's just the mdf left which is very smooth. Same painting methods would work correct?

Hi Alpellicci. Great job. It looks really perfect for a little girl. Could I ask exactly what paint you used? I have similar furniture and I want to change it and living in Scotland too I have the same diy outlets! Did you use a solution for wood knots first though? Thanks, Lisa

ADVANCE in White Dove OC-17 would be a great upgrade!

Definitely paint and new hardware. I would take out the drapes inside that one area and use to display your daughter's collections.