Ugly Armoire Transformation

I'm a bad blogger, but have you ever hated something so much, that one day you just pick up a paint brush and start painting before you make any plans about colour, sheen, etc. ?  I bought this ugly armoire when we had just gotten married (about 13 years ago), and it was a pretty expensive piece of furniture.  Many of the major furniture shops had it for $3,500 and believe it or not, I liked it!  When I saw it in the Sears furniture clearance outlet for $1,700 I begged my husband for it, and he hates to see me beg, so he agreed.

Now, as soon as the three furniture movers hoisted this thing into our house, I just knew...
I had that sick feeling in my gut...
You know the one...the one that says..."What was I thinking????"
Well, it was way to heavy to return, and I silently lived with my shame and pain for THIRTEEN YEARS.
Until last month, when one day I just couldn't take it any more!  STOP THE INSANITY!!!  WHERES THE PAINT BRUSH?!?!

I probably still wouldnt buy it today, as my taste in furniture has changed dramatically, as it has evolved and been fine tuned (not to say I dont still make errors in judgement sometimes).  However I love it compared to the before!

Here is a bad photo of the the 'after':

I  know, its shot on my iphone, on an angle.

Here is a photo of the interior, which shows you the fakey fakey wood finish it was before.  Can you believe they sold this huge monster in fakey wood for $3500 (Canadian...and at the time the Canadian dollar was quite low compared to US$s  so it may have been quite a bit less in the US)?

YUCKY OR WHAT?

Anyway, I cant get my hands on Chalk paint in my area (and shipping is prohibitively expensive here), this was painted in a eggshell Behr paint and primer combo.  Not too bad, n'est pas?  FYI this is about it for my french speaking abilities so please forgive me if I throw it around every once in a while!