Wood – Replacing Furniture Cam Dowel & Lock Pin

It's a little difficult to say that it will be a definite fix but a great start would be refinishing the inside of the cabinet. While I'm sure its possible to re-stain and seal the inside of a cabinet that just seems like way too much work so I'd stick with painting.

I found this nice article about painting cabinets if you want some design ideas. The process shouldn't be all that involved. You'll probably want to sand first and clean the shavings out well then give it a nice coat of whatever color you decide to go with and let it dry. Pretty much like painting any other piece of furniture, just a little bit more of a pain to get inside there.

I once stripped and painted all the drawers and cabinets on a work truck and that was a real pain. Luckily I was able to use a paint sprayer so that made it a heck of a lot easier. If you know someone with a paint spraying system beg them to use it and the finish and coverage in the tight areas will be wonderful.

Just my $0.02 and I can't say that this will be a definite solution but I can't imagine a wood smell getting through a through coating of paint. If your really worried you could use some thick outdoor paint that's designed to work as a sealer too. Best of luck with your project, post pictures if your need help along the way!

Can't tell what sort of varnish, if any, is on there, but it looks like it's come off in the worn places you care about anyway. Without a complete refinish job, you can try touching up much of the damage you picture with a swab that's been dipped in a dark oak (or red oak) stain. Just put a little stain in the places the finish is gone, wait 20 min. and wipe off gently. The result will not be as good as a complete strip, sand, restain and refinish job, but with the correct choice of stain color I've seen this method take things from fug-ugly to really not too shabby. If you go this route, be sure to test it on a small, inconspicuous area first.