I got this cabinet from someone on Freecycle. You can google Freecycle, if you have not heard of it before. The lady, who I got it from, told me that this cabinet was almost 70 years old. Her mother in law’s dad built this for her by hand, when she was very young. They were moving and did not have room for it in their new house. I happened to be looking for a cabinet for a corner in the kitchen in our previous house. Although the size was perfect for that, the condition was not so much. Take a look for yourself.
After washing it thoroughly with detergent and bleach, I stripped it of it’s old finish with EZ strip. Then I fixed the broken drawer front and fixed the drawer gauges with stainable wood filler. After that the whole cabinet got a good sanding, starting with 150 grit sand paper and finishing with 220 grit. See in the photo, the difference between all the finishes (original, stripped, stripped and sanded)
Pictures below pretty much explain the process of bringing this cabinet to it’s current glory. Removed the glass from the window opening by first removing the quarter rounds, holding the glass.
Pulled out the moulding.
Took out the nails, holding the moulding.
Filled the knob holes in the drawers with wood filler, because I was going to change the hardware and the holes did not match the new hardware.
Spray primed the inside of the cabinet. I covered and taped the outside of the cabinet, because I was going to stain the outside, and that did not need priming.
I dry brushed three different paints randomly on the cabinet and the drawer fronts.
Then the whole thing got another round of sanding.
Then I stained everything with dark walnut stain. I tested a small piece with different stains, and liked the dark walnut the best.
For the hardware, I had four handles in my hardware stash, which I thought would go well with this style and I had just enough (four). They needed some real cleaning, so that the new finish could well adhere to them. I boiled them with mild detergent and baking soda.
Then they got two coats of metallic bronze paint by Rustoleum. I used antique gold rub’n buff on the edges to give them a little depth. See the difference that has made.
To give some strength to the glass panes, I installed lattice trim in the classic grid pattern.
I attached the trim with clear silicon.
I was feeling a little artistic, so I painted the traditional motifs on the inside back. I know they would be hidden most of the time with the stuff. I think if something makes you happy and does not hurt anyone else, it’s worth doing, and doing this made me happy. 🙂
I lined the cabinet shelves and the drawer bottoms with contact paper.
And it’s almost done except for the door knobs.
Square knobs painted the same way as the handles.
guess what? This cabinet has the perfect room for her in our new house also, and now it is used as the linen cabinet. See how nicely it fits in the space between two bedrooms on the second floor of the house.
One last side by side shot of before and after.
Seems like it was made to fit in it’s current location.
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