Our Wonderful Followers who come back again and again to read about us...

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A day of cabinets

I would first like to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my blog readers... may you have a lovely day surrounded by those you love, giving thanks for all you have been blessed with.  

We are heading down to Milwaukee to spend the day with Steve's family.  110 miles each way on jammed packed highways should be an adventure?   Two of our three kids are coming, along with their spouses and some of the grandtots for me to hug and hold and play with.

Yesterday I got a LOT done on my cabinet project.  If you recall, last week we bought a set of 1920's oak kitchen cabinets that came out of a mansion down in Fond Du Lac.  Here is the seller with the un-restored cabinets.


I have been sanding and removing the latches, hinges and door pulls.  Yesterday I bought some "food safe" paint that is designed for painting milk houses at dairy farms.  Only in Wisconsin can you walk into a store and buy a gallon of paint off the shelf made for this!  LOL
The little flat sticks are made for shelf supports that go in jagged teeth along each side of the upper cabinets.  On each of those sticks goes a shelf plank, that are just made of pine, not oak.  I think I am going to cover each wooden shelf with an old fashioned printed shelf liner. 

This photo below is the main bottom cabinet base, resting on it's back behind the motorhome.  I still have a little more sanding to do on the bottom edge after the paint dries.   We think we are going to omit the drawer section and put in our dishwasher in that space.  I have four more drawers along the bottom of the upper cabinets where they rest on the countertop.  Not sure yet, but Steve is re-figuring the measurements once we get the cabinet base into the house.  It's either that or put the dishwasher in the next section to the right between the drawers and the bins. 



I coated the insides of all of the cabinets and also the two pull out bins.  (I think we are going to use one for taters and onions, the other for a big bag of dog food)    I know nobody really sees the insides of the cabinets once the doors are back on.  But it will be good to start out with fresh clean surfaces for our dishes and food.

The back sides of the cabinet doors were a bit rough, so I stripped off their finish too.  You can see the backsides just to the right of the bins in the pics below.  Then I can stain both sides of each door to look pleasant when open or shut.  If I didn't do the inside surfaces of the doors, I just know every time I would look at them and say to myself: "Dang, why didn't I do the insides when I had the chance?"


While working, I had the door of the workshop area wide open... this paint is oil based and has fumes that are gassing off as the paint cures and hardens.  I worked for about 4 hours and called it a day.  Whew!   I still have to coat a few of box insides of the drawers.   Soon I can start staining the entire set of cabinets, then a few coats of polyurethane  and putting on the new latches, hinges and drawer pulls.

Let's hope this warm weather holds out so I can get these done and cured to a strong finish before we have to move them over to the new house. It's a lot of work, but I think they will be worth it, and be well-fitting for our turn-of-the-century home.

Everyone, please have a safe holiday....  
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 











12 comments:

  1. You are doing a wonderful job, Karen! Happy Thanksgiving to you and Steve. Have a wonderful day with your family!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your whole gang! I'm sure it'll be a blast. :c)

    I'm really surprised that you didn't figure out a way to put those beautiful cabinets in the motorhome. You've amazed me before on your MH mods and I didn't think this would be much of a challenge for you... ;c)

    PS: The cabinets are looking GREAT!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. You sure are not growing any moss under you. You just keep moving, moving, moving.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Thanksmas to you guys.

    Nice looking paint job.
    My opinion, (although you didn't ask for it), would be to save the drawers, if disposable.
    Mel

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Thanksmas to you guys.

    Nice looking paint job.
    My opinion, (although you didn't ask for it), would be to save the drawers, if disposable.
    Mel

    ReplyDelete
  6. The cabinets are looking great! Happy Thanksgiving!
    Safe travels...Earlene

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are doing a great job with those cabinets. Safe travels and have a great Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The cabinets are looking great, but WHOA! I've been out of circulation for so long, and when I get a chance to read blogs I get tired after just a few and never make it through my list. Somewhere along the line I missed your "turn of the century home", and I can see I'm going to have to go back and try to pick up where I left off. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Huh, milk house paint. I like it. Makes me feel safe about you putting food and dishes into these old cupboards. I like the idea of old shelf liner paper, too. Adds to the authentic feel of your space.

    I, too, would keep the drawers. Put the dishwasher elsewhere. Although I'm not sure I would want its moisture next to my vegetable bin.

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are going to be really nice. Looks like you are just as handy as Steve is.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that Steve's mother was able to have visitors for a little while. So sorry that she is not doing well...

    I am so jealous of your cabinets, and your new house! I love projects like that. You mentioned in one post that you were going to lose the cabinet style tv that is in the house. If it is nice wood, those can be turned into the neatest open front (or with doors if that is the way it is built) cabinets! Just a thought... :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thats a great idea! maybe i could add some doors and perhaps a pitcher and bowl to the top and use it in the bedroom as a side chest ....

      Delete

Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog! I moderate all comments so it may take a little while for your comment to appear.