Sunday, February 10, 2013

New Year's Project--Pantry Cabinet

by Leslie

If you checked out the blog a couple weeks ago, you would have read my post about my January Cure Project.  It just so happens that I finished several projects in the month of January.  Although I was certainly happy about my kitchen cart revival, I also finished a project that had been over a year in the making.

Remember my kitchen pantry cabinet I started working on?  Well, I finally finished it!  Let me tell  you, this project was well worth the work, but when I think back to all the layers of paint, sanding, and hardware work that needed to be done---well, let's just say it was a labor of love.

I might add that I am not a perfectionist.  I guess I should let you know this beforehand.  I have always been one of those "it's good enough" type of people.  This project was no exception.

 Here is the cabinet right after I bought it.  It is a bit grubby, with layers and layers of paint.  And check out the Peanuts comic on the front!  Timeless.


 I bought it at the local Salvation Army for $20.  They actually brought it in while I was there.  I think they knew I really wanted it, so they upped the ante on the price.  It was still quite affordable, I thought.



 Who doesn't love a green interior?


For some unfathomable reason, I thought I would strip this puppy to the wood.  It was a bad choice.  There were at least 5 coats of paint on it and the paint stripper wouldn't take the first (green) layer off.  I did the best I could, but I was still left with globs of paint and a less than smooth surface.


This is the moment when I felt like a mad scientist.  The wonders of toxic chemicals!  Here you can see where I removed the hinges.  The hinges turned out to be a major problem.


Frustration was setting in right here.  I decided to let it go until we moved into our house last June.  I then sanded the whole thing using my dad's palm sander (thanks, Pop!).  That made the process go much faster!


On to the next step!  The former owners of our house left a whole cabinet of paint for us, so I just used their leftovers and painted the cabinet white.  It took A LOT of coats, though.  I skipped primer.  MISTAKE!


Getting closer!  The final step was adding new hardware.  Unfortunately, they no longer make hinges like those that were on the cabinet originally.  I tried a few new ones, but nothing fit properly.  Fast forward several months and in my desperation to finish the project, I decided to use the original paint-coated hinges.  The only problem?  I had thrown out one of the three!

I decided to move forward with only two hinges and it worked fine.  To strip the hardware, I boiled it in water for 10 minutes on the stove.  I then scraped off the old paint (I ended up using my fingernails--they worked best!).  It actually worked like a charm!

 Here's the finished product!  It hangs out in our dining room.


I used it as storage for our china.  We have used it so much more since it has been handy.  Hurrah!

Finished projects!  Yes!


2 comments:

Leave us a message! Tell us what you think!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

New Year's Project--Pantry Cabinet

by Leslie

If you checked out the blog a couple weeks ago, you would have read my post about my January Cure Project.  It just so happens that I finished several projects in the month of January.  Although I was certainly happy about my kitchen cart revival, I also finished a project that had been over a year in the making.

Remember my kitchen pantry cabinet I started working on?  Well, I finally finished it!  Let me tell  you, this project was well worth the work, but when I think back to all the layers of paint, sanding, and hardware work that needed to be done---well, let's just say it was a labor of love.

I might add that I am not a perfectionist.  I guess I should let you know this beforehand.  I have always been one of those "it's good enough" type of people.  This project was no exception.

 Here is the cabinet right after I bought it.  It is a bit grubby, with layers and layers of paint.  And check out the Peanuts comic on the front!  Timeless.


 I bought it at the local Salvation Army for $20.  They actually brought it in while I was there.  I think they knew I really wanted it, so they upped the ante on the price.  It was still quite affordable, I thought.



 Who doesn't love a green interior?


For some unfathomable reason, I thought I would strip this puppy to the wood.  It was a bad choice.  There were at least 5 coats of paint on it and the paint stripper wouldn't take the first (green) layer off.  I did the best I could, but I was still left with globs of paint and a less than smooth surface.


This is the moment when I felt like a mad scientist.  The wonders of toxic chemicals!  Here you can see where I removed the hinges.  The hinges turned out to be a major problem.


Frustration was setting in right here.  I decided to let it go until we moved into our house last June.  I then sanded the whole thing using my dad's palm sander (thanks, Pop!).  That made the process go much faster!


On to the next step!  The former owners of our house left a whole cabinet of paint for us, so I just used their leftovers and painted the cabinet white.  It took A LOT of coats, though.  I skipped primer.  MISTAKE!


Getting closer!  The final step was adding new hardware.  Unfortunately, they no longer make hinges like those that were on the cabinet originally.  I tried a few new ones, but nothing fit properly.  Fast forward several months and in my desperation to finish the project, I decided to use the original paint-coated hinges.  The only problem?  I had thrown out one of the three!

I decided to move forward with only two hinges and it worked fine.  To strip the hardware, I boiled it in water for 10 minutes on the stove.  I then scraped off the old paint (I ended up using my fingernails--they worked best!).  It actually worked like a charm!

 Here's the finished product!  It hangs out in our dining room.


I used it as storage for our china.  We have used it so much more since it has been handy.  Hurrah!

Finished projects!  Yes!


2 comments:

Leave us a message! Tell us what you think!