Browsing Category: The Mother Cabinet Project

Introducing “The Mother”

Howdy Everyone!

Today I’m doing some work on a little doozy of a project that I’ve christened The Mother… why The Mother, you ask?!  Well, because (for me) she’s the mother of all projects!  And when she’s frustrated me, I’ll say something like “Mother!!”  It’s very PG around here so that’s as far as it goes, but you get the idea…Sometimes The Mother can be quite a mother.

I have been thinking about adding in shelves and storage to my dining area for quite some time.  Since I’ve had to give up my space to these kiddos, there is just nowhere to keep my fabric, sewing machine, you know, my grandma stuff anymore.  And it would be awfully nice to be able to display my growing collection of antique blue and white Chinese pottery.

Anytime you’re going to embark on a project like this you know there are several ways to go about it. 1. Hire someone; I did meet with 2 incredibly talented carpenters who would make my storage dreams come true for about 10 grand.  2. Buy pre-made cabinets and have the shelves made or go to a cabinet store; Also, investigated this and I would get close to what I was envisioning for about 4k (not bad at all) or 3. Do it myself, slowly over time, with unfinished cabinets to get exactly what I want; Super labor intensive but I could test out my chops.

Weight the pros and cons carefully, Folks!  This is your home and you don’t want a mess of a project.  DIY is cool, but you never want it to look DIY.  Am I right?!?!

My solution came to me on a trip to the ReStore Habitat for Humanity store.  I saw it.  A heap of cabinets and shelves.  The guys just wanted it out of there, so for $300 and a 16ft UHaul it was all mine.

I didn’t even know what I was buying, but it appeared to be in great shape, 100% wood (no veneer here!), and I liked the molding/trim detail.  Plus it came with a bunch of shelves, which is what I was looking for and I figure (I’m still planning it out) that I can make it work.

My garage today-

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A view from the top so you can see it’s about 6 feet deep!
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Mother! That’s a LOT of cabinets.

 

Close up of door/drawer detail
Close up of door/drawer detail
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My inventory after measuring and inspecting my loot, with a bit of my son’s artwork at the bottom. 12 large pieces in all with a TON of trim, moulding and cabinet tops.

Where can you score something like this??  You’ll need luck, yes, but the ReStore is the place to go.  They get cabinets all the time.  Nothing near you?  Then I would put an add on Craigslist – people love to sell stuff they’re planning on dumping anyway.

So, there you have it.  The mother of all projects that will be my time zapper for the next few months.  I will keep you updated in real time with my progress so that you can be there with me through all the fun steps.  It’s so weird to me when I read a blog and in one day an entire room is completed – Hello!!  We all know it took like a gabillion years to get it done.

That’s the plan, at least.  Cut up some cabinets, patch some holes, use a chemical stripper, sand for weeks, prime, paint, configure, trim it out and put the bling on.  Easy, right?!?

In the meantime…. here’s some inspiration for your shelves out there and kinda what I have in mind.  Ta-Ta!!

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