Hidden Storage Cabinet

Hi guys! 

I'm so excited to share this recent project I just finished.  If you've been following me on Facebook or Instagram you will have already been seeing a few sneak peeks of the progress.  If not, I'm so glad you're here to see it now!

I had a lot of leftover pine in my shop after a few past projects (I tend to overbuy so I don't run out) and thought this would be a great way to use some of it up.  I'm a huge fan of chalkboards and after building my daughter a HUGE chalkboard for Christmas, (I guess I should blog about that project too!) I had a lot of chalkboard paint leftover as well, so thought I'd add that to mix. ;)

So this is the final result.  How cute is this?!  It would be great in a kitchen, hall, or really anywhere in the house. 

A simple little drawer on the bottom is a great spot to hide the chalk!

What makes this cabinet really unique though is that it's actually got HIDDEN storage!  Ready for this?

How awesome is that?!  The perfect spot to tuck away any extra house keys, jewelry or other small items you'd like to keep out of sight.  

I've posted a quick video of how it works.

And I just had another thought!  If you're like me with a growing Essential Oils collection, how awesome would it be to modify the slide out a little and store all your oils in it! 

I had a lot of fun building this piece and anticipate I'll be building a few more in my future.

Thanks for popping by!

Cristina

#IGBuilders Challenge

Hi guys!  If you've been following me on facebook, then this is old news, but if not, I'm very excited to share this with you!  A few weeks ago I decided to sign up for a building challenge.

When I signed up, I had no idea what we would actually be asked to build.  After the signup deadline had passed, all builders were sent a set of plans for a simple console table.  We were given instructions to build it, make a few minor modifications if we wanted (as long as the finished piece still resembled the plan), and paint/stain/complete it...all within 3 weeks!  Normally this would have been a simple feat for me and I wouldn't have thought much of it, but with my kids home from school for the summer, I knew my shop time was going to be drastically reduced and I wasn't sure I would meet the 3 week deadline.  BUT, I decided to go for it anyway. ;)

This is a picture of the original plan...

As soon as I saw it, I knew what i wanted to do! :)  I redrew the plan in sketchup but with the modifications I had in mind to make sure it would still "look right".  My modifications included 2 additional legs in the front so I could divide it into 3 sections for drawers and made it two thinner drawers instead of one deeper one.  I also narrowed it down a few inches so I would only have to purchase 8' boards instead of 12' - they're easier to transport in my van - haha! ;)    I also added the bottom shelf and the X's to the sides to match our coffee table I built last month.   I loved it (and hoped the judges would too!)

I purchased a mix of fir, knotty pine and pine plywood and got to work!

I started by building the main frame.
 

From there I built and added the drawers.

This is actually just a test fit to make sure they were all fitting perfectly before I installed all the drawer slides. :)

For the top I ran all my lumber through my thickness planer to make sure they were all the same thickness and then glued them up to make a larger solid piece rather than use a plywood or other type of sheet material.  One of the things in the original plan that I liked the look of was the breadboard ends.  Rather that just using pocket holes and screws, I decided to attempt a more traditional method called tongue and groove.  I've definitely got to work on it a bit more, but I was happy with the result...even if it's not 100% accurate. ;)

Drawers installed and breadboard ends attached!

I chose to do a stained top and painted bottom.  The colour I chose for paint is called "Ashwood" by Benjamin Moore.  I had the colour matched at Home Depot in a satin finish in their Behr Premium Plus paint line.  I sprayed on at least 4 coats, lightly distressed all the edges (because I know my kids will naturally add to that over time!) and then followed it with a satin polycrylic clear coat.

The top is stained in Minwax Jacobean and finished with a satin wipe-on poly.

To install the drawer fronts, one of the other builders in the challenge shared a tip she had learned - and it is brilliant!  By using a deck (or 3) of playing cards as shims, it allows easy adjustments to space the drawer fronts perfectly!

I always drill my hardware holes in the drawer fronts first so they're perfectly centered.  Then, once shimmed in place, I temporary screw the fronts to the drawer boxes through the predrilled holes.  I shoot a few small staples with my nail gun from the inside of the drawer box into the back of the drawer front which holds the front in place when I remove the temporary screws.  From there I just run my drill through the previous holes I drilled in the drawer front, through the drawer box, and there you go, perfect placement holes for the hardware!



Speaking of hardware, aren't these gorgeous???  I found them at our local Windsor Plywood and knew they were perfect!  I believe it was an "aged bronze" finish.

And, here is my finished table!

I am SO thrilled with how my table turned out and it fits in perfectly in our home!  Now, this was a building challenge and there could only be one winner.  Definitely head over to Instagram and check out #IGBuilderschallenge and see the other builders gorgeous builds! As soon as the tables started being posted, I had NO idea how the judges would ever make a decision!  SOOO tough!

With over 200 builders signed up and SO many gorgeous tables built, I never actually thought I would ever win....well, I was completely shocked and overjoyed when I received a message saying that the judges had picked MY table as the winner!!!

I couldn't believe it...and was a little more than excited. ;)  Lets just say our neighbors thought we'd won the lottery the way I was freaking out on our back deck! ;)  Hey, I felt like I had!!


Anyway, now that the challenge is done, I'm sitting back for a little breather before working on the next project. ;)  Well...maybe.... 

Thanks for popping by!

Cristina

Dresser & China Cabinet

Hello, hello!!!

I realize it’s been AGES since I’ve posted anything, but although things have been quiet on my blog, I have actually been working away.  Of course, with my kids on summer holidays my painting tends to take a back seat, but I’ve been sneaking out to paint when I have the opportunity.  If you’ve popped over to visit my facebook page you will have already seen these, but I thought I should share them here as well.

A couple of the projects I worked on and completed.

I actually agreed to purchase this dresser after only seeing a picture online.  I was drawn to the unique carved design on the front and the lion-head drawer pulls on the top drawers.

I painted the top a dark espresso with a glossy clear coat.  The bottom was painted white followed with a dark glaze to really draw out the details of the dresser.  The original hardware was updated in an oil rubbed bronze colour.

This next big project was this china cabinet.  I'd had it sitting waiting its turn for too long and it was high time it was refinished!  

 

I stripped the paint off the top of the bottom portion and stained it a darker colour followed by a glossy poly.

 

The remainder of the cabinet was  painted a light grey and then also followed with a darker glaze.  I replaced all the old/damaged hardware with new brushed nickel and removed the dated glass and added a simple hardware cloth.  The original back panel was damaged so I also replaced that with a brand new piece.

Both pieces have been sold.

Thanks for popping by!

 

THE China Cabinet

The china cabinet.  THE china cabinet.  THE EVIL china cabinet!  Where do I begin.  When I first got this piece, I actually thought it would be a fairly quick project.  I loved the look of the detail along the top of the hutch and couldn't wait to get started.  Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than I had anticipated.

  

I started off by removing the front doors and all the hardware.  After sanding it down, I applied a coat of primer.  I already had a few other pieces in my garage I was also working on, so the front deck became another “work space”. 

 

Like the grey buffet I recently finished, I chose to leave the interior of the lower cabinet unpainted.as it was in excellent condition. 

While the main part of the buffet was simple to paint, the doors decided to give me some grief.  I had sanded, primed painted and had just started to apply the clear coat when I realized that the doors were developing some yellowy spots!  It seems that the old original finish was working its way through the primer and paint!  I always use an oil based stain blocking primer to prevent this, but I guess my coverage wasn't adequate enough (serves me right for painting at night in a poorly lit garage) and that darn finish was going to prove it!  I needed to basically start over from step one and sand, prime and paint AGAIN before I could add the clear coat.

This particular piece was custom painted for a friend and she had requested a bright white, but asked if  could replace the glass with chicken wire.  Because I had replaced a previous cabinet glass door with wire with no issues, I thought this would also be a simple job.  It was not.  After I had painted the entire interior, I went to add the wire.   

Because the  upper cabinet was fairly narrow, I had to squeeze my upper body into it at the oddest angles along with my somewhat bulky nail gun.  I’m sure I could have just slapped the wire up and nailed it in place, but being a bit of a perfectionist wanting it to look nice I wanted to make sure all the edges were tucked into the existing groove where the glass panels had originally been.  The wire wasn’t being overly cooperative though and the sharp edges were scratching away at the brand new paint!  I lost track of the number of hours it took to complete as well as the number of times I stormed out of the garage ready to call it quits!  I can’t even begin to express how happy I was to finally get it finished...with only two holes to patch after the staples decided to go THROUGH the wood and out the front of the cabinet!

After repainting most of the interior, the entire piece got a glossy clear coat.   

I felt the original hardware worked with the piece and only needed to be updated with some Oil Rubbed Bronze paint.  

Now I would like to say once the clear coats were finished it was all smoothing sailing from there.  It was not.  When I got the cabinet, one of the glass shelves had unfortunately been broken in transit.  I was a little concerned about what a new one would cost, but was pleased to find out it was going to be less than $30.  I measured the existing shelf and ordered a new one.  After I’d completed the cabinet, I grabbed the new glass shelf, put one end in the cabinet and then...freaked out.  The front opening was TOO SMALL to put the new shelf through!  I tried it at every angle possible and even called my hubby into the garage hoping he could figure out a way I hadn’t yet thought of.  No luck.  AGH!  When I took the shelf out originally, I had already removed the side glass panels and just slid it though there  Of course, with the chicken wire now stapled in place, that was no longer an option!  By this point I was so ready to cry.  My ONLY option was to attempt to pry out the staples on the back panel.  Because it was made of that pressboard-type material, I really hoped it wouldn't be damaged too badly.

Using a hammer, a TINY screw driver and some needle nose pliers, I finally managed to pry out enough staples to allow me to pull back the bottom of the panel just enough to slide the shelf in. 

I slid the shelf in and went to pick it up to put it on the first shelf support.  Oh oh – why was the glass shelf scraping the sides of the cabinet?  I grabbed my tape measure, measured it again....and realized it was ½” TOO LONG!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????????  I grabbed my paperwork and realized I’d somehow given the glass company the WRONG measurements!!!!  I had to run back into town to get the glass “trimmed”.  Fortunately it was a quick fix, but I’m sure they were laughing at me after I left!

After may hours of work and a lot of frustration, here is the finished cabinet!  

This had to be one of the toughest pieces I’ve done, but now that it's finished I can say I am really happy with the way it turned out and I hope it’ll work out well in its new home.

Thanks for popping by!