Three Corner Cabinets DIY

Not wanting to pay the price of an old corner wall cabinet for my living room, I settled on the idea of making my own.  I found these cabinets on Craigslist .  I was only going to get one, but the guy was wanting to just get rid of them so he threw in an extra corner and that odd shaped filler piece.

You can see from the collage how these cabinets were supposed to be pieced together.  I thought that the center filler piece would make a neat primitive cabinet.

They all had these footers on them that I had to take off and fill in the holes with wood filler.

I also removed the trim and added some framing piece that was missing.

After sanding them, I made some doors for all three out of planks of wood--some new wood and some from an old toy box.  I carved the locks and door knob with hubby's wood carving tools. (oldest son did start me out on the locks because he was worried I'd slice myself again)  I bought some neat hinges and just painted them.  I used chalk paint as a primer on the hinges first and then painted them with Benjamin Moore's Woodstock along with the cabinets.  I then stained all 3 with Min-wax's Espresso.

I love the way they turned out.  My favorite one is the 'filler' piece that I turned into a cabinet. I also love the character the stain brings out in the door made of the old toy box planks.

I kept the small one for myself and hung it in my dining room.

It just fits  :)

Building a Corner Wall Cabinet: Before and After

My love for distressed colonial (as my son refers to it)

 had me searching for a hanging corner cabinet from the day our offer on this house was accepted.

As I searched, I soon found the prices of these things was either going to make me creative or just keep dreaming!

I chose to be creative!

It was easier to see it once I found this corner cabinet on the FB Market Place.

I just needed to find a door....right?

The size of the opening made it impossible to just find the right cabinet door.

I decided to make one.  

Taking an old toy box I had and recycling the wood made it look like a possibility.

I glued two pieces together and secured them with some wood lath.

 I had to use my plane to help it to fit.

I have limited tools to cut wood ( skill saw and miter saw), there was a lot of uneven lines.

Still is :)

Here it is before and after sanding.

I really liked it in its raw state, but knew it was not going to go well in my living room.

Using hubby's hand carving tools, I had to hand carve the little "lock" for the door .

Gunsmith gray is the color in our living room.  

This is what I painted the cabinet, but I also stained it with 'Early American' Stain.  

The color turned out perfect!

Down the road it will be nice to have some crown molding.  

It is fun just taking our time and finding just what we want at an affordable price.

I think I paid $25 for the shelf. 

I had the paint and the wood for the door.

Another Waxed Piece

This tool box was a gift from a friend many years ago.  For years I stored my plants in it and loved using it that way.  Now I am ready for a change.

There was a lot of water stains inside from all the years of watering my plants.

I was hoping the dark wax would hide that.  I decided to leave the paint blobs that were on it originally just because I liked the idea that at one time someone's dad used this at his job.

Here is how I am using the tool box today. 

I am sure the man that used this never thought I would store plants in it or collectibles.

I mean after all it is a tool box, right?!

Not today :)

Crate Find!

I can't believe it has been a whole year since we ventured out to Wisconsin to drop our son off for college.  

As we were on our way to drop him off at his dorm, I slammed on the brakes to have hubby go check out this crate that was out with garbage.

 To my surprise it had the name Glen Rock on it and Milwaukee, WI.  Now that might not seem like anything to you, but to this mama that just moved to a new home in a different county and was dropping off her first born in Wisconsin it had some sentimentality to it.  Where I took my son for his braces' appointment was in Glen Rock, PA (many trips back n forth).  Now I was leaving that boy young man in Wisconsin.  

Every time I saw it in our garage, it was a little reminder to me to pray for him.

 It sat in our garage for a whole year, until today.

So all the mildew looking wood was dry and there were no critters living in the wood ;)

I just wanted to warm that wood up a little, so I got out my Annie Sloans dark wax (which is pretty brown compared to the Jacobean wax I have from Fiddes and Sons)

It turned out incredible! 

 It made the lettering pop and the mildew stain look less frightening.

It is a great keepsake from his first year at college!

And Free :)