Do you remember the sneak peek I gave you in my last post?
I promised prettier pictures this time—and we’ll get there!—but first a few more rough ones. I promise it’ll be worth the wait!
The first time we viewed this house, we noticed a treasure peeking out from behind a garage full of “stuff.” My heart did a little pitter patter. In time, we decided to purchase the house, and we negotiated with the owners to leave the treasure behind. We were pretty sure they didn’t really want to move it, so we were doing them a favor, right?
Original cabinet from an old general store somewhere in Tennessee
We knew it would be a PROJECT, and the day finally came to tackle it!
Who am I kidding? We tackled it for weeks—or was it months?
I love those shallow pull-out trays and quirky angled drawers!
I do NOT love Pepto Bismol pink or mint greens. But that naturally-occurring crackle finish is gorgeous! This piece was painted at least three different colors.
This (over 9 feet long) monstrosity of a cabinet is the reason we moved the doorway.
The day we finally got to install it in our new kitchen was a really good day.
The day it got primed was even better.
But the day it got its new Benjamin Moore Kensington Blue paint I was nervous—and then relieved that the color I’d chosen was EXACTLY the look I wanted!
Oh, so many drawers and doors . . .
Installing the doors was a royal pain because we made a big mistake: We didn’t label/number the doors when we removed them—and old doors really like their original positions. 🤦🏻♀️ But you know my Renaissance Man, and he won’t give up!
Original hinges were reused—after layers of paint were removed.
Glass in 7 of the 8 doors is original. So close . . .
Now let’s switch gears . . .
You may remember seeing this piece sitting in the “before” of this space. It’s an 8-foot long old store work/display counter we found on the Knoxville Craigslist years ago. Unfortunately, I don’t know where it came from originally.
Sliding doors access display space on the front. Drawers and open shelving on the back.
We came up from the basement and added two electrical outlets to this counter-turned-island.
Notice the shallow display space on the front. The metal pieces you see will hold glass shelves once (we remember where we put them and) it’s all put back together.
The glass shelves still aren’t in, but the sliding doors are reinstalled. 😍
On the back side of the counter, one end has eight drawers. Sadly, although drawers came with it, they were not original and didn’t fit properly—but they had pretty, solid brass hardware (not original). We made new boxes to fit, and I first thought I’d stain them to match. But then I had a brainstorm. Since the old drawers were already stained to match—and already had a great patina—we cut the faces off of the drawers, resized them slightly, and glued them to the front of the new boxes. Then we reinstalled the hardware.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Okay, so today’s pictures are prettier than before, but they’re still not “finished” products. Stay tuned! This kitchen renovation didn’t happen overnight, you know.
I promise I won’t keep you hanging too long. To ensure you don’t miss future posts, be sure you subscribe to get them via email as soon as I share. And if you know someone who enjoys old house renovation stories, feel free to share this with them. There are a lot of people out there who have old house love!
WOW. Jaw-dropping, HUGE project. And it’s amazing.