Trashed China Cabinet.

 I was July 6th ... Mr. Z.'s birthday and we were going out for a nice lunch ... but first, I had to go to this Estate Sale. Well ... on the way ... out by the curb was two large rolls of carpet and a skeleton of a piece of old furniture. Okay ... just a piece of junk, but I sure would like to have the nice old wood for projects.  Sooooo ... what is a good junker to do, but stop and pick it up. About that time  a young lady drove up and I asked if she lived there ... no, but she was the "service provider" ... (care-giver) for this elderly couple ... anyway, I asked if I could take the piece ... she would go ask ... yes, and she proceeded to help me load it ... well ... too big for my van. So I just decided to leave it ... but out comes this little old lady with another part to the cabinet ... then the young girl comes out with more pieces, the door, the base ... well, how could I refuse to take it when they were going to all this trouble to bring more parts. So I had to call Mr. Z. to come with the pickup. He hates it when I do this. Waiting the twenty-five minutes for him to get there was pure torture. I just knew that everyone driving by was saying something about that little old lady picking up someones trash.

I did not get a before pictures, but this was just about what I saw at the side of the road. The girl explained that it was built in to the wall and they broke it up taking it out.
We just had to figure out how to get it back together. The glass was actually built into the sides and panels, so had to go in when we glued the pieces together. This is the front skirt part. See all that old glue. All old glue has to be cleaned off or the new glue will not hold. I paint full strength vinegar on and let it set for a little while then scrape it off with a knife or putty knife and steel wool.     It is messy, but has to be done ... when the wood is free of all the shine, then the glue is gone. Now ready to re-glue.

 

 

Here it is with the two side panels and the skirt. To fit it into the wall, the back legs had been cut off and parts on the side of the skirt had been removed. 

  

So we build a base to make it sit level.

The missing piece on the side of the skirt. 

   

I dug in my box of furniture parts and found something that would work.  

I cut both ends off and they were a pretty good match.

 

Once painted, it was hard to tell that they were not original.

 

I also found this neat old chair foot and painted it while I had paint in my brush.  

Most of the work was done on the work table, but when it was time to work on the inside, we sat it up on two work benches so I could get inside to tape off and paint. Not too easy to get to the inside front wall.

 

Since we are starting the addition to our shop, we needed to move it out. So here it is in the garage. It will be in the garage sale, so we did not move it into the house. No room anyway and too hard for us to move it up some steps. 

It is about five feet tall and four feet wide. Not tall as most china cabinets are, so I sat something on top to give it height.   Paint is a DIY mix chalk paint, using unsanded grout ... just used some OOPs paint. Went on gray, but sanding brought out the green. Stained with MinWax dark walnut and buffed with MinWax clear wax.  Lightly distressed. We added rollers for easy moving and to lift it off the floor just a little.

 

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The shelves sit on boards that span across the side glass panels; are adjustable and each has a plate groove. The inside is painted a warm white, tinted with a little green. 

Looks great with vintage stoneware or antique quilts.

Do you feel embarrassed when you pick up something out of someone's trash pile? 

Should I have felt embarrassed ?  

Thanks for your visit. 

Linking to: Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olsen
 The Shady Porch:Rock 'N Share
Nifty Thrifty Things

 Mrs. Mustard Seed


Funky Junk Interiors
Knick Of Time