Mid project

I thought I would share the linen cupboard's half way point with you so newbies can see how these things bowl along, in what order and how to be brave when disappointed.

base made and painted

The base of the unit is just a series of three very straightforward boxes joined together to make up a bigger unit.  There are side panels and panels between the boxes which are added to extend forward a little from the front.  Small strips of wood are then added across the box, so you end up with some 'frames' for the drawer fronts to sit in.  This makes them look more realistic than those kits you see where they are either just routed in the wood or panels stuck on the front.  Real life drawers sit in 'tunnels' so they end up 'framed' when closed.

It is important to paint or finish the front edges on the base and paint the drawer fronts before sticking drawer fronts in place.  If you assemble the whole thing and then paint it all, the gaps get filled in with paint and you loose the effect of a drawer in a space.

dry build test

Whatever you are making, however simple and confident you are about it, it needs to be dry built and tested all the time as you go along.  Doing that saved me a lot of tears, undoing and the extra work of opening doors.  

To explain:  as you can see it is a snug fit.  It will go to the back of the room, of course, not the front.  It was supposed to be a snug fit BUT it was also supposed to have ball feet.  Sadly they won't go in (you can see one in front of the build).  I will have to add little stubby feet just to raise it as much as I can from the ground.  One reason for this would be to stop damp rising from a stone floor and another is that you can't open a drawer flush to the ground, so it does need raising.  

I had a mad moment where I considered chopping down all the top boxes and trims so the feet would go under, but if I was that good at woodwork I wouldn't have got Elizabeth to cut the pieces in the first place. 

Being disappointed with the no-bun feet arrangement I did come to realise how unimportant this cupboard is.  I only wanted it really to chop two inches off the back of the room in a more useful way than just sticking a wall in.  The room needed better proportions than its original 8 x 13 inches. So this will be sitting right at the back in a dimly lit room with furniture pretty much in front of it - why am I fussing about it.

ready for last painting and assembling

In the same vein I came to realise it was just daft to make opening doors for the top cupboard (as planned and ordered).  It would cost me an arm and a leg and a lot of time to fill them with 'linens' and it would be difficult to open a door with eight inches of other stuff in the way.  I came to the conclusion I would just stick the doors in place (after painting and rubbing down).  A neat stack of folded linen and some lavender nearby, waiting to go in, will signal its use.

So here I am with all the boxes built and the glue drying, ready for a coat of paint.  I did add a shelf (they came with two for each cupboard) to strengthen/straighten the box and to give added support to the door when it is stuck in place. 

I'll show you the finished object in a day or two.