A Contemporary Cupboard

[Manalto]

This morning I acquired this cupboard from a house nearby, which was built at the same time as mine. It seems to be in solid condition, missing the back (if there ever was one) and one broken pane of glass. I'm hoping the wood is in good condition under those multiple thick layers of paint.



A few questions:

Were these units typically hung on the wall or did they sit on a cabinet?

The alcove where it would sit is 66 in wide and the cupboard is 48 in wide, which seems like a waste of space. Maybe a broom closet 18 in wide? Suggestions?

[Gothichome]

James, often they sat on a lower cabinet and both lower and upper were fixed to the wall, so the wall acted as the backer. Gothichome had such an arrangement although the upper was not a box, there were signs of cleats in the plaster for mounting the shelves. An eighteen inch broom closet is an excellent idea, unless of course you bought a twenty inch broom.

[Willa]

A few questions:

Were these units typically hung on the wall or did they sit on a cabinet?

The alcove where it would sit is 66 in wide and the cupboard is 48 in wide, which seems like a waste of space. Maybe a broom closet 18 in wide? Suggestions?

That is definitely an upper cabinet (note molding detail on top). It is hard to tell whether it sat directly on the lower cabinet, or was mounted approximately 12" above the lower. There may have been wood brackets which supported the shelf from the bottom to the cabinet below, it may have been attached with the lower with tongue and groove or beadboard backing, or it may have been directly mounted to the wall with a cleat, etc.

I think late 19th and early 20th c. cabinets of this type usually had the beadboard backing, while those into the teens and beyond were directly mounted to the wall.

It shouldn't be too hard to find a plain cabinet with drawers that is the same width or slightly wider than the upper. Personally I favour painted vs stripped cabinets. If you will be creating a lower with a foreign piece of furniture, painting them the same unifies it and makes it look like it was all together. Stripping everything to the wood below can reveal different types of wood which is more of a headache to match IMO.

If you can find a matching 18" door then you're good to go with a broom closet. If not, an old fashioned row of coat hanger hooks on a board, plus a broom hanger clip would be handy mounted in the 18" of space.

I found some similar uppers in my archive:

8a72d6822545cc4818907fad1ada2324.jpg (43.19 KiB) Viewed 2374 times

2018rivermont3.jpg (14.69 KiB) Viewed 2374 times

1211summerville3.jpg (95.55 KiB) Viewed 2374 times

107-Benton-Ave-32.jpg (23.8 KiB) Viewed 2374 times

[Manalto]

It is hard to tell whether it sat directly on the lower cabinet, or was mounted approximately 12" above the lower. There may have been wood brackets...

It has small "feet" at the corners that extend slightly below the horizontal board at the bottom, so I suspect it sat on a deeper cabinet. On the other hand, there was an fluorescent lamp mounted on the bottom. In any case, I like your idea of wood brackets. Thank you for the photos; I think I'll try to mimic the look of the cabinet in the first image.

I favour painted vs stripped cabinets.

I plan to do both. It has been painted so many times, the details have been filled in. It has also peeled right down to the wood in a few spots so the finish is inconsistent. I hope that repainting after stripping will produce a clean, crisp look. I like its lines enough that I think it's worth the effort. I commented about the condition of the wood because the cabinet came from a house that has been badly trashed. It really looked a mess when I first got it; I washed the cupboard down before I took the photo. As far as I can tell, the wood (surfaces, edges and corners) seems to be OK.

[phil]

I was just looking at this freebie and wondered if I should get it.
I thought it looked pretty similar ,could perhaps be a living room cabinet, not necessarily kitchen.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/nvn/zi ... 58669.html

[Manalto]

I was just looking at this freebie and wondered if I should get it.

I'd be on it like a duck on a June bug. (Oops, my time in the south is showing!) Leaded glass is a cinch to repair.

[phil]

it was gone by the time I checked in about it. That's ok. I have lots of projects anyway and the freebies are always a gamble, good stuff goes fast.