Shaker Style Antique Kitchen Cabinet
Hello friend!
I hope you had the most amazing holiday! Christmas came a bit early for us this year! Ahhhh! After more than 2 years of searching for a Shaker Style Antique Kitchen Cabinet like this, it found us! It’s been several months since we finished up the first part of the kitchen remodel. I had almost given up hope it would and we had started making plans to build our base cabinets, and then this unicorn showed up!
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About the Antique Kitchen Cabinet
This cabinet was built into a 1900 home in northern Illinois. It sat in a garage for 30+ years until an architectural salvage dealer and good friend of ours came across it. I’d sent him a few photos of similar antique cabinets I had come across and loved. I was specifically looking for inset shaker style cabinets just like these! So when he sent pics after saying he found a pretty cool cabinet I may have screamed just a bit! Lol!
Base Cabinet
The two pieces were actually built as one, but cut apart at some point. The base cabinet has a set of double cabinet doors as well as a tilt out potato/flour bin on the lefthand side. It also has three drawers and a place where a bread board would have been. We’ll definitely be replacing that detail!
And speaking of sweet details this cabinet is chock full! I LOVE all the hardware! The turn latch style along with drawer pulls are exactly what I would have chosen! Check out the moulding details under the countertop and around the bottom of the base, AND those little corbels!! Ahhh! I’m still pinching myself over here!!
The Uppers
The upper cabinet holds all the same magic! The height just makes it so grand! The cabinet is just a couple inches away from touching our 9 1/2 ft ceilings. It also has adjustable shelves that each have a plate groove in them. This way you can set plates up against the beadboard backing!
We’re hoping to be able to wrap new countertops around the upper cabinet, but other wise we’ll make something work that looks as original as possible.
Shaker Style Antique Kitchen Cabinet
This cabinet it going to be quite a project and it’s next on my list after I finish the guest room. Of course I love the old chippy paint that tells a story of its own. And initially my plan was to remove any loose paint (I always take precautions and treat everything like it’s lead based) and then give it a coat of white paint. Then seal everything in place and it would maintain the patina.
However, we’re planning on building a matching cabinet for the other side of the kitchen because this one makes a great physical template. That being said I want their finishes to match. So I’m currently leaning towards stripping it and then deciding from there. Either way I cannot wait to see how this big beauty transforms our kitchen! I’d love your input though!
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10 Comments
Sonia
Oh, Amanda, I love this unique piece SO much! What a find! It is such an inspiration for your kitchen design and will help bring it all together. I like your idea of stripping it. As you said, it will help with matching the other side and I think it may help the details stand out even more! 🥰 I am so excited to be here for it all!
Amanda
Thank you Sonia!! I appreciate you’re opinion more than you know! ❤️❤️ I think it’ll be a lot of work, but hopefully worth it!
Mia
O my goodness! I bought a piece that looks almost exactly like the top part of this! Same hardware and everything. I thought when I got it that it looked like upper cabinets- guess it was cut away from the lower piece (missing) like yours was. I’m with you- I hate to paint it’s chippy self, and since it’s going in my art studio I’m just going to leave it alone. Congratulations on your find!
Amanda
Thank you thank you! And how awesome!? It would be perfect for that! Our architectural salvage friend said this is the first one he’s seen where it had a base cabinet built as a whole unit so it’s definitely a bit rare! If it wasn’t so massive I’d love to leave it and enjoy it chilly for awhile then come back later and strip it. But it’s extremely heavy and I’m going to make it a built in so once she’s in she’s haha!
Lea
This is a beautiful piece of furniture, I’m looking forward to watching the transformation.
Amanda
Thank you Lea! I’m excited about all the storage too!
Linda
Following this is what I’d like for my forever kitchen!
Amanda
I’m excited to see how it turns out!
Joan
This piece is Amazing! your are so lucky! I love the chippy look or I would strip it to bare wood and just seal it. Whatever you decide to do, it will still look great. Please post pics when it is done.
Amanda
Hi Joan! Thank you! I most definitely will share!