Adding to the side bookcase/cupboard

The bookcases that were in situ when we arrived in our french home have previously been developed with gingerbread features, mantle and a sliding door for one, along with using a wonderful fruit bas relief and an added spice rack for the second. That’s amongst other things. The vast majority have been from recycled material and I feel like they really add something.

I found these cupboard doors in a brocante and I was struck how much they echoed the pattern of the doors from the buffet I’ve since cut down. A later brocante buy of our fireplace has a similar design and, whilst walking home, having dropped my daughters at the village school, I started to think about how they’d suit the kitchen. I’d intended to use them in the hallway, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense.

When I arrived I measured the width of the doors and found them too wide, so I knew I’d have to narrow them. Even with my circular saw it was tough going, but with that and the hand plane I’d managed to sufficiently reduce them.

Next step was to ensure they didn’t have termites. I’d inspected them in the shop, but in bright light there were some obvious termite holes that I’d missed in one of the corners. They weren’t painted or varnished, so I went ahead and put three coats of termite killer/deterrent on both sides. Then I painted them with several coats; starting with primer and moving onto chalk paint, prior to finishing them with two coats of water based varnish.

I used similar hinges and method of attaching them as I did with the shutters. After I checked they hung properly I took the hinges off of the bookcase/cupboard and painted the latter with a couple more coats of chalk paint. I’d been delaying that whilst I mulled over whether to knock through the wall that will be the pantry, but I’ve decided not to now, so there won’t be a lot of dust from that; hence my going back to painting these cupboards.

I’ve been doing lots in here during my posting absence, and I plan to update you soon. However it feels a lot more like a kitchen in – except there’s no sink.

And no oven.

But definitely, definitely a kitchen.

So the next week or so I plan to do one last coat of paint, sand and varnish throughout then….the floor. Insert daunting music here.

C’est parti!