Adding Kitchen Storage

My bad!  My blogging schedule seems to have gone out the window.  I have gotten busy with many projects and the upcoming holidays.  So to get back on track let me tell you about one of my latest projects.

A couple of weeks ago I spent a Saturday at my favorite auction house.  Instead of getting carried away as I sometimes do, I had only one thing on my list.  I decided my kitchen needed more storage.  One small corner remained underutilized.  It held only a big bag of dog food sitting atop a heating register. 

My hunt was for a tall skinny cupboard to fit the space.  This particular auction advertised many primitive cupboards and I found just what I was looking for in the project barn.  For $35 it was mine.  On my way home I stopped at Lowes to purchase the items I would need to update it.   A couple of cans of spray paint, some small bun feet and metal anchors for the bottom and I thought some new pulls.  Instead I decided to use the existing pulls but to paint them with leftover bronze paint I knew I had at home.  As the unit had previously been used as a built-in it was missing portions of molding at the top.  To address that I decided to buy all new. 

The next day I got down to business.  I screwed on the metal plates to attach the four bun feet to the bottom.  I added some nails to the back to secure it where needed.  I removed the pulls and spray painted the unit and the molding piece satin leafy green.  I spray painted the pulls in bronze and left everything to dry.

The hardest part of the whole makeover was cutting and mitering the molding for the top.  I used a miter box and a hand saw.  Then I secured the molding with small finish nails.  Once complete and ready to go, I had my significant other help me get it into the house.  It fit perfectly and with the feet it was high enough off the floor to allow the heat out into the room.  We secured the top of the cupboard to the wall so it wouldn't tip.

I wrapped wood-look shelf paper around the shelves and installed them at the appropriate heights.    I left space at the bottom so I could fit in the large bag of dog food.  I also found wire racks to hang on the doors for my plastic wrap and garbage bag storage.  This allowed me to free up a whole drawer in another cabinet.  Check out the finished project below.

My Retro Bar Cart

If you find yourself one of these at a flea market or yard sale scoop it up.  I found this one at a yard sale for $1.00.  I believe it is an old Costco kitchen cart.  It even has an electric outlet attached that plugs into the wall to plug in your blender for mixing margaritas or your coffee pot if an Irish Coffee is more to your liking.  It would be the perfect retro bar cart for my new mid century modern decor. 

I cleaned it up with soap and water.  I unscrewed the metal shelves from the base for painting.  I scuffed up the surface a bit so the paint would adhere better.  I painted the two lower shelves a glossy black and the top shelf and the base with a metallic silver spray paint.  After letting it dry overnight I put it back together (of course, not after a trip to the hardware store to replace the screw I managed to loose somewhere in the garage).

All it needed now was a little set dressing.  I placed an acrylic tray with matching ice bucket, stainless drink shaker and blue corked glass bottle on the top shelf.  On the middle shelf I placed a small round ruffled silver tray with blue and white teapot and sake cups.  Finally, on the bottom shelf I placed a shallow rectangular  wicker basket and four black and gold retro tumblers.   All of the items used are items I found at yard sales or flea markets or that I bought at my favorite auction house.  It makes for a very collected over time look.  Check it out.