English Farmhouse China Cabinet

[stljake]

Hi all

Just looking to brag a little about my current project, an English farmhouse-style china cabinet. This is my most ambitious project to date, where I get to try out large furniture techniques on something I'm going to paint and distress anyway. Hopefully that takes a lot of the pressure off.

My basic design drawing is below, the rest of the photos are posted on Flickr

[atgcpaul]

It's looking good so far. How long have you been working on it? What wood is that one the countertop portion?

[Pappy]

That is going to be a nice looking cabinet!

[SARGE..g-47]

Very nice design Jake and glad to see you take on a large carcass. But.. when I put that much effort into one I doubt seriously I would paint it. Have you considered the alternative as you still could distress if it you want it age the look of new? Just wondering...

[SARGE..g-47]

Very nice design Jake and glad to see you take on a large carcass as you will learn much and smaller projects will seem like pieces of cake comparitivley afterwards. But.. when I put that much effort into one I doubt seriously I would paint it. Have you considered the alternative as you still could distress if it you want it age the look of new? Just wondering...

[phrog]

Nice design. Please post photos when finished.

[chopnhack]

That looks great!! I saw some of the photos on flickr and it looks like your moving along really well Is it poplar that I am seeing? You could still stain it, you would have to do a seal coat first on the poplar and then probably have to tone or glaze it to even it out. Your work looks great, I would say good enough for stain and too good to waste painting. Go for it! Just take your time and work out some stains and technique on scrap panels.

[stljake]

It's looking good so far. How long have you been working on it? What wood is that one the countertop portion?

How long? It's complicated I designed it Jan 2009, started it in March 09, had to quit in the spring, started again in November, got angry with the paint & glaze in December, figured it out in February, went to Europe in March.

The buffet top boards are Cyprus. The carcass is baltic birch. Facing, trim, and doors & drawers are poplar.

[stljake]

Very nice design Jake and glad to see you take on a large carcass as you will learn much and smaller projects will seem like pieces of cake comparitivley afterwards. But.. when I put that much effort into one I doubt seriously I would paint it. Have you considered the alternative as you still could distress if it you want it age the look of new? Just wondering...

Thanks. Yes it was hard to paint, but that was my plan all along. Actually, it was MUCH harder to distress it. I took such care with the wood, cut and sand everything perfectly, and then I'm supposed to beat it up? It took a lot of resolve, but I'm extremely happy with the way it is looking.

[cabinetman]

Looks good so far. That size and design encompasses a lot of design and cabinet construction details which are a real education. You can create a "distressed" look with flicking paint (contrasting) off a paint brush. What were your plans for distressing?
.

[stljake]

Looks good so far. That size and design encompasses a lot of design and cabinet construction details which are a real education. You can create a "distressed" look with flicking paint (contrasting) off a paint brush. What were your plans for distressing?
.

On the base, I painted the wood, then sanded through the paint on the corners and lots of places on the trim and door knobs, then used a highly diluted water-based stain to dirty up the paint and darken the exposed wood.

For the table top, I plan to try out various techniques on some of the scrap - deepening the grain with a Dremel tool, random belt sanding, etc. The top will be stained. Here's a pic of the effect I'd like to achieve.

[stljake]

The base is done

The base is finished and in the dining room, clearing space for me to get started on the tabletop.

[Shep]

Looking good.