Have you ever wondered whether the living room would look better with plain open space, or organized cabinetry.
Family photos, Old CDs, personal VCR tape collection, Aunt Nellies Porcelain Balloon Lady's (HEY I still have EM). And yes I am looking for an organized space to store them.
My friends Mr and Mrs R really wanted to change the functionality of the front of their living room. They wanted enclosed shelving with glass doors to hold the TV and stereo equipment while still allowing the remotes to operate with the doors closed.
Desires
- match the fireplace oak with custom mixed stain
- low gloss clear coat (easy on the eyes at night)
- use simple shaker style cabinetry
- soft close hinges - closing doors don't wake family members
- matching oak open shelves above for family photo frames
- custom colour cloud white cc#40 Benjamin Moore
It starts with a concept sketch , which leads to a material list.
The cabinets are made in the shop and custom painted.
Custom Oak Shelves cut to size and are laminated together with lots of carpenters glue, until it comes out the sides. These shelves are strong enough to stand on.
(above ) Mitered solid oak edges are applied to the edge of the shelves to make them look beautiful solid and strong.
This cabinet top has a recessed cabinet beside the fireplace. Purpose - to allow the fireplace to be the centre of attention. Recessing cabinets immediately beside the fireplace - allows the fireplace to take centre stage and "stand out in front".
For a professional custom made oak cabinet or counter top these mitres must be tight. This is where you will notice differences between something made by a general handyman verses something made by a carpenter. Customized cabinets should look professional - choosing someone who has experience in carpentry will make a difference.
A Custom hand applied stain allows the cabinet tops and shelves to match the existing fireplace mantle precisely. Three coats are applied.
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/cc-40
The cabinet install takes a little bit of time to fit into the corners precisely. Most homes are not square or plumb, (including mine) but the cabinetry should be installed both square and plumb. This generally takes a few hours.
A tight fit beside the fireplace makes a nice custom look (not like dropping in a big box store cabinet.) The tight joint below shows what a cabinet fitter should be able to do with custom cabinet tops.
Butting fully up against the drywall means trimming the top edge sometimes 4 to 6 times to get the angles precisely right. This shows how tightly a corner can be fit without damaging the drywall in the enclosed wall cabinet.
A slight overhang on the cabinet top allows the cabinets to fit underneath tidy.
Its important to get the sprayed finish to look just right so that the cabinets look clean without brush marks or paint gun specs. This means 2 or more coats of primer with 2 or more coats of paint.
- Protects the surface like factory sprayed Hardwood flooring
- Aluminum oxide adds durability - same material used in sandpaper
- Allows the true stain and wood colour to show through - dries crystal clear
- Wood grain still shows after - its applied in multiple thin layers.
Fitting the cabinet to the edge of the fireplace should leave a small setback to allow the fireplace to stand forward. A kick plate at the bottom of the cabinet with a customized rabbet allows the cabinet to look "dressed up" and finished.
A slight overhang on the cabinet covers the top edge of the glass doors. And the bottom edge of a professional cabinet is finished the same as the top surface, so that fingers can feel the smooth bottom.
Corbels are hand stained 3 times and clear coated 3 times to allow the detail to shine through and allow them to match the custom floating shelves.
The doors are all on soft close hinges made in Italy that allow for full height and horizontal adjustment. Additionally no one will ever hear these doors slam.
The shelves are custom painted to match the cabinet and fully adjustable at any height.
Glass is set in the back of the door with Pure silicone, insuring the glass stays in place and never rattles with the door closing.
Electrical Plugs and TV cable portals are fully routered out of the back of the cabinets. All cables can be enclosed within the cabinet for the television and stereo.
And finally the room is put together the way Mr. and Mrs. R always dreamed of, with their chosen style shaker cabinets, - custom sized according to their wishes. In their custom colours. Thank you P& M for the great fun we had.
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