A Simple Cabinet
The unfinished drywall niche in the corner of our living room always aspired to become something more...
The project began with an idea for a cabinet that would maximize its space. The complex program included a liquor bar, wine rack, blanket storage, TV niche, serving drawer and integrated return grill for our forced air heating/cooling system.
Of course, the design was the easy part...
Building custom millwork well is not a job for amateurs. If you want it to look professional, frankly, you need to know what you’re doing and you must have specialty tools.
Arguably, the hardest part of the work is managing the tolerances and correctly installing the hinges and drawer hardware. Also, professional millwork is generally designed with slightly routed edges, just a hair to soften the hand. You need the right radius, and you need to be prepared to do a lot of sanding. Finally...your joints must be beautifully scribed. With an old house, this exercise always proves a challenge. If a unit is out of plumb anywhere, you can tell.
Regarding the details...
We used bar rails for the brandy and martini glasses, and battery operated led click strips with color temperature matched to the other lighting in the house. All of the hardware is specialty: concealed pivot hinges, soft close drawers. Those finishing details were worth the extra effort.
Hope you enjoy the before, after and in between pics. Stay tuned for the next project. I’m sure it won't be too long...
