Tall Cupboard

One day we were walking in an unfamiliar part of town.  There was a beat up wardrobe out on the street and I loved the doors.  I didn't have any tools on me to remove the doors and I thought MAYBE we could use the entire wardrobe.  So I asked a friend to pick it up for me.  It was a heavy wardrobe and he managed to put it in his van and deliver it to us so I gave the friend 20 pounds.  It turned out the wardrobe was in too poor of shape to save, but my pride was on the line.  I either had to admit to Niall I paid money for garbage or find some use for the wardrobe.

We have a funny alcove in our kitchen that is narrow but very high.  I didn't want the space to go to waste, but because of the odd shape I couldn't find anything that would work.  I modified the Single Locker plans from Ana White to design a tall cabinet.  And used one of the wardrobe doors.

My favorite thing about the wardrobe door is the handle.  Niall used Brasso to clean it up and I think it looks lovely.

I made the tall cupboard out of 18 mm (3/4 inch) plywood.  I tried cutting it myself with a circular saw, but the cuts weren't straight enough.   So I took the wood to a lumber yard and had it professionally cut.  I had to get a little help from a handyman to get the cupboard straight, attach the door and get it anchored to the wall.  (It's so tall it could easily topple!)

My second favorite thing about the door is the detailing at the top.  The veneer was so damaged that I didn't think I could strip the door (and I didn't have the patience) so we primed and painted the door to match our kitchen cupboards.

We primed the plywood with two coats and then used and Eco-Friendly eggshell in white to finish it.  To keep the door securely closed we used a long double sided magnet strip.  Now that funny alcove is being put to use.