Antique Hoosier Cabinet

A fellow co-worker approached me about refurbishing an old kitchen Hoosier cabinet that he and his wife owned, but were hesitant to attempt to completely redo themselves. So, I took on the job and the piece of furniture was in pretty good condition structure-wise and all it really needed was to have new doors fabricated, the entire surface sanded down and repainted, a new tambour door added, new casters, some minor repairs here and there and just some general TLC to bring it back to life. I also fabricated a slide out drawer for inside the lower portion.

I was thrilled to find that I could order the same exact hardware that was on the piece and I again was thrilled when the owners wanted it to be painted the same color because it really appeared to me to be an old time color.

I found it odd that the tambour door was slid into the unit from the front....this allowing the entrance points to be quite obvious. I have always seen them put into units from the back, therefore hiding any extra notches or slots to allow for the thing to be installed. I really think that this piece of furniture was originally not painted since it was all red oak underneath, but it would have been a bear to try to remove every last bit of paint from the piece since oak has such deep pores in its surface makeup....it would have bordered on the impossible to completely clean it up.

The project was an enjoyable one to work through...I have never really restored an antique before, so it added another thing that I have accomplished in my shop.