From design to finish, this was a 2 year project. I guess it’s good that this is a hobby for me and my neighbors who asked me to make these cabinets are good friends. Why did it take so long? After I got the cabinets with 4 doors installed with everything fully functional, we took a break. My client was pregnant so we decided to hold off, not wanting any polyurethane odors in the house.

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Below is the design. Note I mocked up the room then designed the base cabinets followed by the face frame and the doors. We went with doors that are inset in the base cabinet. They liked the look and the extra 3/4 inch space it saved. When you live in a Jefferson Manor duplex every 1/4 inch counts.

I built and installed the base cabinets in one weekend. The following weekend I made the face frames and connected them to the base. I think it was two more weeks before I was back in my shop when I built the doors.

The doors where more complicated, thus more fun to build. Using poplar I made the dados for the panels to fit into, then I put it all together and glued the styles and rails with the panel sandwiched in between.

The next photo is how we left the cabinets for 14 months or more, totally useable just not finished.

This past weekend while Seth and Dena, with their 15 month old daughter where at the beach, I finished their cabinets by applying shellac (smelly stuff) then buffing to 600 grit and I built and installed the final door and handle.

Thanks for reading or looking at the photos. Please comment as it shows your love, and support for my hobby which I love.