Saving a homes history - Converting an old alcove with Stained Glass doors

When remodeling their Kitchen, the owners of this Leisure World Home knew they were going to sacrifice their old bar alcove to streamline the kitchen. The stained glass doors were custom made for the former owners, and quite nice to look at – almost like an old friend.

The Alcove with Stained Glass Cabinet doors, prior to demolition for new kitchen.

Rather than see this handmade artwork go into a landfill, I converted the stained glass doors into a Console/buffet cabinet with doors and shelves.

The cabinet was fabricated almost entirely from the kitchen cabinets that were removed for the new kitchen.

Detailed instructions on top of the center cabinet, which was removed intact.

The Cabinet, actually three separate cabinets, starts to take shape.

The Pantry cabinet from the old kitchen provided cabinet sides, shelves, and backs. The frames from several cabinets were re-worked, glued, and biscuited/clamped together.

The cabinets in process of being glued and screwed together.

Because I wanted to keep the finished height to approximately 29 inches, I fabricated the top from 1/2″ furniture grade plywood, with an overhanging wooden skirt on the front and sides. Nail-on nylon glides were generously added to the bottom of the cabinet to prevent it from marring the floor.

The center cabinet had adjustable shelves, and the side cabinets were made with shelves that sat on cleats so they could be easily removed. Each cabinet had two shelves.

Painting the finished cabinet, in High Gloss White.

With several coats of paint, (Lightly sanding with 220 grit paper between coats), and wiping with a tack rag, the cabinet was ready for the doors to be mounted, and put in place!

The Finished Cabinet - with doors mounted, and in it's new home in a sunny room adjacent to the kitchen! — The Finished Cabinet – with doors mounted, and in it’s new home in a sunny room adjacent to the kitchen!

Here we have saved a homes history – an olde-style alcove turned into a buffet/server that will keep the homes legacy alive for many years.

With a little bit of vision and some creative woodworking, this cabinet kept a lot of wood and glass out of the waste stream, and will live on as a useful addition to the sunroom adjacent to the kitchen.

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