Reworking materials is never easy, especially when it comes to salvage kitchen cabinets.
Often the materials or surfaces are old and in need of restoration and repair. Sometimes vintage pieces will fit and other times they must be altered. With salvage kitchen cabinets, I would expect build arounds — as I learned when we repurposed a dozen divided light interior doors and salvage mantel for my house. The other element of salvage materials is the quirkiness they add to décor. Not everyone wants eccentricities in their kitchen even though that kind of originality may be unique and unforgettable.
Two great examples of salvage kitchen cabinets were designed and built by the California architectural firm of Studio Carver and the former Carver + Schickentanz. Not surprisingly, the small kitchen with salvage-front drawers crafted from the ends of vintage wine, beverage and fruit crates [top] is part of the same heavy timber barn that was converted into a 2600 square foot family guest house on a Santa Ynez, California ranch property. The barn’s bathroom was included in my post on Steel Bucket Bathroom Sinks post.
An overall view of the guest house kitchen shows rustic custom base cabinets built to accommodate the picturesque drawer fronts. Timbers for the structure came from a 100 year old New Hampshire barn and interior walls and ceilings include recycled metal.
A previous project on a large property in Big Sur, included a cottage built exclusively with materials gathered from the rural property which had not been fully cleared since the early 20th century. “The many dilapidated structures were partially vandalized and full of junk and treasures. In the spirit of keeping some of the past alive, we decided to restore one of the houses (which had been used as a family gathering place on Fridays to enjoy fried fish) exclusively with found materials,” the architect explained. Partially paint decorated corrugated metal walls — which give the effect of camoflage — were mixed with a funky mix of patterned painted surfaces used to create kitchen cabinets. While these salvage cabinets are definitely odd they also remind me of paint-decorated rooms in very old Scandinavian homes.
(Source: Studio Carver, Carver + Schickentanz)
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Seems like salvaged/reclaimed cabinets are becoming a real big deal. Whilst I admire the process and unique feel I’m not too keen on the various sizes and dimensions that you’ll inevitably have to deal with.