It has been almost 10 years since I had made the bottom cabinets for the butler's pantry (
Very First Butler's Pantry Cabinet Post)! My, how time flies! And I had a vision for how the upper cabinets should look, but I had been procrastinating on making them because I couldn't figure out how to get thin glass shelves for the cabinets. I really wanted glass shelves in the cabinets and then my daughter gifted me a bunch of glass microscope slides for my birthday! The slides were 3" wide which was a little longer than I wanted, but close enough that I was hopeful it would work out. Stained the wood pieces and cut my trims...
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| Propping the first upper cabinet over the previously made bottom cabinets |
But I quickly realized that the wider glass shelves were making my upper cabinets wider than the bottom cabinets. And eyeballing the measurements I could tell the 3 cabinets across the long expanse would be all I could fit. There was no space for the corner turn and a fourth cabinet over the short side of the "L" bottom cabinets.
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| Being wider meant that the upper cabinets would go all the way into the corner |
The upper cabinets wouldn't line up with the bottom cabinets since they were about 1/4" wider (which added a 3/4" total to the expanse). And I knew that would bug me. Every time I'd look in the room I would cringe. So, even though I'd started to assemble the 1st cabinet, had cut all the pieces for the remaining upper cabinets, and assembled the cabinet doors, I decided to attempt cutting the glass shelves to be only 2-3/4" wide. Because if I could cut the glass shelves smaller, then the entire cabinet could be narrower and I'd have room for all 4 upper cabinets, lined up over the lower cabinets to form the same "L" shape. Some corners chipped and a few shelves completely broke/shattered.
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| Chipping was a big issue |
Went thru about 30 glass slides, but I eventually got 16 shelves cut to 2-3/4" wide without major chips or cracks.
Now came the laborious procedure to rip the assembled cabinet and all the doors apart, cut everything down, and start back at the beginning again.
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| Breaking the assembled cabinet apart (cabinet doors assembled on the right would have to be broken apart and cut down too) |
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| Now the upper cabinets line up with the bottom cabinets |
Didn't have the hinges for the doors so I can't attach them yet. But I think some still need to be cut down more (they overhang the sides too much and will interfere with the hinges). And I think there are 2 doors that I must not have cut down enough because the look wider than their counterparts. But overall, they are looking like how I had envisioned them.
We were hosting a party this weekend so everything had to be packed up. But I will attack this project with a vengeance during March! And maybe I'll get the foyer and the butler's pantry finished before Spring fully hits and the yard and flower boxes need my spare time and attention.
