And here I was thinking I was the only one who painted up my gnomes!! I'm soooo glad you do that, too!! For some reason a lot of people here in Aussieland thinks it's wrong to do that. I think they look GREAT! And is that what it's called? A hoosier? I never heard of that before. I have something similar and painted it up, too, with a valley scene. My cupboard kinda fell apart when we moved and I haven't fixed it yet but it's on the 'to-do' list.

I realize that Hoosiers are common (over 2 million made by Hoosier alone--not counting the other companies that made similar units), and I'm not considering "restoring" the finish on ours. (I've learned, by the way, that we have a 1926 Hoosier Special, again, not rare, but still kinda cool in my way of thinking.) I also realize that the "value is based on what someone is willing to pay for it." I am not very well-versed in this world of antiques, however, and so I was trying to get a read on what folks with more knowledge thought would happen to the amount "someone is willing to pay" if we went ahead and repainted it. It sounds like there's different views on this--some folks think we should leave it alone, others think we should paint it whatever color we want. So here's a third question: would it matter if we decide to repaint it that we do so in a color that was available from the Hoosier factory at the time? White and green are two options that would be "correct," in the event we decide the original gray can't stay, even if it's in pretty good shape.

Popular Hoosier Cabinet Manufacturers As mentioned, most big Hoosier-style cabinet manufacturers were based out of Indiana. These were some of the biggest competitors in the early 1900s: Boone Kitchen Cabinet Coppes Napanee Diamond Kitchen Cabinets Hoosier Manufacturing Company Ideal Kitchen Maid McDougall Sellers Wilson Find the Manufacturer's Mark Antique Hoosier cabinet manufacturers would mark all their products in specific ways with a stamp, on a paper tag, or on a metal tag. If you can find this information, you can easily identify and value your piece. The maker's mark would be placed somewhere out of sight, so look on the back or bottom of the cabinet and inside the doors. Some companies really hid their marks, like Hoosier who put an "H" on their door fasteners. The mark could include the company name, a logo, a date, a patent number, or some combination of these pieces of information. Compare the cabinet to the vintage ads available on HoosierCabinet.com. These are sorted by manufacturer and include original images of the various models. Examine the various components of the cabinet to make sure the top and bottom are by the same manufacturer and feature the same wood or metal. It is common to find a cabinet with a mismatched top and bottom, and this greatly decreases the value. Use a reference book, such as The Hoosier Cabinet in Kitchen History, to look for your model.

Thanks, I'm really trying to think outside the box on this one. I'm posting a link to some pictures of our house. I was going to separate out the family room pictures, but I thought maybe it would be helpful if you saw the rest of the house, too, just in case it helps you with what might look okay. Unfortunately, I don't have good pictures of the small armoire in the corner that I'm moving to the kitchen, but it's in the corner by the fish tank. It's also a weathered pine piece, but a little more French country than country-country. I like to do decorative painting and don't mind altering the hoosier in any way necessary. I, too, had thought about losing the top half of it and just using the bottom portion. It would be easier to "de-countrify" that way, but at the same time, I've always loved how much storage this thing has! It's hard for me to give it up, so I keep trying to figure out how to make it all work. I don't mind a bit of a rustic look at all, I just don't want it to look so much like a piece that should be in a country kitchen, you know? I love when designers juxtapose pieces or do the unexpected, like take something mundane and use it in a dressy way, or pair really weathered, rural things with something sleek or sophisticated. I guess I'm hoping to come up with some ingenious way of re-imagining this piece and using it in a totally different way. I've thought about painting it quite dark, adding moldings, or maybe giving it a weathered painted finish. Changing the hardware is a must. Oh, here's the link to the pics of our house -- the family room is kind of green with accents of blue and copper. Excuse the captions -- these were taken right after a local house tour that we did last year and my family wanted to see pictures. Handust Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of House