Replacement doors for original Craftsman cabinets?
We are renovating a 1910s Craftsman bungalow, which has a lot of original features in the kitchen, including varnished pine cabinets with a built-in icebox, subway tile backsplash, and wood counters (currently under Formica). Previous owners painted the cabinets and replaced the doors and drawers. Has anyone found salvaged doors or commissioned period-appropriate inset doors for Craftsman cabinets?
Our preference is for the most original kitchen. For context, we are also restoring the original pine floor and we don't plan to change the sink position, add pot lights, move or replace the cabinet boxes, etc.
I'd appreciate hearing about any experiences people have had with similar situations.
Comments (44)
herbflavor
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Source for replacement cabinet doors for vintage bathroom?
Comments (4)If I'm understanding what I'm looking at, the very first edge profile on the Conestoga page is the right one. That lip closes against the face frame. I'd prefer solid doors over replacing the metal mesh. I've never liked it, and it's one of the first things the Realtor grimaced at. If I can't find them to buy, my husband is a woodworker and could crank them out fairly quickly. He doesn't really have time, though, so I'd rather be able to order them. Thanks for the sources....See MoreAre my cabinet doors original from 1913? The hardware?
Comments (10)I suspect those are original. Most of the remodeled kitchens I've seen in houses of that age are pretty definitively of their era---e.g., if it had been done in the 30s or 40s, you'd see a very different aesthetic. Ours screams 1940s, and you can tell which things they reused. :) I'd note a few things: - It was common to replace parts but not all of a kitchen for functionality. The lowers might have been replaced to get a new sink, for instance. - Our 1915 Bay Area bungalow had cabinetry with the sink sitting on top per the blueprints, not a freestanding sink---even though those were common. Good to remember that just because it doesn't look like what was most common doesn't necessarily mean it isn't original! Our original sink was probably a big farm sink top sitting on the cabinets, based on the size and placement of what they drew. - We have butterfly hinges on a cabinet that we know was put in as part of a 1939 remodel; they were floating around for years after their peak use (and still are!) So hard to say. In our house, we try to match the original hardware whenever we replace things, so if you had people like us living there at some point, it could screw up your guesswork. ;) The fact that the doors match the rest of the house would be a big indicator to me that they are likely original. In our house all the original doors/cabinets match, and all the cabinets put in during a 1939 remodel match. You can tell the same cabinetmaker made each set of drawers, boxes, etc. Also, it looks like some of your cabinets are framed into the moulding between doorways? That would have been a pain in the neck to do afterwards, which would also seem to support their being original. On the painted woodwork, it was common to paint woodwork in kitchens (white was considered "cleaner"), bathrooms, and bedrooms while leaving the "public" woodwork in the LR and DR unpainted. The stained woodwork was higher quality wood (oak and elm in our house---though all sadly painted now!), while the painted trim was cheaper (redwood here). But again, that's just what was common---not what everyone did. I've seen some higher-end homes in one of our city's planned bungalow neighborhoods from the 1910s where the kitchens have gorgeous original oak trim. In any case, I love the doors! Are you keeping them?...See MoreCabinet door replacement after refinishing
Comments (7)Lovely, love the colors and finish. I would say the traditional door is closer to what you currently have and would go better with the bench under the window (if they are not changing that). BUT... the piece over the window looks more like the shaker door??? I think the shaker door would go better with the new hardware and backsplash tile...See MoreOmega Cabinets - Reneging on Replacing Doors
Comments (10)I would hold off on installing them to be honest. Our contractor did install ours, so now we're waiting for replacement doors and drawer fronts, and side panels for the exposed sides. The Omega sales rep and the contractor have been good in trying help us when we made it clear the cleaner idea wasn't going to fly for us. My understanding from the memo is that the problem doesn't show up in the factory. It shows up later on as the finish fully cures and is exposed to air, so sometimes it is noticed when unboxed prior to installation like ours, and sometimes it shows up later than that. I was very upset when I thought they were going to force the orange oil / cleaner solution on us because I know problems in finishes can be masked by wiping with oil, then return much later. And I was afraid the response then would be like the one above, where someone accused the contractor using the wrong cleaner on the finish. But I have to say that Omega, their independent sales rep, and our contractor have made us happy so far (they shipped the replacements on Monday, I believe)....See More
PROHALLETT & Co.
5 years ago
The lower door in the photo was original to our 1913 bungalow- we only had three (two this size, and one covering the wood fuse box!) so I built these built ins to use the period doors.
I only post this to show that they are definitely not shaker (as much as I love shaker). They were always flush inset, but they are raised panel and have an ogee detail where the door and panel meet.seattlemaedel thanked HALLETT & Co.seattlemaedel
5 years ago
PROStarCraft Custom Builders
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoseattlemaedel thanked StarCraft Custom Builders
PROAnglophilia
5 years agoseattlemaedel
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoHi, girl_wonder! Thanks for your kind comments. It was easy to verify in our case, as I could check from the basement steps. Of course, kitchen floors can be really beat up, but we were lucky in that regard as people had painted it early on, probably by the 1930s at the latest, given the colors. The bottom-most color was gray, then red, then brown under tar paper, linoleum tile and then the orange and yellow sheet vinyl pictured above.
seattlemaedel
5 years agoseattlemaedel
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agogirl_wonder
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
PROCreative Design Cabinetry
5 years agosuedonim75
5 years ago
cpartist
5 years agocpartist
5 years ago- PRO
HALLETT & Co.
5 years ago 
PROBeth H. :
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoCitrus Strip? Try using SoyGel. I use it all the time and it works just as well.
the other strippers need a chemical wash to remove the residue. SoyGel rinses w/water. no heavy odor and no need for gloves w/this product. and it's biodegradable.BTW, nice job!
seattlemaedel thanked Beth H. :seattlemaedel
5 years agoThe painter started today! Going with Benjamin Moore Starry Night in a high gloss on the lower cabinets and leaving the uppers wood. I know it isn’t period appropriate, but we are looking for a reversible way to have a little fun in the kitchen, which is otherwise very much original. We’ll leave the doors off the uppers (except the icebox) until I can have appropriate replacements made.
seattlemaedel
5 years agoPainter is making progress! Sharing a photo... So far he has painted the inside of the upper and lower cabinets the same cream as the walls and painted the lower cabinet boxes an intense blue (Starry Night by BM in high gloss). The door and windows are the same as the rest of the trim, Valspar's Swiss Coffee in semigloss, except for the sashes which are a glossy black. The uppers will be stained and varnished after I have replacement doors made at some point in the future. The painter will also do the lower (MDF replacement) cabinet doors in the blue. Looking forward to seeing how it looks when done! Right now I am thinking that it would have been better to strip the windows and doors, but it's too much work at the moment, so that'll have to wait for another year.
PROSativa McGee Designs
5 years agohoussaon
5 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agolove the starry blue color. I'd do white for the uppers, and use the wood for your window trim.
or do them all of your cabs in that same blue color. would look similar to this (have no idea what this color is)
cpartist
5 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago suedonim75
5 years ago
Helen