Cleverly disguising storage improvements in antiques
To make it more functional and accessible I added Rev-A-Shelf units. So, I measured the total width available with the doors opened. I remembered that there's a door panel attachment that can be purchased separately and using those I would gain an extra 2 inches. So I bought 2 units that came to the closest measurement. If I bought units that would fit the doors only, I would have lost 6 inches in width! Even though I have to open both doors to access the left side, they both glide out so easily! I purchased the double shelf units for all 3 sections
The door units pull out all the way and so does the top shelf, I just show them staggered. We removed the hinges and I removed the handles from the small drawers above and put them on the top of the doors. The 'latch' is left unlocked and I may glue the hinges closed and reattach them to the doors to make them still look like functional doors. New drawer handles were added to the drawers and they are mostly hidden by the overhang of the 'counter-top.'
Finally, we did the same to the 'tin bin' section. So now every inch of space is used and the Rev-A-Shelf unites are so strong and fairly easy to install. Since these are real paneled doors, we made some minor adjustments. You can see the side blocks of wood to the edge of the cabinet 'doors' and a new floor was put down for the last section. This is a 2 piece unit and we removed the top and also the counter top to make it easier to get inside the base. Boy, what we found was great! There's a piece of carving on a strip of wood in the inside back of the 'bin' area that we would have never seen if we left the bin there! Since the piece is over 100 years old and was kept in a barn during part of its lifetime, there are mouse holes and chew marks. Look at the bottom corner of the upper china cabinet door that's opened; see that 'rounded edge'?
I bought this "big green thing" as my children called it several years ago. It had a shelf in the lower section behind the 2 closed doors and the 'pull out' on the right side was what we called the "tin bin." Getting to the items stored on the shelves meant sitting on the floor, so only seasonal items were stored there.
Q