Corner cupboard

There is still lots of little bits and pieces to finish on the upstairs apartment and I really haven't done anything on this room since.... way back when.

Half the pictures are still stacked against the walls and furniture; I still haven't hung the curtains; and I want to make a plant or two - especially for that gorgeous red and white pot by Lorie March that I was so lucky to win in a giveway a little way back. 

So this week, I finally set about building the last piece of furniture. I know the small room looks pretty packed already and I am hoping this last piece won't be too imposing. 

I am going to be  making a corner cupboard to go house the 'good' dinner set and other special bits and pieces. It is going to go in the right hand corner of the room. Once it is done, I am thinking the longcase clock (made from this Chrysnbon kit) may need to move over a bit and the small sidetable by the door will have to go. We'll see.

I did a bit of looking for corner cupboards online for ideas. These cupboards were quite common. My guess is, that in small rooms and apartments, being placed in the corner is rather space saving and still offers plenty of storage space. So searching in Danish brought up loads to images, many from antique store listings so they had the dimensions. A real bonus since that gave me something to work with. 

I didn't plan to try and copy one exactly, but I really like the one in the picture above - especially the way the drawer is set in - so away I went.

After drawing it up, I cut out paper templates just to test the size before I started building anything. I then decided to build it in modules, a top and a bottom. This allows me to have the top slightly smaller 

and will make it easier (I hope) to secure the doors (which I will pin - still to scared about hinges LOL).

I had really planned just for two shelves in the top section, but once I was at it I couldn't resist trying to cut a curved shelf with little slots for hanging fine glasses - I like how it looks, but I forgot to test if I have any glasses that will actually fit, so fingers crossed..

Building it this way also made it easier to work out how to make the drawer. I started by building the drawer itself, minus the front, and then put dividers under the bottom shelf for it to slide evenly. The front piece of the drawer will go across the full width of the cupboard front, so I won't cut that until I can measure exactly how wide I need it to be.

At this point, I realized it will be near impossible to paint the inside neatly, once the front panels are glued in place, so I have started painting it a pale cool yellow like the original in the picture. It still needs a couple of coats, but I am so glad I decided to this now and not having to get my brush inside it later on.

So far, so good. My next challenge is going to be cutting the 45 degree edges on the front panel pieces. I don't have any fancy tools for this, so it will be trail and error and a lot of sanding I guess.

Have a lovely week everyone and stay safe wherever you are.

Anna X