Saturday, August 15, 2009

UFO No More...

At long last my UFO (UnFinished Overhead cabinet) project is completed, hallelujah, pour the champagne! John and I are both quite happy with the results. Our UFO is now officially a coffee table.

photo below - No this isn't the finished piece ! This is what it started out as. Note the UFO scrawled on the cabinet's side? Never fully understood just what it meant, perhaps Upper Fridge Overhead cabinet ?



Some of you may recall the initial project; an overhead wall cabinet that had been salvaged from a kitchen remodeling job. Of the 6 sides, only 2 were finished, the front with its 2 doors and the bottom, with a plain white melamine finish.

photo below shows unit after 4 sides were covered with a plywood skin. The original doors are attractive but very Red Oak with its heavy pronounced grain.



I've taken a number of photos along the way and am posting a few recaps of the procedure so any interested party can get up to speed on what has been accomplished.

Photo below - We chose chubby apple feet to support the cabinet off the floor.



Photo below - Gee they look pretty good on the soon-to-be coffee table.


below - Feet in place. Now measuring the top plywood skin.



below - Painting begins.


below - One of the faux finishes being applied.


below - Oops or "Oh S_ _ t!" 2nd faux finish was a disaster. Top looks like it has some type of contagious disease. Not pretty. No, not pretty at all. The funny thing is it actually looks better in the photo than in reality !

below - What to do ? How about peel-and-stick, slate look vinyl floor tiles ?


below - I'm pleased with the faux finish on the doors.




below - Just one small piece to cut and stick, then the top will be complete.


below - Yea it's down! Now to put the doors back on...where did we put those hinges ?



below - Uh, honey, do you remember how these things went on ?






below - Hinges on and doors in place.


Below - Simple black knobs, like that little black dress...a classic.


Below - Complete...completo...finished...finito...done...terminado !







below - And lots of storage room for stuff !







Now that the project is complete we've been able to put the saw horses, tools, paint cans, brushes, sand paper etc. back in the garage where they belong.

Ciao Bello Italo, one of Italy's 349 most handsome men. We have a garage that you could help us clean up...maybe a small lizard or two but no mice.


Jenn of Random Lunacy - should have taken your advice regarding the faux finish, instead I tried what Valspar's representative suggested. What a mess ! John brought out the electric sander and sanded the top for me, to be honest it looked much better once it was sanded smooth but it still was not the look I was striving for. Somehow I didn't envision a coffee table with acute eczema. Oh well that disease has now been cured.

13 comments:

  1. Wow! Congratulations - the finished project is stunning :)

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  2. Looks Awesome! Way to go! I think the tiles work really well, you clever people!

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  3. It turned out so good. You guys did a great job!

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  4. Almost precious. First of all: a little I hate you! I'm envious!!!!!! I Would like to make a coffee table or something for tv too. But I'm not able. And your coffee table is not just good, "usefull" but beautiful too! Hate you :D
    PS: your UFO ahahhahahahahah

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  5. Cool... neat to see the progress step by step. Now you can sit back and enjoy a nice cocktail and put it on the table (with a coaster).. heehee.
    ;)

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  6. Thank you all for your wonderful comments. John and I don't do these types of projects very often, but I have to say we too were honestly pleased with the outcome. It was great to turn a plain Jane, wall cabinet into an attractive and totally useful piece of furniture. =D

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  7. L-O-V-E this piece! Holy WOW! The tea staining is simply perfect and that tile...it is the exact one we had in our old house and one of the most durable things we have ever installed, totally love the pattern and colors. What a happy accident - exit eczema (lol), enter beautiful stone look! Perfect for the top of a coffee table. Oh you have totally inspired me to create something like this for outselves. We need a coffee table & this might just be a perfect solution. I could seriously rave for a billion years, this is simply gorgeous!

    (btw, did you enjoy doing the faux? It came out fantastic!)

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  8. Jenn - Doing the glazing on the bottom part of the unit was fun. Also have learned a lot. May give it another try...someday...but not tomorrow ! =D

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  9. Excellent work!!! your table looks amazing! I love making this kind of things :)

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  10. Wow- this is a stunning piece. Wish I had one in my own house :)

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  11. That is an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL coffee table. You both did a wonderfil job puting that together. Congratulations on getting a project completed.

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  12. This is just amazing - it turned out fantastic!

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