Office Built-Ins - Cabinets & Counter Install

I last left you with an update on the office back in November...sheesh, that was a long time ago.  Back in November, Jeremy had completed the construction of the cabinets and installed them into the studs, but that is where we left everything until a few weeks ago.  We got our behinds in serious gear and pushed forward on finishing up the office.  Also, when I say 'we' that is probably an overstatement...Jeremy did most of the labor and I was his cheerleader and painter.  So, while he was busy constructing, I was busy shopping our home for what I could eventually fill the built-in bookcases with!   I also know I have been dragging my feet on writing this post and the next few because I am impatient and just want to get to the final product...definitely Miss Impatient over here!!

Enough of that, let me show you a few pictures from the installation process.  The cabinets were already installed, so now it was time to install the file cabinet.  I purchased the file cabinet used and sanded down the face of the drawers knowing we would be painting everything white later.  The file cabinet wasn't the same height as the cabinets so we had to use shims to level it all out.  Then there was also the issue of filling the gap between the cabinets and the file cabinet.  Originally, there was supposed to be a 3-foot cabinet in that spot, but since the cabinets were already built we had to do a slight change of plans to get the file cabinet to work and filled the gap with a spare piece of wood.  To  have a nail-able surface, Jeremy first nailed a 1x2 board to the side of the cabinet and file cabinet.  With this in place, he could nail the filler piece to something secure.  

The same concept was used to secure the file cabinet to the wall.  Jeremy used another 1x2 to create a nail-able surface and then screwed the file cabinet in place.  He also had to fill the gap at the bottom of the file cabinet, which he used the jig saw to cut down a piece of wood to fit in the spot.  At this point, things are definitely not winning any awards in the pretty department and still so much to do, but to have all the cabinets installed felt like a tremendous victory!  

Before we started installing the file cabinet, we placed an online order for the cabinet doors since they would take about 10 days to arrive.  While we waited for the doors, Jeremy worked on making all the seams flush.  Thank goodness for water putty - this stuff is awesome!!  Simply mix with water, but suggest you make small batches because it dries quickly.   

After a few cans of water putty and sanding, all the seams were looking pretty fly!!!  During that process, the beautiful doors arrived.  

  

We cannot say enough about this company, Cabinet Now, we absolutely love our doors!  They make the doors to your specifications, just provide the measurements and pick the style you like best.  They will even pre-drill the holes for the hinges - well worth every penny for these beauties.  Jeremy put the first coat on the doors and during nap time, I finished up with two more coats of Behr Ivory Mist in a satin finish.      

While I was painting the doors, Jeremy was working on the counter top for the cabinets.  For the sub deck we used MDF, and used shims to help level it out.  The sub deck had to be perfectly level before we could put the pine top on.  Once the sub deck was level, Jeremy nailed the pine top onto the MDF sub deck.  Then he put a pine 1x2 board across the face of the counter top.    

The picture in the bottom right shows the counter with two coats of the stain on it, but ended up putting another coat on since I wanted it a little darker.  You can also see the bead board was installed as well using a little glue and a nail gun.  I painted the bead board after installation and then Jeremy stained the counter top.  The paint I used was oops paint I purchased from Lowe's for $5.00, Valspar Allen + Roth Jazz Club.  As you can see the bead board does not go all the way to the top, which was done on purpose for our original design for the bookcases.  However, we had another slight change in plans, which I will share with you all in the next post.  

You can also see in the picture above that the doors are installed, but sadly no pictures were taken of this process.  

Here is a picture of the pre-conditioner and stain we used, which I highly recommend pre-conditioning first before any staining!   

While, I know this isn't the most exciting post, I wanted to break up the construction/installment posts so it was an overload.  Stay tuned for how we constructed the bookcases and hopefully that post will come sooner rather than later!  

With much love, 

Kristin