The Old Haybarn Cupboard

Greetings lovely friends & readers,

Several months ago The Mr cleared out the old haybarn at the farm - it was due to be demolished as the rear of it had collapsed quite some time ago.

Although we called it the old haybarn it was a very long time since hay had been stored in it, the farm now having a much newer haybarn.  The old haybarn was filled with junk farming paraphernalia.    Milkers that came & went frequently left behind furniture they no longer wanted in the old haybarn.    And so it was that The Mr came home with this old wooden cupboard & asked me if I wanted it?  Otherwise it was going in the burning hole.

Well - Yes Please !! I thought I could do something with it (wasn't sure what exactly) ....  & I particularly loved the slightly retro vibe of it.

The cupboard door was intact when it came home but once Blackie jumped up on it, the hinges gave way & it fell in.  I'm saying nothing about Blackies weight please note 😉

And so it sat for several months on the deck ... you can see it even became a cat sleeping place with old towels tossed on it.  Blackie especially loved sleeping on it.   Then our house got painted & the painters stacked all their gear on it as well as tins of paint & covered the whole lot up with a drop cloth.  It sat like this for another couple of months.  Once the painters finished & took all their gear I still had no inclination to do anything with it.  After my trip away to Sandy's I knew the time had come to tackle the cupboard & tidy up the deck area.

Well thank goodness for that as quite frankly - I hadn't a clue!! 😉

My first job was to wash it all thoroughly with warm water & sugar soap, vacuum & wipe out the cupboards & drawers.  Once it dried I started sanding it with my electric sander.  I used a coarser sandpaper initially & finished with a finer one (220 grit).  

I filled a couple of gaps, painted these with some dark brown paint & then tried to glue & repair where some of the wood had lifted.  

I then oiled it using the leftover oil from our new deck back in * this post * - mostly because I loved how this applied so well & I didn't wish to stain the unit, just oil it.  Gosh did it drink it up!!! Three generous coats later, it was time to repair the feet.

I purchased some half round dowel from Mitre 10 - I couldn't get small enough so it would be slightly larger than the undamaged foot.  As you can see, things take twice as long around here due to the unwanted assistance furry supervision 😉.  Blackie was rather delighted I was repairing his favorite sleeping place (!!)

Measuring, cutting out & then staining & oiling all those tiny dowels took forever!!    Where the blue arrow is are the larger dowels - I don't believe you can notice that they are larger unless I point it out.  The Mr doesn't agree & thinks I should replace the smaller dowels to match - this will not be happening  😉😑

Finally, on Tuesday, I got to move it into place on my deck area, right where the old dog kennel has sat for years.  To say I am delighted with how it has turned out is an understatement.  I LoVe it 🤎 & can't wait to decorate it prettily for the festive season. For now I've just plonked my vintage scales on top.

 

I've lined the drawers with remnants of oilcloth & filled them, along with the cupboards which are the perfect size to hold my bottles of worm tea.  Prior to this they always had to lay down & often they would leak & make such a mess.  

I always love a good "Before & After" pic dear friends.

I am unsure what the wood is but once I began oiling it I could have sworn it was native Oak.  It is a heavy piece of furniture, certainly Not light & flimsy.  

(I should also mention here that despite its age there was no borer in the unit, which was wonderful)

One of the YouTube channels I really enjoy is Whispering Pines.  A couple of months ago Anita showed her summer kitchen decorating & I fell in love with the frilled teatowel on her oven door & took a phone photo of it.  I decided I just had to make one.

Note to self ... you need to iron the crease out of the middle Julie

I used a plain floursack tea-towel to make mine ... as they are extra large I cut it down & then used the cut-off part to sew the frill.

Using some birthday money I'd treated myself to a pair of gorgeous Cath Kidston tea-towels & I thought my frilled tea-towel looked great just tucked in behind.  

Not for The Mr to wipe his dirty hands on either (!!) 😉

It's a rainy, cold, grey Waikato Day today & I have the fire roaring.  Madam Pip in not in a box today, preferring a paper bag & she is especially pleased her mother has laid a her best Annah Stretton shopping bag on the floor featuring a Ginger Cat on it 😽

This appeared in my inbox this morning - sent from The Mr.    I am ashamed to confess I can tick most all of these as a Yes (!!)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends,

Thank you for your ever-welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

,

 gear