The redo of my Hoosier cabinet…Taa Daa…looks for less is always best for me!!! To see the whole humble, and oh so messy beginnings, of this sad little “piece of junk” that my son-in-law refused to allow my daughter to accept here…it also included a history of Hoosiers.
I restored this vintage Hoosier over a 6-week period. This is what it looked like when I bought it for $60…Most of the pieces were present, but not in the correct places…the important parts were there. I did have to buy some new hardware.
the in between…(work)…I stripped away years and years of paint. About 6 coats of stripper were necessary. You must be patient if you want a good restoration. It does not go quickly and you want to quit many times. But the end result is work ALL the effort. This is an elbow grease project indeed!
stripping away years of paint…
After all that globby mess was safely removed and disposed of… I sanded it well…and I mean WELL!!! You can have some remainders of paint, but the surface must be smooth to the touch. The hand of a piece I redo is important to me. I do not want someone running their hand across the surface and feel any remainder of the past. I also dug every piece of paint residue from all the joints and joined areas. If you are going to do it, do it right is my motto when doing a piece of furniture. Yes, there are quicker ways to redo, but I aim to create an heirloom piece. So it must be right!
sanded clean…
I had to repair the tambour door…I used book binding fabric…and good flexible glue. This is the most finicky part. Each slat must be the exact space apart. One speck of old paint residue will make is unworkable. This part has to be just right to be a moving part. Take your time to remove all paint in between the slats. Reposition them and glue a good backing fabric on them. The fabric must be thin and strong.
the tambour door repairs…
Trying to find the right shade of red for the interior… That took a lot of my color theory skills as I mixed and used universal tints to get the red just right. If you have a good paint store, it is worth a visit to get the exact shade you want.
painting begins…must find the exact shade of red…
The painting took two days…not the red only…the red and the white. I opted for a semi-gloss bright white for the outside. It is a little more difficult to work with (it leaves brush marks if you don’t know how to lay off the paint) but it cleans well when dry. A note about red paint. It takes four to six coats of red to get a solid coating. There is less pigment in reds, so they are always sheer. If you have ever tried to paint a wall red, you know what I mean!!! Just keep at it and eventually you will have a good, solid red.
bottom restored…
top restored…
doors and flour sifter restored…
The interior is complete…
Hoosier inside complete…
The exterior is complete….
finished….
Finished and I am so tickled with it…It was such a mess when I bought it. Now it will be a beautiful part of my home!!! I love to create looks for less!!! It is in the foyer of my new home and home. It holds my spices and baking stuff as well as cookbooks. I am so glad my daughter didn’t want it. I smile every time I pass it. Below is how it looks today, fully functioning!
You really do such a great job on your work. I would love to be more handy with tools. I refinished a small table once and was super proud of myself LOL. I need to hit the thrift stores and find something else this summer.
I just bought a 1914 White Beauty. I am very inspired by your hard work!
I just bought this same cabinet, but I don’t see any markings on it noting it is a “Hoosier”. Or even what other company may have produced it. Did yours have any markings?
Yes. Mine had a metal plate at the top Vanessa. Have fun creating yours.
I inherited my grandmothers hoosier cabinet. It is in pretty bad shape. I have no experience in fixing up antiques so I’m intimidated to say the least. Wish I knew how to do this kind of stuff.
Hi Rebecca, I am refinishing my Hoosier cabinet right now… So excited, it really needed a makeover! I had a question about how you handled the tambour door. I saw your notes about how you repaired the binding (so impressive!), but I wondered how you painted it? Did you paint all the slats separately when you had them apart, or did you do it when the door was assembled? Mine are assembled and in great shape, but need to be painted, and I foresee trouble! Just hoping to get a hint or two. Thanks! ~ Kim
Hi Kim:
I painted them separately while apart. You could paint them assembled, but they might stick together. I can’t wait to see yours finished.
I just got a Hoosier style cabinet with what I call a roll top that goes completely across like yours. Just have to re-attach it. The sifter is missing and we saw that you have one. However, where is it inside your cabinet because if it sits above the tambour door, how does it hang down without stopping the tambour from rolling up. I am trying to figure out what size sifter to buy. A friend purchased this for me and the pictures I got did not represent the cabinet. It needs a lot of TLC and I have never restored a piece of furniture and want to do this justice with period correct hardware etc. The sticking point we have right now is trying to figure out how to fit a sifter in it along with the tambour door that goes completely off like yours does. The opening where it looked like they had the sifter measures 16″ long without hanging below the opening so the tambour can close. Width of 11 3/4″ and 9 3/4″ deep. It almost looks like they had it opened and when someone took the sifter out, they found a door that doesn’t match the others and cheap hardware. Please help.
HI Debra. My sifter came with it, although it was disassembled and a hot mess. The tambour door rolls up in front of the sifter. The sifter hangs down inside the opening a few inches, but does not get in the way of the door. The tambour door will roll up like the photo here: http://design.wursttex.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tambour-door-ideas.jpg. It is very compact inside the Hoosier. My sifter is attached to the upper left door. I hope this helps.
Was wondering. ……does anyone know if you can paint the metal serving area on Hoosiers. ….if so,what kind of paint? ??
This looks wonderful!
I just received a Hoosier to redo, and I am at a loss of what to do with the porcelain top–did you paint yours? Simply clean it?
Thank you!
I recently purchased a 1921 Hoosier Cabinet. I believe that it had a Sellers counter top on it, The top and bottom hutches both have tell-tell signs of being from the Hoosier Mfg. Co. (No name plate though) I have been searching desperately for ANY information I can find on the size of the counter top, and how exactly it is mounted to the base. Can you help me? I bought the Hoosier Cabinet book, and another book about hoosier cabinets, but neither are helpful with this particular problem. I am getting desperate because I really want to get everything as close to original as I can… so I can use it!!! 🙂
I have a hoosier cabinet and I need a replacement top. (porcelain) Do you have any ideas where I might find one? Any lead will be appreciated.Thanks
You painted the inside red and wonder is this the norm for the inside? You also painted the very edge of the table red. Did you put a fresh coat of paint on the table top and if you did..what did you use? Is this the norm as well. Mine orifinal is white. The original color was green. I am going to paint it white as well.
I recently refinished a Hoosier-type cabinet with a roll-top. I stripped the whole thing down, determined the original colors (my favorite cream and green) and repainted it. Luckily, the cream and green enamel work top was in very good shape. However, I had to take the roll top out as it was hopelessly stuck and needed repainting. Sadly, I cannot get it back in! Did yours go in easily? I think I need an extra set of hands. I’m just saving it for some future opportunity.
My slide out metal top has it’s original red edge. I did not paint it. Painting the inside red was a personal choice. My Grandmother’s interior was red when I was a little girl. Hope this helps!