TopicsOf all the woodwork that was carried out for our office renovation, none was as detailed as our little kitchenette. We did some rough math and figure that the entire kitchenette is made of more than 600 individual pieces of wood, each of which had to be planed, joined, sanded, assembled and finished. It was worth it though — it’s a real workhorse and it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the renovation.
Photo: Lincoln Barbour
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The Wood
Apart from the doors, which are made from old crates, the entire kitchenette is made of fir that we got from a 1904 barn from Wenatchee, via the ReBuilding Center. No plywood. Nothing from Home Depot. Just 103-year-old fir.
The dark wood on the left is what the fir looked like when we picked it up. The pile on the right has been milled down. We did this for every piece of wood used in the office — it was extremely time consuming.
I'm sure Kyle wishes he could reclaim the weeks of his life that was spent gluing, clamping, gluing, clamping...
Even the shelves were milled from solid barn rafters
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The Countertop
At 14′, the most challenging aspect of the countertop was balancing the size with our desire for a really tight fit. When it was all said and done Kyle was able to finish it at under 1/16″ total tolerance, quite a feat considering the wonky nature of the 80-year-old mill it was fitted to.
The countertop was painstakingly patchworked together, which in the end proved to be worth the time invested.
I'm quite certain that Kyle's lungs are wallpapered with counterdust
A perfect fit
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The Doors
Each door is a patchwork of panels that we reclaimed from ancient whiskey, fruit, soda and medicine crates. Thanks eBay, we couldn’t have done it without you.
Hours of mix-and-match...
...slowly started to come together to make...
...seven finished compositions
A barn-style "X" ties the doors together
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The Backsplash
Once the base and countertop was finished, Greg Forcum created a massive steel backsplash that ties to the metalwork used throughout the office. He did an amazing job and the final product fit perfectly into place.
To ensure a snuggly fit, the backsplash was tacked together in place and then hauled off to Greg's shop to be fully welded and assembled
The finished backsplash weighed a bit more than a pregnant Rosanne and was carried in by giant men in kilts. I kid you not.