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Thursday 28th April 2005

Our 'Rejuvenated' Display Cabinet

(lots of photos on this page)

But first, a story from Sharon......

Our latest piece of "new - old" furniture is something we have had around the house for quite a few years

It has spent a bit of time inside
Firstly, it was in out bedroom and I kept my "bits'n'pieces" in it
It looked awful!!
I never liked it!!
No, the truth is - I HATED IT!!

It then got moved into Geoff's computer room and he used it to keep his computer gear in

Then it got dumped into the carport where it used to store baseballs and gloves
And even some dirty old shoes!!
And quite a few cobwebs and spiders!!

Recently we have been looking for another small display cabinet and couldn't find anything that was suitable

Geoff thought this one could be cleaned up and would be okay
It wasn't the era of our other furniture and I was a little unsure but we decided to give it a go!!
If things didn't turn out, it could continue to live in the carport!!

We had a professional furniture restorer come and give us a quote
And that was $1400.00!! - way too much!!

Geoff thought he could do it himself

The cabinet was made in the 1960's (I think) and had a light laminated top and two drawers with the same laminate on the front
It has concave glass sliding doors, a mirror back and splayed legs

The sides and trim were a darker veneer which was peeling off in places
There had been some repairs carried out on the drawers before we aquired it and they were not good - the repairs had been done with chipboard and this had all swollen up and the drawers couldn't be opened or closed properly

One of the posties at work is a cabinet maker and he repaired the drawers for us in decent timber

I asked him to keep the handles because I wanted to see if they could be cleaned up
I thought they were old plastic but they were brass and cleaned up beautifully!!

Geoff filled in the holes, sanded everything down, painted the inside 'antique white' and painted the outside with 'walnut' varnish

We had to buy new legs and they needed varnishing as well

Three coats of paint in three days and it was all ready!!

It has come up beautifully and I am really pleased with the look

I have decided I quite like the retro look and I am putting our 'collectables' that are close to that era in it

Geoff has done a very professional job and it looks great as you can see from the photos below!!

It will never appear on "The Antiques Roadshow", but my feelings have gone from 'hate' to 'like very much'!!

The finished cabinet......

Dimensions - 118cm long x 76cm high x 40cm deep

......and Sharon filled it up - overnight!!!

(and click here for two more photos)

 

--Auctions for similar Cabinets

......for a price comparison!!!

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Auction #01

Saturday 8th April 2006
We were out for a drive and doing our
regular rounds of the secondhand and
antique stores in Cairns
This was one of the places we visited
We saw a display cabinet very similar to
ours
It had the same coloured laminex on top,
and the outside was in good condition
with all the veneer in place from what we could see
It had the same curved sliding glass
doors and shelf
However, the mirror at the back was
completely crazed over and would have to be re-silvered
It was priced at
$89.00 and would need
quite a few dollars spent on it!!!

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Auction #02

Buffet from the 1960's
This 1960's buffet has curved glass
Is veneered
The cupboard needs some work!!
The mirrored backboard is broken at the top
It also has some wear-and-tear marks
However, with this work done and a new mirror, it would make a nice retro piece!!

Item location - Bangor, New South Wales Australia
This auction ended on Saturday 10th February 2007
The starting price was set at $1.00
It was marked for "pickup only", with no delivery or postage available
This stipulation, along with the buffet's very poor condition, resulted in that......
There were no bids!!!

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Auction #03

This cabinet is 53cm longer than ours

Retro 1950's Sideboard/Buffet
For every 20th century furniture lover!! - For the retro furniture lover!!
This is a much treasured antique timber veneer sideboard in perfect condition
Curved glass doors that slide open have detailed modern etching
on the top corners of each glass door
Mirrored glass lines the back of the sideboard
Dimensions are 171cm x 76cm x 35cm
A great buy!!
Item location - Sydney, New South Wales Australia
This auction ended on Monday 4th June 2007
It was marked for "pickup only", with no delivery or postage available
The starting price was set at $99.00
There were no bids!!!

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Auction #04

Retro 1960's Buffet
Two drawers and a glass shelf
The two front glass doors are curved and have frosted etching
It is in good used condition and there are not scratches
It stands 93cm tall and is 125cm long
Item location - St Albans, Victoria Australia
This auction ended on Tuesday 5th June 2007
The starting price was set at $14.99 and there were two bids during the auction
It was marked for "pickup only", with no delivery or postage available
The final selling price was $15.49

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Auction #05

Retro China Cabinet
Well kept old crystal cabinet
Center shelf
Mirrored back
Size - 4ft wide, 3ft1in high and 13.5in deep

Item location - Melbourne, Victoria Australia
This auction ended on Saturday 14th July 2007
It was marked for "pickup only", with no delivery or postage available
The starting price was set at $35.00
There were no bids!!!

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Auction #06

Retro China Display Cabinet
Beautiful vintage cabinet
Great deco 1950's retro bow shape
Measures 105cm in length, 88cm high and 35cm in depth
Condition is good for age
There is some small wear and tear from time and use
I am sure the winning bidder will be very happy

Item location - Brisbane, Queensland Australia
This auction ended on Tuesday 17th July 2007
It was marked for "pickup only", with no delivery or postage available
The starting price was set at $2.00 and there were fourteen bids during the auction
The final selling price was $110.50