Built in China Hutch / Buffet

I made this red oak cabinet to replace the existing built in cabinet in my parent’s house. It was finished just before Thanksgiving, hence the cornucopia decoration. I wish I had a picture of the original years ago before the yellow-tinted 70’s bottle glass doors were removed (they were hideous), but I am including one that I snapped before tearing it out.

So, mine is nothing too spectacular, but its quite an improvement from what was there and complements other updates that have been done on the house. The project gave me an opportunity to try some new things such as the curves on the upper door rails, which was a fun little challenge – especially since the arch stretches across two doors. Also it was the first time I was able to make raised panel doors. I got a nice Freud ogee raised panel bit set a while ago, but the project I was doing just had plywood panels in the doors, so I did not get to use the raised panel bit until this one. It can be a little intimidating at first to see that huge bit spinning in front of you!

My Dad did most of the finishing work, which was just fine with me :-) It was stained and then got a few coats of an oil/urethane wipe on finish. Electrical also had to be installed for the lights, switch, and an outlet.

Well, there’s not much else to say about it. Let me know if you have comments or questions… enjoy!

-- Kevin, Wisconsin