Cabinets

■ A client recently enclosed a screened-in porch, making a new dinning room just off his kitchen.  He kept the opening for what had been an outside window between the kitchen and the porch.  The opening became a perfect place for a "pass through" counter top.  Not being satisfied with just a small pass through shelf, he asked me to design a curved counter top that would incorporate the pass through space and include a display cabinet below.  Although I am not really set up to produce cabinet pieces, I accepted the challenge of making what I knew would be a complicated piece of furniture. 

 

 

■ The cabinet doors and frames are made of quartersawn white oak, lending stability to the glassed area.  The six doors are designed like normal cabinet doors, except that safety glass is inserted into the frames where solid panels normally appear.  The design results in clean lines, but it also means that if there were to be broken glass, I would have to completely replace the affected door. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

■ The counter top is made of flatsawn white oak, with glued-up three inch wide strips held together underneath by braces in tapered dado slots that allow the wood to expand and contact with the seasons. The braces under the counter top rest on, but are not attached to, the cabinet and the rough window sill, allowing for wood movement in the cabinet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

■ Now, a meal can be served in style, directly from the kitchen, and enjoyed in the new dinning room.