For you OHW and WG'ers, you know the story and can skip the rest of this paragraph.
In rebuilding Smelly, I wanted to find a somewhat period appropriate kitchen and had been looking high and low for either a complete kitchen, a butler's pantry, or a set of matching stepbacks to install in my kitchen. I had been looking on and off for about 2 years, and found a set, though painted, at a salvage shop in MN. But I was worried about what lurked under the paint and stain, as well as the short uppers..so I passed. After ripping up the HWF upstairs (which killed me, trust me) and the hailstorm of dust and debris that rained down upon my makeshift kitchen, I realized that open kitchen shelving was probably not a good option. So 2 Sundays ago, I started hunting for some cheap Ikea cabinets (or reasonable facsimile thereof) to replace my trusty 48" 6 wire shelf commercial unit I bought at Costco (a steal at under $100, btw). I could not find anything that would fit, likely last more than 1 week, or that didn't look like total crap for under $500. So I said to myself, hey, at that price, you should just buy another Hoosier.
So, off to the web I went, scouring my favorite places. And lo and behold, what do I find? Not one, but a whole series of stepback cabinets, from the same manufacturer, from the same demo site, and with the original finish. No way. Too good to be true. So I mosey on down to the dealer last Saturday, and they shelves were great. Some minor imperfections to be sure, but this dealer has one of the nicest selections of antiques, at Brimfield, year in and year old. So I knew these were solid. And more than enough linear feet for my kitchen. There was one piece that was at a different shop, so we agreed I would look at that particular piece on Sunday, then pick the uppers and lowers I liked best, and we'd finalize the sale. Cash.
Of course, me being me, reality comes back to bite me in the butt.
Not two hours later, at a local restaurant, I didn't see the 8 inch step down between a hallway and the main dining room...and down I go. My left ankle was so badly sprained I could not put any weight on it at all. I'm two hours from home and had no desire to sit in a local ER, only to tell me it's a sprain, give me crutches, and put me on my merry way. I called the cabinet owner, in tears, to tell them there was no way I would be able to make it back tomorrow, can they take pictures and we'll have to verbally finalize the sale and I'd figure out a way to get them their money.
So, I grit my teeth, hop to the car, and endured the most painful 2 hour car ride ever. I drove the speed limit (a rarity) and avoided using the clutch at all costs unless I am about to stall or redline the RPMs. I made it home, only to crawl into the house and down into the basement where my crutches are stored. Then I promptly took 2 very powerful painkillers and drift off to sleep.
Hopped up on painkillers on Sunday, I reviewed the planned kitchen layout with my sister, to confirm my vision of how the stepbacks would fit. We agreed to an option A and B (in case of brittle wood or my measurements are off, though I gave myself an inch leeway on each measurement) and that I would buy an extra stepback (as a safety) and sell it if I didn't need it. The seller sent me pictures of the last cabinet, and after some tense negotiations, we settled on a fair price. A bit more than what I wanted to pay, but then again, unicorns don't come cheap. And I will see the unicorns on Sunday morning. All of them.
So, here's a sample viewing:
- 48inchSmall.jpg (629.6 KiB) Viewed 1100 times
And the questions to the team:
A. In moving out the old shelving today, I discovered my long forgotten gas hookup. It sticks out from the wall a good 4 to 6 inches. With the old shelving, I just rearranged the shelves so that the gas valve was midway between shelves. But now, this will prevent me from putting the bottom of the stepback flush with the wall. Do I try to build some support for the top portion of the stepback (which would sit flush against the wall) or just have a gap between the wall and the stepback.
B. I have 5 of these suckers being delivered. I was going to store 4 or 5 of them in the first floor living room (the baby grand piano, which I've needed to get rid of for awhile, goes bye bye tomorrow)...but I am concerned about the load of the floor joists. Should I try to get someone in here on Saturday to put up some jack posts in the basement? And if so, anyone in greater Boston want to earn a beer and some well deserved gratitude?
Thanks in advance..and more pics to come.
Hope all is well with you and yours in Maine. Yep, back at it again. 
