built in chimney cupboards opinions please

[adrian130980]

hi

I am part way through replacing the terrible cupboard doors that are next to my victorian chimney breast

I have made the doors out of spare Mahogany and i really like the colour, but the wife loves white wood....?

what do you guys & girls think?

as i see it i have three options

a. paint it all white.....grr hate covering nice wood
b. put the doors in and give it a while and see...
c. change the whole unit for mahogany

p.s the mahogany matches the new side table and also compliment the seating...aparently
any input, constructive would be great

adrian

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[tiralie]

I have made the doors out of spare Mahogany and i really like the colour,

adrian:
That's a nice door.

but the wife loves white wood....?

That's a problem.

what do you guys & girls think?

My wife usually asks my opinion, but if she requests white, I make it white...when I get around to doing it however, is always an issue.

as i see it i have three options

a. paint it all white.....grr hate covering nice wood
b. put the doors in and give it a while and see...
c. change the whole unit for mahogany

I would show her the door, and suggest option C while making the point that it matches the new side table and compliments the seating. Covering that mahogany is a waste and making a unit without her sign off is a risking a huge waste of time.

Tim

 

[dltflt]

I vote for the Mahogany.  Your door looks great.  Unfortunately my vote does not count when the wife is involved in the process.

 

[nclemmons]

The mahogany door you made looks excellent. 

But I'd ask what else is in the room? 

Given the yellow walls and white trim, there is something to be said for keeping the built in white given how it integrates.  Sanding and repainting it would improve the appearance, if not making new doors out of poplar and painting them.  Is the chimney natural brick or painted, for example?

The unit in all mahogany could be a bit jarring depending on the size of the room, other furniture, etc.
And then the question is if you have a dog-house where you might need to add a mahogany door for the cold winter ahead?!!  [eek] [eek]

neil

 

[adrian130980]

Hi Tim, Don & Neil

thanks for your feedback and compliments

Neil, the skirting dado and picture rails are white but the sofas are dark leather, two mahogany side tables so I'm divided

after sleeping on it and not very well i think i will simply paint the doors

I think that if the wife wants white then i should just do it, as i will never win  [big grin]

Its a shame to cover the wood but unless i had the time to make the whole cabinet then its a simple decision

i will post completed pictures in the next few days

thanks

adrian

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Adrian

I think that your mahogany raised panel door is lovely. Please do not paint it.

I accept that white doors are required and that is what you must produce.

Here are some I made from MDF - it looks almost as good when painted.

Peter

 

[Billedis]

Beautiful door.  I would make another like Peter said out of mdf and paint it.  That one is too pretty to cover with paint.  Bill

 

[dltflt]

That would be blasphemy to paint that mahogany.

 

[sancho57]

As a guy who has only been married once and its been for 21 years....

Paint it then go buy more festools...

 

[Mitchwood]

Your doors are fabulous, it would be crime to paint such a well made door in such a beautiful wood. I think you should make new doors in MDF or some cheaper timber that you can paint. Make cabinet for those doors later when you have time.

 

[adrian130980]

Hi

Thanks for all the replies, they made me laugh!

In the end I painted the cabinet White...but i decided to make the doors again out of plain hardwood I bought.

I will put these doors away and use them soon enough.

It's actually my first time in 19years making doors, really enjoyed It and may make my parents in law a new kitchen.

Will post pictures of cabinet next week when I get chance to finish, it's true what people say, it does take 3 times longer to restore than build from scratch!

Adrian

 

[sancho57]

Good choice on making new door. Ya gotta keep SWMBO happy. Happy wife = happy life  [big grin]

Your right it is harder to restore. But to tell ya the truth, I like restoring. Its quite a challenge.

 

[Iceclimber]

Yeah don't paint that door! Make another out of poplar and paint it. Make something else for the door.

I agree that keeping the white theme will probably be best. Hard to tell without being in the space but doing a built in surrounded by painted trim does not sound very good to me.

I was a very high end painting contractor in a former life. It was the late 90'w early 2000's when the economy was booming. Anyway it was common place to paint windows and exterior trim made out of solid mahogany. One house i still remember was i think 25k square feet. All the windows where mahogany, the clad boards and trim also mahogany and custom milled to be 4/4 and 5/4 finished. Everything got painted with what was then Shrueder and is now Fine Paints of Europe. Even then the stuff was like $80 per 3/4 of a gallon. If thats not bad enough you have to use their primer and paint thinner also at a crazy premium. The customer would be flown in and land his personal helicopter in the cow field out back everyday.

Moral of the story is are you rich? If so just rip out all the white trim and replace with mahogany then i bet it will look good but only if its a library or something. Why not make a free standing piece of furniture out of mahogany.

 

[greg mann]

As a guy who has only been married once and its been for 21 years....

Paint it then go buy more festools...

As a guy who has only been married four times...............

Save the mahogany for a different project, use poplar or mdf and paint it.

 

[greg mann]

Don't make the in-laws kitchen in mahogany. Your wife will love it and want you to redo the newly painted cabinets. [poke]