Jelly Cabinet

I am addicted to furniture. I feel like I can never have enough! I even buy things I don't need, such as this cabinet I scored at the Longstraw Farms Antique Show a few weeks ago. Update on that: I sold it... I was a little sad but there truly was nowhere to put it in our house. Sometimes I can be an impulsive shopper. But, considering I sold it for more than double what I bought it for, it worked out in my favor! And the lady who bought it was much more excited than I ever was about it so I think it found a good home. I'm talking about it like it is an animal... it is a piece of furniture! See- like I said, I have a problem.

Anyway, imagine my excitement when my wonderful mother-in-law offered up some furniture that she inherited from her in-laws! She inherited so much that she didn't have enough room for it all in her house! I gladly offered to take some off of her hands. I got two pieces- the jelly cabinet and a beautiful dresser. 

The one I'm writing about today is the antique jelly cabinet. It is said that these cabinets were used to store jams and jellies to last through the winter months when fruits were not in season. 

Side note: I have not yet tried to make my own jam or jelly... but I would love to do it someday! Just to say that I did!

Here is a picture of the cabinet at my mother-in-law's house:

Isn't it beautiful? I mean... look at the grain of the wood! Here it is in our house:

Hooray! 

The only thing that was bothering me about the cabinet was the color of the knobs. I am pretty sure they are original, so they were meant to be there. But to me, they stuck out and didn't match the hinges on the cabinet doors:

The hinges are like a hammered black iron. So I started to think... what if I got some handles for the drawers to match? I really went back and forth on this. Because I knew that changing the hardware would mean drilling new holes in this beautiful piece of history!! But after much internal debate, I decided that it was okay. I knew that the changes I was planning to make were going to make me love it even more and love it for longer! 

Now of course they didn't have the ones I needed at Lowe's... because that would just be too easy! They were only at Home Depot- which we do not have. I also found them on eBay but it was a set of 3 and I only needed 2!! After a long wait and a few trips to the store to make sure there weren't any others I could use instead... I ordered these from Home Depot. The brand is Hickory Hardware. They weren't cheap- but for this project I only needed two so I didn't feel too bad about spending the extra money. When I say they weren't cheap, I mean they were $5.99 a piece. So what I really mean is- I am cheap. $5.99 is really not that bad.  Here they are: 

And here they are on the cabinet:

The last step was to find some small knobs to replace the little white ones on the cabinet doors (see above picture)! 

I found some at Lowe's for $0.97 a piece. Now THAT is cheap! ;) 

I liked the way they coordinated somewhat with the other handles and the hinges. And I needed something that was small. So these were perfect!

Here is the final product:

 

 

I'm in love! I can't stop staring at it...

While you're here, feel free to check out my other posts here:

 

DIY Wall Art

DIY Front Porch Sign Holder

DIY Porch Welcome Sign

DIY Fall Wreath

Our Staircase Makeover Project (in process) plus how we updated our Oak Banister

Brass Chandelier Makeover

Nightstand Makeover

Our Dining Room

Our Kitchen Reveal, including our DIY Subway Tile Backsplash

DIY Chevron Burlap Yard Flag