Keeping Antique (or not so antique) Details

Yes, we have moved in.  But we didn't have everything completely finished!  So we are trying to prioritize all the details that really make a house a home.  

First example, the dining room hutch.  

This hutch was in the house when we bought it.  We assumed it was old, but as we worked on the house, we discovered it had a Brosco sticker on the back.....so maybe not that old!  We still order materials from Brosco today.   Nonetheless, we wanted to keep it.  We love how it's built into the wall and provides a focal point for the dining room.  And we can reuse the air duct with our new heat pumps (seriously, it's the little things that I get excited about)  But the hutch needed a bit of updating.

I wanted to insert stained glass panels in the cabinets, complete with lighting for the content.  But the original doors couldn't be easily retrofitted.  So we reach out to local cabinetmaker Steve Foss to create them for us.  He built them of mahogany so they wouldn't warp and would be stable enough for the heavy glass.

As usual, I reached out to the amazing Jim Nutting at Maine Art Glass Studio.  Jim has made so many glass inserts for me over the years and they are always fabulous.  

For this house, I wanted a simple semi-circular design that would have horizontal dividers that would create a clear definition for glass shelves.  I gave Jim this sketch to work from.  For the glass, we choose a simple, antique style that lets you clearly see the contents of the cabinet.

This is what he created!  💖 Aren't they gorgeous????

Kyle and Rich got the glass panels installed and suddenly the hutch looked totally different.

My husband painted the interior of the weekend and then we installed the glass.  

Now I just need to empty all the boxes of treasures that we need to fill these shelves!  But doesn't it already look amazing?  

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