Black Cherry Kitchen Project

Listing #2242 Listed on: 08/05/2009 Name: BHasmer

My nearly completed kitchen project. I had a fun time starting this, and I had to do a lot of work finishing it! This is my first wood project, I kept it simple with clean lines, trying to bring out the beauty of the wood.

Wood is Black Cherry, harvested in the late 1800s and stored in a barn over the years. Absolutely beautiful grain. Finish is two coats tung oil, wipe on/wipe off ZAR mahogony stain (just to give it a slightly darker shade - wood already had a dark patina), then finished it with three coats General Finish satin urethane.

I kept some of the saw marks on the facad to give it more of an antique look and did not shy away from knots to give it more character. Most of the floating panels are bookmatched.

Island is of hard maple, painted black then two coats of General Finishes satin urethane.

Looking forward to hearing your comments. Thanks!!

10 Photos

Social Media:

Viewer Comments:

Posted By:

jeff

Nice work on the cabinets, definately a rustic look. Question, rationale behind the island color?

Posted By:

BHasmer

Good question. We thought keeping the same look as the cabinets would give the kitchen too much of a "wood" look. So we decided to paint it. The color black ties into our black chairs around the kitchen table.

Posted By:

Mnarron

I'm glad you decided to paint the island black it really ties everything together. Very Nice Work!

Posted By:

alain

Nice job! I also like the different color for the island. I'm wondering what size magnet works well for the doors ?

Posted By:

David Llewellyn

I've always thought painted black works great near natural cherry. Complements the cabinet hardware, too. Nice work on that big hutch unit, really nice proportions.

Posted By:

Beautiful. Dark Cherry is my fav. We do cabinet refinishing for a living, and island accents are very big.

Posted By:

jay

Great project..wood "HARVESTED" in the late 1800's? That's amazing considering the actual tree may have been 100 - 200 years old. A tree that was a sapling in the 1600's.

Posted By:

BHasmer

Jay - I purchased the wood from a farmer who was ready to sell the family farm to a developer. His great-grandfather had built this barn in the late 1800s in a grove of cherry trees. The trees he had removed were sliced into lumber and placed in the hay mound all stickered to dry for a later project that never happened. When I first saw the wood, each piece had 1/4 of dust on it from past years...except for where the sticks were, which was a deep red. Absolutely beautiful wood.

Posted By:

BHasmer

Alain - Please see the new pics on the magnets holding the door shut. They are 9mm rare earth magnets, glued in with epoxy. In between the two magnets I placed a rubber bumper to cushion the door when is closed and to lower the pull force needed to over come the magnetic attraction between the magnets. This worked out real well, and they have a good sound when they close

Posted By:

Mitch

Your wood and design work are really sharp. I like the warmth the entire kitchen has, almost like these cabinets were done years ago. I mean this as a compliment. I am getting close to doing a cherry closet system and was wondering about your crown. It blends so well, did you make it or did you use a stock crown from a suppier.

Posted By:

BHasmer

Thanks Mitch for your compliments. You hit the nail on the head on what I was trying to achieve - a warm look and an "antique" look. I purchased the cherry crown molding from a local harwood lumber store. Matching it turned out be much easier than anticipated, though I did spend a great deal of time at the store selecting the pieces with wood grain that closely mathing my cabinets. Trial and error with the staining took place on the back of each piece. I was very pleased with end result. Thanks again.

Posted By:

carpntrgy

What a great use for that beutiful wood!Oneof the best kitchens i've seen.First woodworking project?

Posted By:

BHasmer

Thanks Carpntrgy. It took me a few years to find the "right" wood, and during those years I did some smaller projects to teach me some woodworking skills.... Thanks again for the nice words.

Posted By:

ISLAND ACCENTS were gone before they came in.

Posted By:

brrman

Pay no attention to V - he has nothing nice to say in any of his posts...

Great kitchen! I am about to start my first kitchen as well. I can only hope it turns out as nice as this one!

Posted By:

BHasmer

Thanks brrman! Looking back, it was fun and very gartifying. Good luck to you.

Not sure what V meant by the comment. Bottom line, this is a great place to share projects and learn ideas.

Posted By:

Todd Prill

It really looks beautiful. A lot of time and hard work went into your kitchen!

Add Your Comment

Add Your Comment:

Date of your Birth: