Daily Archives: July 23, 2011

The drive was so nice...the weather was fantastic!

Mel and I headed up to  Gardnerville Nevada to pick up a “Steelcase” desk with a return. I have been looking for one of these for awhile and I was trolling Craigslist when I saw one that I had to have (I will showcase the desk soon). While we were up there we hit a couple of antique shops and found 2 cool looking cabinets that need to be refinished.

This cabinet is pretty rough. The wood has spread in a couple of areas and there are a few parts the will require reattachment. This cabinet really grabbed our attention because of its lines and the retro styling of the cabinet. I will have to repaint it and stabilize the piece so it is a solid piece of furniture again. The finished product will look great!

This second cabinet is more like a kitchen cabinet. I love to buy these cabinets and redo them. These sort of cabinets refinish very well.  We really like the cracked ice Formica and the sliding glass panels on the front. When finished this will make its way into the diner area I am sure.

OK, I know….this refrigerator is outside of the time period we usually focus on but it is a real revolution in design. This was one of the first models that had a “flat top”design. The models previous to this were called “monitor top” and had the compressor and everything on top of the refrigerator. I had to drive all the way to Tahoe to get this. When I purchased this it was rusty and a little beat up. The guy I purchased it from left it on his porch year round. Though this unit is only about four and a half feet tall it weighs a ton. I had to pull out what dents I could and fill them with bondo. I sanded till the surface was smooth and then I primered the whole thing. I purchased white appliance spray paint for the main body and a “Mediterranean” color for the kick panel at the bottom. I gave it a few coats and let it dry. I am very happy with the final result. We keep this beauty in our large master bedroom closet to store bottled water and other goodies. The way this unit cools is by having the ice box frost up and the cool air generated falls to the lowest point thus cooling the whole unit. The most amazing thing is this refrigerator is 77 years old and still working!

I’ve picked, restored, and sold many vintage refrigerators. Many of the units I’ve refinished have been purchased to be converted into “kegerators”. I really enjoy restoring refrigerators because they are soo easy to clean up and a little color goes a long way.

Click Images to Enlarge

This is where we keep our goodies!

I am happy with the final paint presentation

The chrome was in really great shape

I painted the hinges and pull handle to match the kick plate

Interior is clean

I was lucky the ice box didn't have any holes. People would use ans ice pick to defrost these boxes and would puncture the walls

I replaced the door seal with a new one

I love restoring refrigerators

Here is an ad from 1934:

As you can see from the AD the monitor top is on the left and the new dynamic flat top is on the right.