Homeschool Cupboard, Part 2

I didn't quite get this post finished and scheduled before Ocean decided to make his appearance, but here's the project I finished Saturday, just in time for his birth.

I posted about building the homeschool cupboard, part 1 two years ago when I was pregnant with River. Since I've been trying to finish up projects, especially ones that have been sitting around for awhile, I decided it was time to tackle the cupboard. Being on summer break made it easier to unload the cupboard so I could work on it.

the original finished project

doors inside the frame, trim looks good, everything lines up nicely

the only problem? the doors wouldn't open properly because I used the wrong kind of hinges

I had problems with the doors lining up properly once I replaced the hinges and while I was able to attach them to the frame, I got a bit demoralized and left it all for the last two years. We've been using the cupboard, and it's great, but it bugs me that I still haven't finished it. Once I emptied the cupboard, Mr M hauled it outside where I finally fixed the cupboard.

this is what it's looked like for the last two years- no drop down door and doors that don't close all the way because they don't fit properly

The issues: 
1. The upper doors wouldn't close properly- I took the sander to the edges so they would close smoothly.

2. New board for drop down door- the old one fit within the cupboard frame like the doors, but since I had to move the doors to the front of the frame, the drop down door also had to extend long enough to be in front of the frame on both sides.

3. Locations of catches- they interfered with lower doors opening when table was in use, but once the handles were attached to the drop down door there was no way the lower doors would open while the table was down. Some of the catches needed some adjustments because of the doors being moved, but those were the only adjustments I ended up making.

4. Add trim/moulding to the top edge- with doors on the frame instead of in the frame it needed a chunkier look. I built it up a bit and it looks a lot better now.

5. Add trim/moulding to the bottom trim-the bottom trim needed a chunkier look as well, and it was a bit plain before.

6. Paint- I painted the inside a long time ago, before we really started using the cupboard. I finally painted the outside and the drop down table with a light gray chalk paint that I coated with wax.

After fixing the first five issues we brought the cupboard back inside where I  painted it and re-installed the hardware.

back in the house, caulked and puttied and ready to paint

Sunshine hasn't been super neat with her painting and the table top shows it

painted, cork on the left side door, shelves still out

Once the hardware was reattached and it was time to put the shelves back in and load the cupboard back up.

science kits, games (some of the ones that can be used for math or spelling), and puzzles are in the bottom

drop down door up, table in its up position, cork on inside of doors

I used gorilla glue on the cork boards and while gorilla glue is usually great stuff, it didn't work super well on the cork for some reason

drop down door down, waiting for table to come down

I sorted and re-organized the art supplies, put away the 3rd grade books and got things ready for 4th grade. I thought we were ready, but it turns out there's a couple books I need to order still. Good thing  we have a couple weeks of day camps before we start back in on book work.

books at table level, art supplies on the shelves above.

we had everything in cute baskets for the last two years, but too many items got shoved in them, never to be seen again. plastic bins aren't nearly as cute, but at least we can see what's in them.

Since we are now a family of five and will someday be homeschooling three kiddos at once, this homeschool cupboard will not always look like this. The table just isn't big enough for three kiddos and a mommy to spread out at, so eventually the table top will be removed from the cabinet and we'll use the cabinet just for storing school supplies. In the meantime, I'm much happier with how the cupboard looks and functions, even if it did take me two years to get it to this point :)