Replies

1. 
   mapleman | Oct 03, 2008 03:35am | #1

   Best thing to do in my opinion, is to use barn wood. Plane, sand, cut, etc like you would normal wood. There will be plenty of character in the wood (nail holes, cracks, etc) and your sister-in-law won't have to color coordinate her kitchen to battleship grey.

   I have seen quite a few poor attempts at matching the color of barn wood and none look worth a hoot, in my opinion.

   If you would like I can post some pics of antique reclaimed cypress cabinets that are made like this. Looks like a million bucks to me, and customers seem to go absolutely crazy for it.

   Lee

2. 
   thumbnailed | Oct 03, 2008 07:06am | #2

   My house actually is an old barn, 6x6 chestnut posts and 8-14 inch boards. When I've had to alter or add on to parts, the best way I found was to treat the old wood like pre-finished wood, and do all the cutting on unexposed surfaces and edges. It required a little more planning and piece selection than average woodwork, but all visible wood has actual patinated surfaces. The only piece I really messed with was a load bearing post that comes up through the middle of my kitchen counter. It originally marked the end of the barn, and the inside was brown, the outside dark barn red, so I stained over the red with a muddy brown that closely matched the aged wood color, good to go. 

1. 
   mclark561 | Oct 03, 2008 02:42pm | #3

   That is the way I've been thinking of going with the cases and then using Mapleman's suggestion of just letting the cut areas show on the doors and drawers. The contrast between the two or more colors (depending on the wood underneath that grey) may make for a really nice looking set of cabinets.

   Thumbnailed and Mapleman thanks for your ideas and insights.

   Mark