There was this really nice custom made cabinet in my living room and a really awful cabinet in my den. The problem I had was twofold. First, I didn't like the placement of the living room cabinet and second, the den cabinet was awful. Did I mention that already? Take a look.
I'm not sure how well you can see it, but the built in cabinet in the den looked like something you would see in a hunting store. Behind those sliding glass doors there were racks to store guns. It was also recessed into the wall. That was not what I wanted in my den. While the living room cabinet was nice, it's placement just made no sense in the room. So now what am I going to do? I sure wish the living room cabinet could just be moved down to the den...
Wait---I think it will fit down there with just a few adjustments!
Believe me, this was not something I could do myself, so I called my contractor and told him what I had in mind. He was skeptical to say the least, but when I get something in my head that I want to do, I'm hard to distract. He eventually said he would give it a try as long as I didn't hold him responsible for any possible disaster. I quickly agreed and we were off! I removed the glass doors and shelving from the gun case and the guys started detaching the living room cabinet from the wall. Then it was time to move it. Did I mention that it had to be lowered over the balcony? That's why my contractor didn't want to be held responsible...
this is the balcony that the living room cabinet was lowered over-- it took 6 strong men!
Now all they had to do was add some shelves to each end and paint. Well, maybe they did a little more than that, but you get the idea. We had it wired for the TV and some lights and then I got busy accessorizing. It turned out even better than i expected!
the living room cabinet (minus the glass doors) in it's new home in the den
So, how do you decide if something is worth salvaging or repurposing rather than just starting over? In this case it was easy because the cabinet I was saving was very well made. All I had to pay for was the labor to move it and retrofit it into the downstairs opening. It would have cost considerably more to start from scratch and build the cabinet. If you have a contractor you trust, just have him price it both ways.
My best advice is to go for it when it comes to your home. Just because something is in one place when you move in, doesn't mean it has to stay there. The way to make a house your home is to make it work for the way you live. If you can do that, I promise you'll love living there.
I'll keep you posted...
Lynn
