We showcased Patti and Darin’s delightful retro kitchen makeover yesterday. Today: A closer look at two ingenious features — a cute little snack or breakfast bar and a midcentury modern style boomerang clock. They made both of these for under $100 (not including the stools) — using leftover materials and just a few additional purchases.
DIY kitchen snack bar:
Patti wrote:
I’m very bad at always wanting something unique, one of a kind. Necessity breeds invention, you know, and I can never find EXACTLY what I’m looking for, so I usually have to make it up. For the snack bar, I wanted something simple that looked like it was probably in my kitchen originally (this is a modest ranch), and I wanted a place… to snack!
The snack bar substrate is 3/4″ particle board. I bought a 4×8 sheet at Home Depot and had them cut it for me to my rough dimensions because it’s hard for me to handle a full sheet by myself.
Anywho, I’m a McGyver-er from way back, so I cabbaged around the garage for scraps. I didn’t have screws short enough to attach the table leg to the bar, so I found a piece of 1×4 to use as a spacer. I attached the table to the wall with leftover shelving corners cut to 24″ and secured into the wall studs.
Table legs can be found lots of places.
The bar was going to be 36″ square but it overpowered the space so I cut it down to 30″. And, it’s counter-height, so I had to cut 2″ off the bar stool legs cause they were too high.
DIY boomerang clock — Belart style
Then the wall above was too blah, and I found a clock I loved on eBay but it sold for $810. Yikes! And I thought, hey, I’ll just make my own!
Another listing gave me the idea on the shape of my clock. I had laminate left over from the kitchen and particle board left over from a piece of MDF from making my platform bed. I drew out the shape, and Darin cut it out for me because his hand is steadier than mine 😉
The clock is a scrap piece of Masonite board, I drew, he cut. I painted it to match the cabinets, clock mechanism from Amazon for $10.
The 3-6-9-12 spots are biscuits (I have a biscuit joiner!) and I wrapped them with aluminum foil (ha!) and the 1-2-4-5-7-8-10-11 dots are the wooden tip of a paint brush dipped in silver paint and dotted on. Voila!
Voila indeed! Nicely done, Patti, thank you for sharing your design! And, I learned that “cabbage” can be used a verb — I am going to start doing that, too! Yay for all the MacGuyvers among us!
Nancy says
Wonderful use of the Betty laminate!
vintigchik says
I love that laminate. I work at a cabinet and countertop shop and see it every day. I hope someday I can design a job around it. It is so fun!
Diana says
Brilliant idea and follow through!! Never thought to look for clock mechanisms on ebay. They have everything, why not that? DOH!
cindy says
where did you get that fabulous laminate?
pam kueber says
Click through the links, we write about it again the first story https://retrorenovation.com/2015/11/02/diy-kitchen-makeover-wilsonart-betty-laminate/
Mary Elizabeth says
Oh, and yeah, the Franciscan china looks perfect on that little table and on the counter!
Mary Elizabeth says
Very nice work. Making the little breakfast table match the countertops keeps the kitchen from looking cluttered.
Patti, your use of the verb cabbage is a new one to me, too. Besides the vegetable/plant, “cabbage” refers to the scraps left over from sewing–stuff you might make quilts out of. I suppose you could use it for any type of scrap material. But I’ve only seen the verb”to cabbage” used to mean to filch or to steal, nut to rummage around among the cabbage. I wonder where it comes from, from what family or what region of the country?
pam kueber says
I presume that to “filch” or “steal” is colloquially pretty much the same as to rubbage around among scraps and grab something for a new use.
Filch = small value, casual nab….
To cabbage.
Patti Cannan says
Hmm, golly, we’ve been saying that for as long as I can remember. I always took it to mean rummaging around, sometimes stealing parts from something else for a project. So I guess, by true definition, I can’t cabbage or steal from my own garage but I can cabbage from someone else’s!
Robin, NV says
Thanks for the link to the clock movement. I have a clock project of my own and this would be perfect!
pam kueber says
once you’re in amazon, do some more searches — there is a surprising variety available now — woot!
Patti Cannan says
I was thinking I was going to have to make my own clock hands before I found mine. The hands were too long for my project so I just snipped them to the size I needed.
Melinda says
Love these DIY’s. I have been contemplating something similar, as I can’t find the right coffee table. I’m wanting a boomerang or kidney shape, problem is I can’t draw.
Did you have some kind of template for the clock shapes, or did you just freehand?
Patti Cannan says
Melinda, I can barely draw stick people! I made the clock by drawing a 14″ square with the aide of a yard stick and then “cabbaged” around the garage looking for the right ‘arc’ shape. I ended up using the lid to my outside trash can. It was harder to find the boomerang shape. I have a banjo clock that I decided would work and I traced it. As far as coffee tables go, I have two that are kidney shaped. I’d be happy to send you pics of them and if you like the shape, I could make you a paper template and mail it to you. Seriously, I mean it! This is important work we’re doing here!
Melinda says
That’s great! I may be in touch when I’m ready to do the project. Thank you so much!
Patti Cannan says
You’re welcome!
Carolyn says
I’m thinking a lot of us are going to have to McGuyver what we want due to lack of supply in our area/wallet ($810 for a clock?!) It also points to the creativity of the era that we’ll have to adopt for problem-solving.
And Patti’s redefining “Mom’s in the kitchen making biscuits” -HA!
OK, trailer is prominently framed in the first action shot – what’s the story, morning glory? did I miss that entry?
Patti Cannan says
Hahaha Carolyn! I said necessity breeds invention. And if we can dream it up, then there has to be a way to make it happen. You are too funny 😉
Patti Cannan says
Oh yeah…about that trailer…she’s the Cannanabana. I’m also what you call one of those “glampers”. My life’s motto is “If it’s not fun, I’m not doing it!” Restored vintage campers have taken on a life of their own! Talk about a whole ‘nother story!
Carol says
Patti, biscuits! That’s genius. I love it, the shape and size are perfect. I may have to “stencil” wallpaper for my laundry room with biscuits. Thanks! Your kitchen is wonderful.