My 1959 Three Bedroom Atomic Ranch

When I bought my home October 30,2007, it was in dire need of cosmetic work. It had been empty for nine months and suffered years of neglect. Luckily the utilities had all been upgraded and the bones were rock solid. My home had been one of the show homes when the development was being built so it was well constructed and had extra features like a fireplace, built in bookcases around the living room picture window, a small den next to kitchen which elongated the house and made all the other rooms bigger than average compared to the other homes on the street.

Kitchen Cabinets Being Refurbished

Luckily when I bought my home the kitchen cabinets were still original and hadn't been painted. They were built on site so they are solid wood with plywood/veneered doors. Very sturdy with no sagging shelves after 53 years!!! They don't make them like this anymore.
When I was shown the house the realtor said everyone before me complained that they would have to gut the kitchen since the cabinets were so old!!! I was ecstatic to see original cabinets.
Back in 1959 the cabinets were shellacked with Amber shellack so I wanted to restore the worn shellack and clean off 50 years of grime and grease. I used Citrus Solvent and 0000 steel wool to clean the wood, 3 coats of amber shellack with light steel wool sanding in between coats then left the last coat unsanded for a glossy shin. My feeling is after a few months the shin will diminish.