The custom storage areas in this family room by Busby Cabinets have
been designed and built to accomplish a multitude of tasks, from housing
media equipment to displaying family treasures.
The chest, or trunk, is thought to have been the precursor of the cabinet. Since
chests were often used to sit on, or ended up with things being placed on top of them,
they subsequently were designed to open from the front or side rather than the top.
Next, legs were attached to the bottom of trunks to raise them off the floor making
it easier to access their contents. This evolution of the chest led to the creation of
cabinets as they are used today.
The Hoosier Cabinet became popular in the early 20th century and is said to have
originated in New Castle, Indiana. These cabinets were most often used in kitchens.
They were a freestanding piece of furniture and consisted of three parts. The base, or
bottom section, was designed with a large, deep storage compartment that could be
filled with flour and sugar or oversized pots and pans. Some were built with slideout
shelves, a drawer for utensils and casters so that they could be easily moved. The
top portion of these storage units was more shallow than their base and was typically
built with smaller compartments with hinged doors that would conceal the contents.
The middle section of these units consisted of a pair of channels, or side brackets, that
joined the top and bottom together to create a gap between the two. That open area,
or countertop, provided a work space between the upper and lower sections.
106 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE
| JULY/AUGUST 2016
Closets, pantries,
laundry rooms
and garages are
greatly enhanced
by the use of
custom closets.