Featured I need more help please!

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me anything about these 3 metal pieces my older neighbor gave me. There are no markings at all, so I'm trying to decide whether to restore them or use them for storage in my workshop. They are all 3 all metal except the laminate top that pops off on the "island" one. Thanks in advance. I also have the original sliding glass doors for the larger one.

 

This is really not my area, but I am wondering if they were in the kitchen as work furniture like a Hoosier type cabinet would have been.
Wait for the experts.

 

Look like the kitchen cabinets I used to see in my grandma's house. Mid-century modern style. Restoring those would be a job. I'm not a furniture guy so I can't say if it's worth it or not.

 

Thanks for the replies. I had to crop the pics I took to even get what I did because they were too large. If anyone knows a quick solution to get my original pic to upload, I'd love to know how. Thanks again!!

 

Do you happen to have an iphone? If so, email your photos to yourself and, in the process, select medium size. Then open the email and save the new smaller photos.

Your items look like mid-century kitchen cabinets to me, as others have said. A few rental flats I lived in in the 1990s hadn't had their kitchen cabinets updated and they were all metal cabinets like yours. Good condition MCM metal kitchen cabinets can sell in my area but not for enough to make restoration costs and effort worth it when they are as far gone as yours, IMHO.

That said, the doors/drawer fronts of the metal sink cabinet in the family cottage in Michigan’s “thumb” just got a makeover by my sister and it looks great! (She hadn’t yet replaced the final door when the photo was taken.)

 

Mid-mod is hot in the market now. But, with the rust there will be pitting, so you may never get a smooth surface again. They are probably enameled which is not redo-able at home, as far as I know. If they were mine, I would try to clean them up with auto scratch polisher, then appliance wax and call them shabby chic.

 

These are the kinds of things we pay very little for, slap some bright paint on them, and sell for $100.00 each, give or take, around here. Maybe quite a bit less on the short one. This is retail here in semi-rural Midwest so unless you have a shop or are in or near a big city, you might have to sell for less. Whether or not this is worth it, you will need to answer for yourself.

 

Thanks so much. Something to play around with anyway.

 

Our home was built in 1946 and the kitchen had all cabinets similar to these. They were very sturdy and still usable. In other words we liked them. We took them all down, washed them and sanded the bad spots. We had very little rust. We talked to a local automotive paint supplier and he suggested painting with automotive paint. So, my wife picked out a color and turned the job over to him. Two weeks later we picked up and installed the re-finished cabinets (inside and out). We had a countertop installed and replaced the sink with a stainless one. Total cost about 1/2 of the price of new cabinets w/installation. That was 15 years ago and they still work well and we are still pleased with them. Yours look in fair condition and assuming the bases are not rusted out they are definitely worth restoring and I'll bet they were not made in china.

 

I wonder from the pitting if they weren't used in a factory or standing outside in acid rain from a nearby chimney.