Repurposed Drawers for Storage and Display
I'm sharing how I gave a pair of road-side-rescued drawers fresh new life, ball feet, and ideas for using them for both storage and display!
Affiliate links may be included for your convenience; my full disclosure policy can be found here. If you click through and make a purchase I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you!
Hey there sweet friend! I'm so glad you're here! Summer is officially over as
my daughter started school today 😊😢 It's definitely a bittersweet feeling,
but I am looking forward to being on a schedule and getting my home cleaned
and purged (I'm reading
Cozy Minimalist by
The Nester and it is definitely
resonating with me on many levels!
You can have MORE style with less stuff!!) I will probably be sharing
more about this soon on the blog as I de-clutter my stuff! I may even host a
de-cluttering sale at my home!
Today is
Thrifty Style Team project sharing day! We've taken a bit of a break for summer, but we're
all anxious to get back to crafting, DIYing and sharing our budget-friendly
projects with our readers!
If you're new here, Thrifty Style Team consists of a talented group of DIY
bloggers. We are passionate about our homes and decorating them the "thrifty"
way! So if you also love to create a beautiful home on a budget, keep reading!
You'll find links to ALL the projects at the end of this post!
ROAD-SIDE RESCUE
I've shared before how excited I get when I find something for free at the
side of the road, that I can repurpose! Who doesn't like free?
When I spotted these drawers, I snatched them right up! They're a nice, small
size and I knew I could work them into my decor...maybe even in my craft room!
They weren't in bad shape, just a little grimy and orange-y, but I knew I
could remedy that! I love the dovetail drawers! That tells me they are well
made and sturdy.
Here are the supplies I used to update these drawers so they'd fit my home and
style.
SUPPLIES
- degreaser
- lightweight spackling
- sanding sponge
- KILZ blocking primer (I also love this one, but I was out)
- white chalk paint (I used this one by Dixie Belle, it's the perfect cottony white!)
- drawer pulls
- round wood feet
- stain (I used this one followed by this one which is a little richer)
- wood glue (this is my new favorite...it bonds so quickly and is super strong!)
DRAWER MAKEOVER
After giving the drawers a good clean, I removed all the hardware, including
the sliding rails on the sides. I patched the holes and once dry, lightly
sanded them.
USE A PRIMER WHEN PAINTING WOOD WHITE
Now, I've learned the hard way when I want to paint a dark piece of furniture
white, that my first step SHOULD BE a blocking primer. I usually skip
this step, and then pay the price when the tannins in the wood bleed through!
This time, I was ready! I had a feeling that this orangey wood, with its
glossy stain, would bleed through, so I painted the entire piece with one coat
of blocking primer. Once that dried, I painted with chalk paint.
Thrifty Tip Alert > The beauty of using the primer is that I
only needed one coat of white chalk paint instead of the 2-3 it normally
takes!
PREPPING "FEET"
While the drawers were drying, I moved on to the "feet". Totally unnecessary,
but a cute addition that also helps to protect my other furniture from the
bottom of the drawer when sliding it! I found a package of
9 1-1/2" ball knobs with pre-drilled holes. The balls are flat on the bottom, which made them ideal to use as feet
for my repurposed drawers.
After rigging up a little staining station using some
Dollar Tree styrofoam discs
and wood skewers, I set to work staining the feet a nice rich brown, then left
them to dry while I worked on my drawers. The use of skewers is the same tip I
used when I needed to
quickly paint pumpkins here
and
here.
DISTRESSING
I took my painted drawers outside and sanded them to reveal some of the
original wood just along the edges. I think this step is worth it as it adds
so much character to a wood piece. You can see the difference below.
ADDING HARDWARE
I already had the perfect hardware! Back when I redid the
farmhouse coffee station
in my kitchen, and used
these drawer pulls, I was
left with a couple and I've been hoarding them, waiting for the perfect
project! This was it!
FINISHING UP
The paint was dry, hardware on, and the last step was to add the little feet
to the drawers I was working on. A bit of wood glue is all they needed.
My drawers are finished and I love the update! I added in one of my African
Violets for a little green. (Vi is 10 years old!
Read here for tips on growing repeat blooming African Violets!)
Can you see how the sanding brought out the details of the wood and those
dovetail drawers?
The feet are a nice little finishing touch and I like how they slightly
elevate the painted drawers.
These drawers are now perfect farmhouse catchalls, and I know they'll look
great wherever I use them. In fact, they'll probably make the rounds in my
home 😉 but for now, I'm using them in my
modern farmhouse office
to hold craft supplies.
The white drawers are a great contrast to my black IKEA bookcases and, along
with the
peel and stick wallpaper,
help to brighten up this corner...the
wallpaper is an easy way to lighten without using paint.
Cute storage for next to nothing! I'd love to know what you think of my
repurposed drawers, and if you like this post, please PIN and SHARE!
As promised, here are the links to the projects my fellow Thrifty Style Team
members made. Click on the links below this image to be taken directly to the
tutorials.
MORE THRIFTY PROJECTS
- DIY Rose Wedding Bouquet by Redhead Can Decorate
- 7 Thrifty Fall Decor Ideas by 2 Bees in a Pod
- DIY Trophy Bookends by Salvage Sister and Mister
- Snap Bag Simple Tutorial for Makeup Brushes and More by Hearth and Vine
- Plain Wood Crates, Stained & Lettered by Bliss Ranch
- Repurposed Drawers for Storage and Display by DIY beautify
- Shabby Chic Farmhouse Hutch Makeover by The How to Home
- French Lavender Linen Spray by I Should be Mopping the Floor
- Cheap No Sew Curtain for the RV by Chatfield Court
- DIY Boxwood Wreath by Creekline House
- Updated Painted Metal Lanterns by Cottage at the Crossroads
- Thrifty String Art Made With Embroidery Hoops by Meegan Makes
- When an Idea is Worth the Risk by Duke Manor Farm
View my complete collection of DIY projects
Those little ball feet are adorable, I need to stock up on them since I have an over abundance of drawers I should be turning into storage.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bliss!
DeleteThis is such a great idea. We always need more storage. Especially cute storage that can hide all the mess.
ReplyDeleteI agree, thanks Patti!
DeleteThese turned out so cute, Cindy! I have a drawer...I'm trying to purge everything but I hung on to it, and now I think I'll add some cute little ball feet to it. Thanks for the wonderful and beautiful inspiration.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, have fun!
DeleteThese are beautiful, Cindy! What a clever and functional way to repurpose these drawers! I love the finish! xoxo
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
Deletesuper cute! i never would have thought to be feet on a drawer. what a great idea. thanks for sharing the inspo
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura!
DeleteThe stained feet are just as adorable as can be! Plus they add so much personality. You have so many amazing ideas, Cindy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Meegan, I love the feet too 😉
DeleteSuch a great project. I love reusing drawers and yours turned out so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteThese drawers just wouldn't be the same without those little wooden feet! I need these to corral some of my cookbooks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane, I love that idea!!
Delete