Turn an Old Drawer into a Cabinet

Welcome to this month’s Power Tool Challenge! This month’s challenge is exciting, because we have a Reader Challenge with awesome prizes to win! Details are at the end of the post…but first, let me show you what I made for this month’s challenge, the theme of which is “repurposing.”

Would you believe that this cute little cabinet started off as a banged up drawer from the cabinet in my shed?!?

This drawer had been part of the cabinet in my shed, and I removed it so that I could bolt my miter saw to the countertop.

The drawer had been sitting upright in my shed, which gave me the idea…I could turn it into a storage cabinet! Here’s how I did it.

Materials:

Here’s what you’ll need to turn an old drawer into a cabinet:

• An old drawer – this one came from my shed, but you can find drawers like this by the side of the road, in trash piles, all the time!
• Wood for shelves – I used scrap wood, but you could use any wood that’s the right size for the drawer, or cut it to fit.
• Miter saw or circular saw to cut wood for shelves
• Sander
• 80-grit and 220-grit sandpaper or sanding discs for sander
• Wood filler if the drawer has holes for a pull or handle
• paint (and primer, if needed – I needed it!)
• paint brush, stirrer, paint key. A small roller works well here, too.
• polyurethane if you want to protect the wooden shelves (I used polyurethane, applied with a foam brush)
• electric nailer or stapler (I used my RYOBI crown stapler)
• wood glue
• level
• tape measure
• pencil
• rags

Instructions:

First, I removed the hardware from the drawer and filled the holes with wood filler.

Then I sanded down the drawer front, both to smooth over the wood filler and to remove the paint from the drawer front. I used 80-grit sandpaper and my RYOBI electric sander.

And then the project nearly went off the rails.

No, seriously. I thought, “Hey! I’ll paint this a bright happy color, and I have this yellow paint + primer. I’ll use that!”

Here’s what I learned: (1) Always use primer, even if you are using a product called paint + primer. It just works better that way. And (2) I don’t really love bright yellow on a cabinet.

So, I started over. I re-sanded the drawer, again using the 80-grit sandpaper, and then applied my favorite primer to cover up my mistake first paint attempt.

Then I painted the drawer/cabinet in semi-gloss white paint. It took two coats of paint to cover the drawer.

While the paint was drying, I got to work on the shelves. I found some scrap wood in my shed that was the right depth – the drawer/cabinet is 6 in. deep – and cut it to fit: one as a shelf, one (the one with a rounded edge on it) as the base.

I then sanded them to smooth them out and remove most of the old paint.

You might remember the shelf as the wood I used to make my house numbers stand out here.

Once I sanded the wood down and wiped off the dust, I added a coat of triple-thick polyurethane and let dry.

Once the wood was dry and the paint on the drawer was dry, it was time to put it all together!

I turned the drawer over so that the bottom was facing up, and added glue to the bottom of the sides of the drawer.

Then I used my RYOBI crown stapler to attach the base to the bottom of the drawer.

Then I added the shelf. First, I measured and marked a level line on each side, 8 inches down from the top of the drawer. That way, if I attached the shelf along those lines, the shelf would be level. I added wood glue to the sides of the shelf and slid it into place, along the lines I drew. Then I stapled it in place. It’s level!

The hardest part was deciding where to put it!

The kitchen? It makes a great spice rack!

Or maybe in the bathroom?

It’d be great storage above the toilet.

Such a cute, versatile little cabinet! And it was essentially free!

OK – now it’s your turn!

This is a Reader Challenge, which means that we want you to link up your repurposing project! The two rules for the project are that (1) you have to repurpose one thing into something else and (2) you have to use at least one power tool to do the project.

And, by linking up a project, you will have the chance to win one of two RYOBI Power Tool prizes! One prize will be given away by random drawing and one given to the project voted Best Repurposed Project Overall. The Power Tool Challenge Team and a RYOBI Power Tools team member will vote on the winner for the Best Overall Project prize. The winner will chose from any RYOBI power tools up to $230. Every entry counts towards a chance in a random drawing to win either an 18 Volt One + jigsaw or an 18 Volt One + Drill.

Enter your favorite repurpose project. There is a maximum of four entries per person allowed. The link-up will be open for two (2) weeks (starting today and ending midnight November 2). You can submit your own projects directly at the link-up at the end of this post, or post to Facebook and share that link, or send me photos of your project along with the project name (and your name!) to karen@thediybungalow.com and I can post it for you on my page and enter the link for you. You must be 18 years of age or older to win, and this giveaway and contest is open to USA residents only.

Link up your repurpose project here:

Ready to get inspired? Check out the other repurposing projects from the Power Tool Challenge Team! They are awesome!

Create and Babble Rustic Birdhouse from Upcycled Shutter

My Love 2 Create Repurposed Shutter Desk

Designed Decor How To Build A Repurposed Chair Leg Bench

Just The Woods How To Make A Bench From Chairs

Domestically Speaking How To Turn A Desk Into A Nightstand

Virginia Sweet Pea DIY Vintage Tennis Racket Basket

H2OBungalow Repurposed Picture Frame Wall Shelves

My Repurposed Life DIY Doll/ Dog Bed

The Kim Six Fix Lego Table From Two Tiered End Table

And pin this for later, when you want to make one, too!