I told you guys: I loved the last re-purpose project I had (The mirror; check it out!), and another one would be on the horizon!
Well, here it is! Totally by accident!
My Mother-in-law just asked me for a custom "toy box" for my daughter's toys at "MeeMaw's" house. She sent me a couple pins for reference. I really liked the idea, since it's always such a disaster after my daughter leaves their house!
With projects like this, I always like to see how much it would be to make it brand new, from scratch. That way, I can figure out if it's worth it to make it, or if I should look into buying one! After doing some measurements and looking at the picture references, I determined that I would need about $150 in JUST MATERIALS to make one similar to the reference!
$150 for a toy box? That's insane...
So, I told my Mother-in-Law the dilemma, and kind of put that on the back burner...
But it was still bugging me...
How could it be so much? There's got to be a better way...
I looked back at some of my previous projects, when I came across the ribbon storage solution I made for my wife (check it out!). I made that piece using an old above-toilet cabinet I got from a garage sale for $5!
It was clear to me: if this was going to work and be feasible, it had to be a re-purpose project!
So, I went to the local Goodwill's and thrift stores. I was getting pretty discouraged, until I found something that could work...
It's some kind of nightstand or storage shelf...
What really drew me to it was the fact that it's unfinished wood. There might be a light layer of poly on the surface, but nothing that can't easily be sanded. It has similar dimensions to the references, but a little more narrow, which I think will work better in my Mother-in-Law's house.
But, that's not even the best part...
Did I mention that this baby only cost me...
I know! I couldn't believe it either!
People were looking at me funny the whole way out of that thrift store. But, they can keep looking. Because they have NO IDEA what I have planned!
Now, there are some blemishes; the person who made this was not shy about using wood filler to cover up holes. They also didn't really believe in wood glue in place of nails...
No big deal! I just need the bones!
The first thing I had to do was remove the "extra" stuff that I don't need, starting with the top!
It was secured using planks on the underside with screws. I just simply unscrewed them and took it off. I used my rubber mallet to "knock out" the planks at the top, which were secured using brad nails.
Next, I want to remove the trim pieces on the front. While something like this may be needed for the final product, I really despise the visible wood filler "splotches" and holes. There were hinges on the front at some point, and the holes are still there!
It's hard to see, but it turns out that the builder used wood glue in addition to brad nails on the trim pieces.
*facepalm*
Nothing a good sanding won't fix! But, we'll get to that later.
Now to start adding pieces back on!
The first thing I wanted to do add was a top that wasn't rounded and didn't spill over the sides!
I cut a piece of common board to size and test-fitted it. To secure it to the sides, I used my Kreg Jig and drilled some pocket holes. I used some 1.25" Kreg screws to screw it into place. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have any screws showing in the final product.
Moving on, I wanted to extend the piece and make it just a little bit taller. The references each had a nice accent around the top, and I wanted to see if I could do the same!
I used another strip of common board and cut it in a gentle curve. I used the bottom of a quart of paint to make the circle, and sketched out a gradual curve. I cut the design out using my scroll saw and then sanded it down using my belt sander.
I used 3 pocket holes in the back to secure it to the top piece of wood.
Next, I wanted to continue the accent to the sides!
I cut two strips of wood at the same height as the back piece and the same length as the shelf. I sketched a curve into one side of the wood and cut both pieces to the same shape using my scroll saw. After that, they didn't exactly match up, so I clamped them together and sanded them down together so they matched.
I secured each accent piece to the back panel using wood screws from the back and wood glue with clamps on the fronts. I let the wood glue dry overnight before moving on.
The next thing is to add some decorative accents to give the piece more character! To make sure I could access the piece from all around, I also removed the backer board pieces: I'll put a nice pieces of fresh backer board on later!
I cut 2" strips of wood and added them to the sides of the piece using wood glue. This gives the sides some more depth and character!
I did it to both sides of the piece and clamped the planks down to dry in position.
I wanted to thicken up the curved side accent pieces as well, so I cut some 3/4" wood using my scroll saw to match up with each side.
Once both sides matched up, I clamped them into position to dry. My plan is to smooth everything out with the sander before stain so it will look like more of a cohesive and finished piece.
The next thing that I really wanted to make sure I included was a basket shelf. The best way to do this, from the reference photos, was to make a slanted mini-shelf with a "stopper" strip on the front.
I decided on a 4" wide strip of wood. I measured where it needed to sit with a mock up basket. I screwed it in using pocket screws from the underside.
So far, there are no visible screws!
Woo hoo!
For the "stopper" strip, I went ahead and cut a 1.5" strip of wood and cut it to length (about 22"). I used wood glue and pocket holes to secure it to the sides of the piece. I tested the setup with a sample basket in place and it all fits nicely!
I clamped all available spaces using my vast array of clamps and let the piece dry completely over night!
The next morning, I pulled off the clamps and everything stayed put! Thank goodness!
Time to move on to the doors for the front!
I'm using classic, frame-less hinges for the doors; I cut out the holes for the hinges to sit in using my router.
I will be making the doors using 11.5" wide wood because that's what I have on hand! The gap that I need to cover is about 22" wide, so it's going to be close!
I cut each door to 15" tall and 11.5" wide and mounted them on to the piece...
Whoops!
So, as you can see, there's a bit of a gap between the doors. Normally, this would be a problem. However, since I plan on putting some framing and a reclaimed wood design inset, I can use those things to cover up the short doors! Thank goodness!
I decided to go with 2" framing around the doors, so I mocked it up first using clamps. When all sides were measured and checked, I screwed the strips into the doors from the back using 1.5" wood screws...
I could have used wood glue and clamped it, but I want the doors to be solid and secure. After all, they are going to be the only moving parts of this project. Plus, I think that with the color scheme I am going with, it won't really be too noticeable.
I also decided to make the doors one piece for the design process. This will make it easier to ensure that everything stays symmetrical and where it's supposed to be. Once everything is stained and a design is put in the center, I'll cut it right down the middle using my table saw! This should also help disguise the doors, since I plan on using a "push-to-open" system so I don't have handles messing up my design!
But, before putting a design on the doors, I need to paint and stain!
Next step is sanding everything down and cleaning it up!
I went ahead and sanded everything down and smoothed out the edges; then I wiped all the surfaces down and removed the sawdust using a wet rag...
Now that the wood is all sanded down and cleaned, it's time for stain!
I started with the doors first. I wiped on Minwax Dark Walnut stain with a shop rag. I let it fully dry. Then, I moved on to the rest of the piece...
I did the same thing, and just applied dark walnut stain to the entire surface of the piece using a stain rag. I let both the doors and the body fully dry before moving on...
Now that it's dried, it's time for whitewashing!
To achieve this look, I brushed on a whitewash mixture (1 part water, 1 part paint) and let it sit for 3-5 seconds. Then, I quickly wiped the paint using a shop rag. I tried to wipe the paint in the direction of the wood grain to make it look more natural. In some spots, the paint was a little thick.
I did the same with the doors (not pictured)...
After all the surfaces had been whitewashed, I lightly sanded the areas where I wanted to remove some of the concentrated white. This made it look much more natural!
After the paint and stain were fully dried, I went ahead and started with the decoration!
In the reference photo that I really liked, the builder put their child's name on the front of the bottom drawer. They also had the first letter of the kid's name up at the top on the decorative trim.
Instead, I wanted to leave this as a generic piece. So, I made a 6-point star out of white reclaimed wood to put in place of the initial. I used wood glue to adhere the piece to itself and also onto the body and let it fully dry.
On to the next!
If you notice, there are some blemishes on the front that remain from the previous builder. This is most likely from wood glue and the removal of the trim that was already present.
Once I stepped back to check out how amazing this piece looked, all I could focus on were those marks!
So, I decided to use reclaimed wood to cover them up! I actually made a 1/8" thick cut of some reclaimed wood strips, leaving the face intact!
I cut and trimmed them down to size and glued them to the front using wood glue and clamps. The other side (not pictured), was a little harder because the face plate cracked when cutting, so it's not a nice, intact, rectangular piece. But, since we are going for rustic, then it will still look great!!
I love the way these strips came out. They match the color of the whole piece pretty well, and they give it a really rustic look!
I let these dry overnight while clamped to make sure they stay on...
Because the sun went down quickly and it's after 8PM, I went ahead and prepped the backer board, since that doesn't take long and it's one less thing I have to worry about in the morning!
As you may be able to see, I sketched a line down the middle marking exactly how much stain I needed and where my boundaries are. Since this is going to be stained, there's no sense in staining more than I have to!
I applied Minwax dark walnut stain using a shop rag for this backerboard. I don't think I'll be whitewashing before putting it in, because it might be just a little too much! I think the dark walnut background will be a nice compliment to the light, white-washed body!
I let it dry overnight and picked up where I left off the next morning!
Now that everything is dried and secured, I went ahead and got started on the reclaimed wood inset for the front doors...
I went with a random horizontal pattern with 3 different types of reclaimed wood cut into planks. I believe these three colors compliment each other really nicely. Plus, I think this design will work well when split in half with my table saw!
After all the pieces were cut, I used wood glue to secure them to the door assembly and clamped them tight until fully dried!
To the table saw!
I sawed the doors in half right down the middle. I also lightly sanded the newly cut edges to make them safe and remove the splinters!
I went ahead and mounted the doors and took a look!
Awesome!
Now that all the pieces are done, it's time to clear coat the whole piece!
I decided on matte water-based liquid poly; I went with matte finish to maintain the rustic look I've been going for.
I started with the backer board; I cut the excess off and applied poly to the stained surface. Once it was dried, I put it on the back of the piece and stapled it in using a staple gun!
And then, the full piece got a thick coat!
The last thing I wanted to do was add some "push-to-open" latches for the doors. I don't want to add drawer pulls to mess up the design on the front of the doors. Since the hinges I used are self-closing, a "push-to-open" latch will work great!
I mounted them to the top of the cabinet assembly...
And that's the final step! It's all done!
This was a great project! I really didn't think it was possible with the amount of money it was going to cost! I'm so glad that I was able to find that thrift store piece and was able to change it into the amazing piece it is today! It took a lot of work, and I had to pull out a lot of tricks, but it all paid off!
I gave it to my Mother-in-law this evening, and she LOVED it! She says it fits her decor perfectly, and she was really surprised! My daughter has already been playing with it and getting used to it, and she loves it as well!
These re-purposing projects are so rewarding because it's taking something that was previously discarded or not useful and giving it new life! I really enjoy doing these projects, and I can't wait for the next one!
Until next time!
-Kevin
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