DIY Repurposed Chest of Drawers Into a Craft Cabinet

4 Materials
$50
3 Hours
Medium

I have a client who is currently renovating a family farmhouse into a quilting studio. She had recently seen one of our repurpose chest of drawer projects and asked if we could do the same thing to her chest of drawers. The cabinet will serve as storage for quilting supplies. The DIY repurposed chest of drawers would be a fun project the Hubs and I could complete together.

The project would consist of removing the drawers and rails, constructing three shelves, adding wood to the inside back and sides, and lastly constructing a door.


To start the project, the Hubs removed all the drawers. I can use these for future projects! They are so many projects you can do with old drawers. He then removed the drawer rails and the drawer support pieces on the front.

This is what it looked like when he was finished removing the pieces we would not use.

While the Hubs was busy constructing the inside pieces, I painted the chest of drawers. The client’s paint color choice was Dixie Belle’s Cobalt blue. I applied one coat of the paint to the sides and the top. After about 2 hours of drying time, I applied the final coat. This blue is gorgeous!

Our wood choice was a sheet of plywood from our local hardware store. This wood is for the shelves as well as the inside back and side pieces. Look at that beautiful grain!

The first order of business was to cut three pieces to place inside the chest of drawers. One of the pieces would be added to the back and two pieces would be added to each side. He also cut three shelving pieces.

The Hubs cut two small shelving blocks from scrap 1×4 and glued and then nailed them inside the chest of drawers. The small blocks would serve as the support pieces for the shelves.

The blocks were attached and the shelves were nailed into place. He also cut trim from a 1×4 to place on the outside of the shelf front.

Here is the chest of drawers with all the construction of the inside complete.

I stained the inside of the cabinet using Minwax Special Walnut. I allowed it to dry overnight. Once it dried, I applied a coat of Dixie Belle’s Spray Wax. 

The next day, the Hubs constructed the door using 1×4’s. He measured the inside of the cabinet where the door would be placed and cut accordingly. He used glue and pocket hole screws to construct the door.

Before attaching the door to the cabinet, I stained it using the Special Walnut. After it completely dried overnight, I sprayed it with a coat of the spray wax. 

The Hubs then added the chicken wire by stapling it onto the inside frame of the door after the wax was completely dry (about 2 hours). We love our Surebonder Staple Gun!

He attached the door to the cabinet with two hinges. 

To seal the outside of the cabinet, I used Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy Spray Wax applying one coat. 


I had a wood knob in my stash, and I knew it would be perfect for the door!

From an old chest of drawers to a beautiful, colorful cabinet for the quilting studio! I love the Cobalt Blue with the stain accents. It really makes it unique.

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  • Nicki Petruzzella Kerns Nicki Petruzzella Kerns on May 24, 2020

    You said you used plywood for the shelves. Did you finish off the front edges with veneer tape? They look beautiful!

  • User User on Aug 12, 2020

    What do YOU do with the drawers?

  • Sushanna Sushanna on Sep 21, 2020

    How to resurface Formica kitchen cabinets

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