My first real overhaul came in the form of my old dresser, I've had it literally since birth. My mom used it as a changing table! So now 43 years later, it's been through me and all 4 of my girls, had a ridiculous paint job about 28 years ago, and I had tossed it outside for trash when my 18 year old moved away from home last year after graduation. I didn't think twice about it, till this new DIY adventure happened.
I have cats, well one indoors now, and up until the new floor was installed, the litter box was in the bathroom. Yeah, that had to go. But not the cat, I love my cat. I moved the box out to a corner of my also small kitchen. Problem is, that takes up valuable real estate in that room. And she's a slob so I wanted it extra contained. I went on Pinterest to see what I could find as far as hiding litter boxes. There I found cool cabinets and various DIY's to make a piece of furniture that would hide the cat box and still have usability.
Then it hit me. I have this beat up old dresser, I think I can make something that would work.The height is ideal to put in front of the window and I will still have two large drawers to hold utensils, gadgets, towels, and other miscellaneous kitchen accoutrements.
I had taken the crappy kitchen cupboard doors down (I'll be building new ones) that I hated and thought I could go ahead and cut two down and reuse them on this piece, access for me to clean the litter box. But it does also need access for the cat, so I could just cut a hole in the side for her to get in and out.
Now, here comes the extreme budget part. Everything I used on this project I already had here at home. And even at that, some things were cheap (rolls of contact paper I bought a while back for my countertop)
Let's take a look at some pics.
This is after being left out for the dump for many months. There's decades of scratches, cracks, paint scuffs, just all over ick. The drawer bottoms broke years ago, it's a wreck. So, let's get to demolition!
Starting with the drawers, these were the most trouble as far as sanding down the leftover paint. Again, extreme budget here, I couldn't get ANY paint stripper. My grand solution was bleach. Lots of bleach. Added bonus, the disinfection. I used the husband's Dewalt sander for this project.
You can see below the original finish. It's been so long, I can't recall even painting it, but this was quicker work. Once I got it going, some bits just peeled/scraped right off. Now, I couldn't get any more sandpaper, so I cold only use what I had, which wasn't much and some of it was just crappy to begin with. At this point, I called it sanded and ready for paint. Since my goal is not to resell or anything, it doesn't need to be perfect, just good enough. I tore that back off too.
This next part was fun. My mom has my late grandpa's old jigsaw, and I was ecstatic that she let me have it for my projects! I would spend hours with him in his woodshop, helping him with his various builds. He taught me to use the bandsaw and a host of other tools when I was a just a little kid. I joked with her that I had to have picked up some of his skills through osmosis.
So here I am starting to cut out the cat hole. Now this material splinters when cut against the grain. Some really thin boards were layered up for the side inserts and the backing. Again, looking for function here, not perfection.
First coats of paint. I had this drywall primer from a while ago and it was the better choice than the family dollar spray paint. Those cans take no time to empty, so i opted for this. I like a matte finish anyway, so is was just right. And it's primer, so if I do get a different paint color, it's ready.
All painted! I realize now that I didn't take pics of the cupboard door process. For this part, i actually did need to hit the hardware store, as I only had one set of hinges. Luckily for me, Mom was able to save the day, and she bought me the hinges. I want to say they ran at $3.99 at the True Value. I spray painted the original knobs with my black matte spray I got at Family Dollar a couple weeks back. But there's still one more step.
I added the contact paper to the sides and top. I also lined the drawer bottoms I made from the thick cardboard from the box that came from our TV. I had to put a thick shim on one side, because, if you read my first post you know nothing in this house is level, so I had to level the piece out. It's now hidden under the rubber mat I put down.
And here's how it looks today!
It has new life.
Is it gorgeous and elegant? Oh no, far from it. It looks like a reclaimed piece, an amateur attempt (which it is) but I'm ok with that. I wanted it to look beat up and scarred. The thing was way past it prime, and it's going through it's second life. In a way, it was a very cathartic thing for me, I feel like I relate on a personal level to this project.
What's Next:
Now it's close to Father's Day, and since I have two leftover drawers from this dresser, I'm going to make a wooden toolbox for the spouse with the extra wood. I will only need to buy one thing, a plunger! Stay tuned for that, and I will have a video up on my YouTube channel with that project.
Happy Crafting!
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