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May 28, 2013

New Craft Counter

My craft room/computer room/loft has been in dire need of a more useful space for storage and a dedicated space for working on projects instead of using the kitchen table. My craft projects have taken over and I needed to find a solution.

Here's my utterly messy craft space before:



I couldn't find anything. My craft cabinet and craft table where packed full. This area isn't very big so I need to pack a punch. Enter Pinterest. I saw this pin a while back and it got the wheels turning. I decided to start hunting down 2 drawer file cabinets. Couldn't be that hard, right? Well, lets just say that I hit up every thrift store in a 10 mile radius with no luck. I finally found a large lot on CL and jumped in. 

I started by spray painting the fronts and the sides that would be visible with Rustoleum Aqua spray paint (my most favorite color). I then took a lot of measurements and hit up the Depot for some plywood. I had the guys in the orange aprons cut down the wood to my specifications and the hubster loaded it in the car for me. We got it home and started by attaching the casters to the base piece. I used 8 casters. They were not very cheap so it kind of defeated the thriftiness of the project but I wanted the added height to the counter so I could stand or sit at a bar stool to work. 




The casters are totally awesome so I guess I shouldn't complain about their cost! Anyway, all the file cabinets that I found were varying heights and lengths.  So we had to build up each of the shorter ones to match the tallest one. We did this by cutting extra plywood and screwing it into the base piece. 


Here's the hubs helping me build the bases. 


Once they were all level, the next step was to stain the top.


We used a maple/birch veneered plywood. It had a gorgeous grain to it. I used my favorite dark walnut stain and set to work. 



Here it is all ready to be poly'd. It took the stain great. I did 3 coats to achieve the desired color. 


 After that my hubby cut down the trim pieces and we attached it with out nail gun. The final step was painting and cutting the base molding to hide the varying layers of plywood under the cabinets.


Here is the finished product. I love the size and the amount of storage. I can spread out and work on crafts without having to clean up every time we need to use the kitchen table. What do you think? In total, this project cost just under $200 for all the supplies. If I hadn't have gotten the casters, I could have saved over $50 dollars. Not too bad for a custom built craft cabinet.


Now I just need to work on a gallery wall for above it and this 1/2 of the craft room will be complete. Then I need to do something to the other half. Stay tuned for that project!



Happy Crafting,

Shara

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33 comments:

  1. What an awesome cabinet table! And I adore the color you picked, so beautiful!

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  2. Love this--so creative! And the wood with the aqua is beautiful.

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  3. It looks fabulous. The wood top is really great with that blue and so much storage. I'm a little jealous.

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  4. Love, love, love this! I am looking to add some extra storage to my space, and I think this is the answer. How did you attach the wood top to the cabinets?

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  5. So, so, SMART!! I love this look and this idea! I have been thinking I could put file cabinets to use to create some shared study spaces! Looks fantastic!

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  6. Tim, I just used screws from underneath inside the file cabinets.

    Jenny, it's so functional. I love it. I'm planning on making a desk space on the opposite side of the room for our computer and homework station.

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  7. Your project turned out really good. I love the color combo and its so versatile.

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  8. love your idea. the drawers and table on top .. smart!

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  9. Love this! I have 4 cabinets to paint and want to do this the easiest way possible... I'm glad to see you didn't remove hardware, that just looks like a pain. Did you use any primer? Any special spray paint?

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    1. Krista, I used Rustoleum Spray Paint. I did not prime although I probably should have. There are a few small chips now but overall it has held up great. I am working on another file cabinet project and will use the same paint thus time around.

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  10. How did you attach the wood to the metal top and bottom? Glue?

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    1. I have this question as well! I'm starting a metal cabinet project and would like to give it just a little more height. Thanks! Love the look of your project.

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    2. I attached the wood with a few screws from the cabinets underneath.

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  11. Hi just wondering where you got the castors because I have been looking for some and can't find cast ones anywhere.

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  12. Did you sand the cabinets or just spray away?

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  13. This looks so great! Just looking at this gave me an idea of maybe doing something like this for my kitchen. Find some file cabinets and re-purpose them into an island....
    Thanks for the idea!!!

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  14. My daughter and I just did your project. We used a deeper blue and bought the cabinets with wheels already on for $10.00 each from Craigs list. We only did four but how great they look. My daughter is using her cabinets in her laundry room for all kinds of things. Hubby's lighter tools, drills, hammers, pliers, screw drivers, nails, odds and ends, store garbage bags, doggie biscuits, detergents, one drawer for everyone's socks after laundering. Sewing basket, small cans of touch up paint. We love it because now they have a place for the tools they can never find. Everything now has a place. Loved your idea. BTW, we didn't sand them because they were metal, hardly used, very clean. We used spray paint for metal from Home Depot. ��

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  15. Would you be able to tell me the exact colour of the Rust-Oleum blue paint you used?
    Thanks.

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  16. Use tall storage cabinets similarly in my small shed.

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