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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