3 Repurposed Drawers

I love commissions out of the ordinary, and this was a triple one, yay! Bound for the customer's bedroom, all three pieces are made out of vintage drawers, repurposed into shelves and a bedside table that is also hung on the wall to save some space.

An out of the ordinary, full of personality set! -check it out in full detail here below:

BEDSIDE TABLE MADE WITH MIDCENTURY MODERN DRAWER

The customer had seen my previous creation here, and asked to get a similar one. Luckily, I still had a second vintage drawer from a late 50s kitchen available, so I was able to grant her wish!

The lovely drawer was cleaned and thoroughly sanded, the aqua-green front slightly distressed to accentuate the time patina and the bottom stained in a dark mix of mahogany and wengue tones. The shelf is a salvaged pinewood board, and I also added an upstand made out of a lobed piece of wood, painted in an off-white tone and distressed. The whole piece has been clear varnished and polished for a smooth, stain finish. The pull is a white sphere that rounds up the original, colourful design.

Measures: 31x 36cm, 18cm high with the upstand at the back.

WALL SHELF MADE WITH OLD WARDROBE DRAWER

This wide, shallow drawer taken from an old wardrobe, with its rounded edges and mix of wood (beech, pine and olive root) made it perfect to become a wall mounted shelf.

I sanded the piece to get rid of the outdated coat of yellow varnish and expose the different gorgeous grains. Just the former front part, in beech, is slightly stained. Then added a shelf made with a salvaged pinewood board, stained in a dark, reddish tone and a chrome handle from the late 60s. Also, as usual, the whole piece has been clear varnished, then polished to get a smooth, satin finish.

Measures: 48x 40cm, the shelf is 14cm deep.

WALL SHELF MADE WITH SMALL VINTAGE DRAWER

The front of this cute piece from the 70s is its most remarkable feature, so the shelf was to be hung from the back, making it a 'floating' drawer.

I have painted the front board in an off-white tone, then distressed it to highlight the carvings and the forged iron pull. The bottom of the drawer has the same treatment and the whole piece has been clear varnished, then polished to get a smooth, satin finish.

Measures: 26x 16cm, 10cm high.

THE MAKING OF:

Here are the three drawers, before their transformation

THE BEDSIDE TABLE:

Sanding, and rounding the edges of the pinewood board that would become the shelf.

Cutting the upstand to measure, distressing the aqua-green front.

Staining the bottom, distressing the previously painted upstand.

Varnishing, then polishing all parts.

Finally, assembling the whole piece.

THE BIG WALL SHELF:

Sanding the drawer, cutting the board that would become the shelf

Sanding the shelf and varnishing the drawer

Staining the shelf in a walnut tone, then assembling the parts

And the final touch: adding the vintage handle on top.

THE SMALL WALL SHELF:

After sanding the drawer, painting the front in an off-white tone and distressing the carved surface (not shown), then varnishing the whole piece

Polishing it all, including the forged iron pull.