Scrap Nightstand

Summer building season is heating up. Contractors and ambitious DIYers are taking long looks at their kitchens, bathrooms, and backyards and planning remodels while the weather is warm and vacation time is plentiful. Alley stalkers can take advantage as old cabinets are put out to the curb.

This handsome little nightstand was made out of an old bathroom cabinet, found in forlorn circumstances. With some clean-up, repair, paint, and the addition of shop scrap drawer fronts, a laminated wood top, and four little pallet-wood feet, I ended up with a beautiful bedside companion for less than ten bucks in materials. Scrap on!

Built for/at the ReBuilding Exchange, Chicago, IL.

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You will need these materials:

An old cabinet of some kind
Some scrap wood/shop offcuts
2 2" x 10" or similar pieces of lumber
Some small (approx. 3" x 3" x 3") hardwood pieces, possibly from pallets
Masonite/plywood to repair cabinet back/sides if necessary
Handful of drywall screws
Paint
Glue
Polyurethane or similar
Sandpaper

You will need these tools:

Drill/driver
Chop saw
Table saw
Bandsaw (optional but helpful for feet)
Nailgun, brad gun, or stapler (optional but helpful)
Orbital sander
Putty knife
Square
Tape measure
Pencil

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Step 1: Repair

The base cabinet for this project was pretty cheap -- chipboard-core laminate, tacked and glued together. It had suffered some damage in its short life, sustaining some dents, dings, and holes, especially in its back.

So, whatever your particular cabinet has been through, the first step is to refurbish it.

First, clean it out well with a disinfectant cleaner. There was all sorts of nasty stuff in these drawers -- hair, floss, etc. Take the drawer fronts off, usually attached with screws through the backside, and discard. Pop screws in where necessary to tighten up the box. If really necessary, put a new back on -- I used a scrap piece of masonite -- with glue and screws. Add plywood stretchers to the top if not already in place, cutting them to fit tightly.

Fill in all the nail and screw holes with putty, sand smooth, and paint the whole thing with the color of your choice.

jennthegenius says: May 18, 2012. 10:14 AM

Love it!

The Rambler says: May 18, 2012. 7:05 AM

I love repurposed furniture, and this is a great example of how things like regular boards, and pallet pieces can be made to look really nice. No expensive pieces of wood, or pricey counter tops, but still really looks good.

Mikeya68 says: May 17, 2012. 6:23 PM

Anything but scrap. Waht a wonderful aesthetic this has. Great example of repurposing taken to a level of art. Keep them coming.