Ugly Dresser Turned Into Rustic Kitchen Island Cart

My sister is moving into a new apartment that lacked counter space but had room for a rolling cart. I decided to make her a housewarming present that didn't break the bank. Using salvaged materials from our neighborhood bulk pickup and scraps lying around the house, my father and I constructed this rustic rolling kitchen island for her.

Step 1: Finding Materials

Our neighborhood had bulk trash pickup and people were throwing out furniture left and right. We found this ugly children's dresser that we thought had potential as a base. Once we had secured the base we went looking for a top. We liked the look of a butcher block counter but didn't really want to spend the money. We found this coffee table with a solid wood top that we thought would do the trick.

Step 2: Stripping Down the Finishes

The first thing we had to do was strip the finishes off the existing pieces. The yellow dresser was hideous. I sanded off the top and one side but thought it was taking to long so we went out and got paint stripper. After two strips I decided I kind of liked the distressed look that had remnants of the paint. I also liked the way the yellow played off of the blue on the crate drawers. For the top I just sanded it down to take the flower detail and varnish off.

Step 3: Resizing the Crates

The crates were not the size I needed to replace me drawers. The two "Net Weight" crates were too tall and the wine crate was too wide and to tall. I used a jig saw to trim about an inch off the top. For the wine crate I popped off one side, cut it down and then used a nail gun to reattach it. I really liked these crates that we had lying around the house and am glad I got to use them for this rustic kitchen island, I think they really elevate the piece.

Step 4: Reconfiguring the Insides and Adding Shelves.

I disassembled the inside of the dresser in order to reconfigure it for my needs. I reused the two pieces from the top drawers and created a third from scrap wood around the garage. Using leftover boards from another project we made planking for open shelving.

Step 5: Adding Strength and a Place to Put Our Casters

We added these two corner pieces to the bottom in order to strengthen the piece as a whole and to have a place to put our casters. We were going to use two by fours but had this piece left over from another project and figured it would work better. We capped it on the back with a piece of poplar and also added a small strip to act as a stopping mechanism for the drawers.

Step 6: Finishing the Final Product

We added the casters, bought them at home depot for about eight dollars a piece. We found some salvaged brass hardware in the garage to put on the drawers. We then screwed the top on and added two coats of clear coat. I sanded in between with a fine piece of sand paper. We decided not to add polyurethane to the crates because they had some decals on the side that we didn't want to mess up. We might finish them someday, just not this week. How you all liked the project and are inspired to keep making! Please let me know what you think in the comments.