Reclaimed Reading Stand

Intro: Reclaimed Reading Stand

Inspired during a family kitchen renovation five years ago, I spared two cupboard doors from their upcoming haul to the landfill, snatching them for this project. Its a shame I hadn't the space to store the rest of them, nor the time to whip them all into shelves back then. I think that was before freecycle even existed. Now, this little unit stands in my new home, bringing back fond memories of the kitchen I grew up in.

Materials

Reclaimed Reading Stand
2 cupboard doors of equal size
- discarded ends of wood (Baseboards may be a good choice)
12 older-looking screws
12 finishing nails (optional)
1/4 Cup Cup home-made stain (optional) *
- boiled linseed oil
- decorative door pulls and hinges
- Sand paper
- Lint-free rag

Originally posted at http://www.raisingspaces.com/index.php/2007/10/18/reclaimed-reading-stand/

Step 1
Measure and cut your top and second shelf pieces from the discarded ends.

Step 2
Measure and cut your end piece so that its ends are flush with the cabinet door edges.

Step 3
Sand, stain and oil parts, taking care to treat cut ends and gouges with extra linseed oil. Leave to dry about eight hours.

*Wondering how to make home-made stain? I found a recipe from Home and Garden Television and adapted it by switching out food colouring for instant coffee. Have fun and experiment with other natural dyes!

Step 4
Pre-drill holes to avoid splitting wood, and screw components together. I pinned mine together with finishing nails to hold the pieces in place before installing the screws.

Step 5
Attach decorative door pulls. Reapply stain and oil as needed.

Comments

[Dudeyowuzup]

Cute instructable, but I just wanna comment to anyone reading your intro...
Maybe 5 years ago everyone was buying new cabinets, but in today's economy, do NOT send your cabinets to the landfill! Cabinets sell faster on Craigslist than anything else I've seen! Even worn-out used cabinets! (believe me, I've been trying to buy some, and every ad I respond to they were already sold!)
You'll even find people to come in and take your cabinets down for you for free!

[busy_as_a_bri]

This is a really cute idea. I think I would probably line the inside with contact paper or some home decor fabric to liven it up. Thanks for the great idea! A little table like this with a bowl on it would be great to put by the front door to hold my keys!

[Runeshai]

That's a sweet idea. It looks kinda unstable, like pulling out the drawer would overpower the balance of the skinny base, but maybe not. Quick note: your link includes the end parenthesis so it doesn't work. If you take that out, then it does.

[craftthefuture]

Thanks! It's actually a false drawer - more of a cubby like. Thanks for the note about the link. I'll see if I can fix that.

[Runeshai]

No problem. Ah, that's cool, a cubby might sounds more practical on a piece like that.