Jewellery Wall Cabinet - From an Old Dartboard Cabinet

I re-used and old dartboard wall cabinet and re-finished it into a beautiful Jewellery Wall Cabinet for my Mom as a Mothers Day gift.

My mom had been hinting at wanting a elegant wall mounted jewellery cabinet for some time and I thought why not make her one and the dartboard cabinet was perfect.

If you don't have an old dartboard cabinet laying around I am sure you could find an old used one with very little effort or cost.

For this instructable I will be going through the steps needed to turn a Dart Board Wall Cabinet in a Jewellery Cabinet that is highly functional and beautiful. I will also be making new doors for the cabinet because the ones on the existing cabinet were in poor shape. If the doors on your cabinet are in good shape feel free to use them and save the time of making new ones. Having said that making new ones allows you more creative freedom in the design of the doors.

Materials Needed ;

Old dartboard wall cabinet
Extra wood pieces - 1/4" thick x 1.5" wide by 3' long Oak - 3 pc.
Pine piece 1.5" wide x 3/4" thick 6' long then cut to fit inside cabinet
Paint
wood glue
Wood for the doors - I used Pine and cut them to the correct size.
New hinges
Lots and lots of small hooks
Wood dowel 1/2" diameter
Varathane
door pulls
cloth chair pads
waterproof label print paper (optional)

Tools Needed;

Miter Saw and Circular Saw
Drill
Clamps
Sharp knife
router table (optional)
measuring tape

Step 1: Prep and Paint

To begin this project first remove all the unnecessary items that your finished jewellery cabinet wont need.

Prep and Paint

Step 1 - Remove doors, even if you plan to re-use them it will be easier to paint with out them on.

Step 2 - Add the hook support pieces and dowels to the bottom. The hook supports are where we will screw in the small hooks and the dowel will act as a watch or bracelet holder. I attached the Hook support pieces with wood glue and clamped them. I drilled the dowels from the bottom to secure them.

Step 3 - I did a quick spray paint primer to fill some of the smaller holes and spaces then applied a thick layer of primer to the entire thing.

*** Don't paint your doors yet because we will be adding jewellery holder/shelves which will be attached via wood glue which needs a "wood to wood" contact for strength.***

Step 2: Back Drop, Hooks and Holes

To make the inside of the jewellery cabinet look professionally done I used kitchen drawer sheets I bought at the dollar store for 3 dollars.

Step 1 - First measure and cut your drawer sheets to fit and make sure they are cut properly. A few tests fits is always a good idea and cut them a little big because timing is easy.

Step 2 - Next using a measuring tape drill out some starter holes for the hooks you will be installing. The spacing here is up to you. Count how many hooks you have or want on the hook supports then how much space you have and divide to get your desired spacing.

Step 3 - Now screw your hooks into the pilot holes, this might take a while...

***Make sure your pilot holes are just the right size. Too big and the hooks will be flimsy and to small and the hooks will hurt your fingers trying to screw that many in. Try a few test holes before drilling the actual wood.***

Step 3: Doors

The door design is up to you but I like to keep things simple. I used pine for the doors and cut each piece to the same size as the existing doors I removed. Using the existng doors as a templet will ensure that everything fits back together.

I wanted the doors to have some router work so USING A TEST PIECE I tried different router bits until I found a style I liked.

Step 1 - Cut wood for doors to match the measurements of the existing doors.

Step 2 - Using a test piece determine what kind of router finish you would like. Once you are happy with the depth and location, router the actual doors to give some design character. once routed make sure to sand everything smooth.

Step 3 - Cut the oak pieces at 8" long. If you have 3 - 24" pieces this will give you 9 "shelves", I only used 8 but having an extra is always nice just in case mistakes are made. With some extra wood cut "Risers" that match the 1.5" of the shelves (see pictures) these will allow the shelved to be raised off the finished door.

Step 4 - Drill pilot holes in the shelves for more hooks. Once everything is cut you can now clamp and glue the risers to the shelves. Allow them to dry then sand everything flush.

Step 5 - Clamp and glue the fully assembled shelves to the doors where ever you like them.

Step 6 - Install Handles and cloth chair pads for a quiet close

*** Clamping all the shelves to the doors can be tricky. I used the original doors and clamped them down to hold everything in place. Its key when clamping to tighten each clamp a little bit at a time to get even pressure***

See photos

Step 4: Painting the Doors & Varathane

Painting the doors is easy but to add a little fine detail to the finished cabinet I decided to add a decorative bird stencil to the front of each door.

Step 1 - Install doors to make sure you have placed the hinges in the correct spot so everything will close properly. I used new hinges that were larger so I had to drill new holes.

Step 2 - With a small brush, paint around hinges, then the entire inside of the door.

Step 3 - find a template that you like and print it off on "waterproof" label paper (found at any office supply store). Cut out the template and stick it to the door in the best location for the image. Paint the front of the doors and then remove the template revealing the perfect stencil.

Step 4 - Once the paint has dried add the rest of the hooks to the pilot holes.

Final Steps - After the paint has dried and the hooks are in its time for a few coats of a clear varathane. this will make the surface easier to dust and keep the exposed wood where the template was safe.

*** Remove the template with sharp knife before the paint dries to prevent peeling***