How can you repurpose kitchen cabinets? Do you ever see kitchen cabinets in thrift stores and donation centers? Well, they’re not just for kitchens anymore! They can very easily be made into something new!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through them I receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you (read my full disclosure).I needed a budget friendly console table for that space. I've had an idea on how to repurpose one of our old kitchen cabinets churning in my brain for a while now. Upper cabinets are only 12” deep, so they are the perfect depth for a console table. This cabinet plus some legs and paint could equal a really cool console table! Now that I had the place for it, I was ready to make it!
My Tip: I had cabinets on hand to use, but most people probably don't. Keep an eye out for cabinets at thrift stores and building supply donation centers, like the ReStore. Don't forget about Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace too. I've even seen random single cabinets for free listed there!
I decided to flip the cabinet upside down to become my console table. I did this for two reasons: The knobs would then be at the top. Also that piece of leftover crown molding looked better on the bottom to me.
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So that's the backstory. Here’s how I did this simple kitchen cabinet repurpose to a console table:
1. Install Furniture Legs
Adding the legs was super easy. Making it easy is also where all of my money for this project was spent. My goal was for it to look like a piece of furniture. I picked these 6" tall legs and they each needed a plate to attach them to the cabinet. I got these from Lowes for about $28 total, but there are some cheaper options out there.
I wanted to install what would be the front legs up as close to the front of the cabinet as possible for stability. I marked the center of the end of the piece of wood there.
After all four leg plates were screwed into place, I screwed the legs into the leg plate hardware
My Tip: Be very careful when standing the cabinet upright. As with any furniture, it can be easy to snap the legs off if you try to use them as pivot points. It may be a two person job to lift it up and turn it instead of trying to use the legs to pivot the cabinet up.
2. Patching and Sanding
This step totally depends on the cabinet being used. My cabinet is rustic, so it had some things I wanted to patch. It had unfinished sides with some nail holes I didn't want to show. It also had some small gaps on what would be the top of the finished piece that I wanted to patch.
Since my cabinet was a little more rough construction than many, when I sanded the wood fill I also sanded down some high spots to even them out. I also sanded the top of the back panel down a little since it wasn't completely even with the top of the cabinet. There were also some deep scratches and gouges that I sanded out.
Again, if I was using a more finished cabinet or one out of smoother wood, I could have skipped filling and sanding and gone right ahead to painting.
3. Painting
In my plans for this project I said I wanted major impact with bold color! I've been loving all of the deep yellows, mustards, and golds that I'm seeing lately. I've got these pillows in the living room and thought it would be fun to carry it upstairs.
My idea here was to layer colors on as a base so that when I distressed the top color, they would show through. With all of the layer colors on, it looked like a kindergarten project to me! I was really doubting this plan.
After the top coat of yellow dried, I distressed it with sandpaper. I still was unsure about the finished product. I mean, I like it in general, but I'm not sure I like it for this space. A friend suggested putting it in the space it was intended for before I decided, since light affects how color looks. It was a good idea and I did like it a lot better. Here it is in the hallway.
I reused the same hardware knobs to save money in my budget for this project. I painted over the hinge hardware because I wanted it to blend in and disappear.
So there's my console table made from a kitchen cabinet! Let me know what you think in the comments!
Now here are all of the other Week 2 Updates from the other $100 Room Challenge participants. Stop in and see what progress they've all made this week too!