i got this sad cabinet for free. where i work there is tons of empty old office space and thus abandoned office furniture. my friend rachel and i would go for walks in these spaces during lunch sometimes. one day, we spotted two of these cabinets in the hallway, and i knew i wanted one.
after much encouraging from rachel and a lot of confusing phone calls to various maintenance departments, this cabinet showed up in my cubicle. complete with various drawers full of door pieces. a coworker then helped to wheel it out to my car using my desk chair as dolly. i'm pretty sure he thought i was crazy.
after this grand adventure, it probably sat in our garage for a year. i'm actually not quite sure how long it was, but a year seems like a conservative estimate. fixing it up just seemed daunting.
but a few weekends ago, in an apparently delusional state, i decided to start get my doing on one ninety degree saturday.
there was a lot of dremel-ing and prying (as the handles were riveted on, not screwed) and sanding and power washing and priming and spray painting. so much spray painting. so much spray paint on my arms, toes, feet, shoes, hair, glasses. i think delusional may have been an understatement, as this monster has thirty drawers. thirty!
but a few weekends ago, in an apparently delusional state, i decided to start get my doing on one ninety degree saturday.
there was a lot of dremel-ing and prying (as the handles were riveted on, not screwed) and sanding and power washing and priming and spray painting. so much spray painting. so much spray paint on my arms, toes, feet, shoes, hair, glasses. i think delusional may have been an understatement, as this monster has thirty drawers. thirty!
but was it worth it. i don't think i can express how much i love how it turned out. i love it. love love love. so much so that it currently lives in the living room. which doesn't make any practical sense, because really, what am i going to do with thirty drawers in the living room, but i think i'm going to keep it there. because i like looking at it. all of the time.
and i put a lot of things that make me happy on top. like that giant wooden thing i got at a thrift store for ninety-nine cents which i'm pretty sure is a cassette tape holder. and that glittered hippo. and that cross stitch that i actually finished and didn't post about.
You're right. It's very handsome. Did you paint all the handles/label holders by hand?
ReplyDeletespray paint. the greatest thing ever.
ReplyDeleteI love it!! Turquoise is my favorite color and I love all things turquoise and white (or gray). I love DIY projects - and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gets inspired and then takes a while to get the remaining motivation and time needed to make it a reality. I really enjoy reading about all of your projects and such. Take care!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I would like looking at all that organization potential...even if I never found anything to organize in it :) Great makeover for an old giveaway. The wooden thing looks pretty cool with it too--nice mix of materials.
ReplyDeletethanks lisa! getting the motivation really is the hardest part. but once it's done, it's totally worth it.
ReplyDeletethanks katie! it's still mostly empty, but maybe one day... i did have a lot of fun 'styling' the things on top of it.