You're going to love these easy cabinet door projects made into a coffee cup rack. I have great tips for you about painting and more!
My stash doesn’t look quite this neat these days, but I think I found the doors in this picture that I’m using for these four easy cabinet door projects. Two of the shelves are made from the small doors in the front, and two made from the larger doors in the back. I hand picked these doors because I wanted them to be more rectangular than square.
I got busy making the first two larger coffee cup racks without really taking any pictures. So I made sure to snap pics of the smaller ones. All you need for these projects are cabinet doors and some scrap 1x’s. I used 1x4’s for the smaller ones, and 1x6’s for the larger doors.
I drilled pocket holes in the easy cabinet door project with my Kreg Jig and secured the board to the door with pocket hole screws and Gorilla Wood Glue.
If you don’t have a pocket hole jig, you can use “L” brackets. However, if you do a lot of projects, I highly recommend you investing in one of these jigs.
Need more details on using a Kreg Jig? See my article How to use a Kreg Jig Pocket Hole System
If this isn't what you're looking for, check out my collection of cabinet door ideas.
I made some diy chalky paint primer with plaster of paris in some Polished Pearl paint, and gave a large and small shelf a couple of light coats. I use my Homeright Finish Max so much, but even I sometimes don’t get the paint exactly right. This paint flowed like a charm onto these easy cabinet door projects. I rarely measure, because paint is always different. But this day, it was perfect!
I think the weather has a lot to do with how paint goes on and dries.
While I was at it, I sprayed some clip boards. This picture gives you a good idea of the size difference of the coffee cup racks.
That was so quick and easy that as soon as they dried, I moved them and started with some chalky paint primer made with Beluga (my favorite Black paint) another small and large shelf and five more clipboards.
So, while I had the paint and the Finish Max out, I grabbed a chair . . .
. . . and half of a bi-fold door. Sometimes when I’m painting and have a little left over in my paint cup, I just look around for more stuff to paint!
After using the chalky paint primer I gave everything a coat of semi-gloss paint with my Finish Max. The chalky paint primer AND the semi-gloss paint dry very fast because the Finish Max sprays such a fine finish.
I got busy doing other things for a couple of days. When I got these coffee cup rack projects back out, there were four items to work on. A small and large white shelf, and a small and large black shelf. There were some decisions to make on how I was going to finish them. I rarely have a plan when I start.
I used some brown paper to sand all of the projects.
Then I gave all of the easy cabinet door projects a light coat of Clear Wax. After the wax dried, I used the brown paper to buff. By this time it was very soft and crinkly—perfect for sanding and waxing.
The brown paper is very thin and it came in a package I ordered—I have a LOT of it.
I designed a But First. COFFEE phrase with my Silhouette program and cut it out in white vinyl. The font for the But First was very difficult to work with.
I used some brushed nickel hooks I’ve had for a long time that I got on clearance.
This is the small white shelf. I had some black hooks that I also got on clearance that looked nice together. You can find black and brushed nickel hooks like this on D. Lawless Hardware (.com) They really do have the best prices on hardware!
I attached my favorite d-rings to the back of all four of these projects. The d-rings hold a lot better than sawtooth hangers.
I really like how both of the coffee cup rack shelves turned out.
This But First font (Harrington) was a lot easier to work with. The COFFEE font is Adobe Arabic.
The large black shelf got three ball hooks from D. Lawless Hardware.
The large white shelf got a vinyl phrase Home—Where your story begins.
Not only does my Homeright Finish Max make projects like this easy to finish, but it allows me to get a perfect paint finish every time!
Do you have some doors in your stash so you can make an easy cabinet door project? For a really quick project, you can skip the shelf on top!
gail
Sharing at Link Party Palooza and Vintage Inspiration Party
Related Content:
Repurposed Cabinet Door Project Ideas
Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself!
Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. She hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.
Sister_Su (Canadian Blogger)
Loved this idea so much. I reblogged it again. This time it's on the Green Saving Spot blog. Your whole site is chock full of fabulous ideas! I just want to tell everyone about it!
Sister_Su (Canadian Blogger)
I loved this post so much I linked to it from a post on Canadian Senior Savings. What a great way to save on home furnishings!
Gail Wilson
Thanks !!
I hope your readers find it useful
gail
Charlie
Great Ideas!
When I was growing up our neighbour"s father worked at a cabinet making business.
Back then they used to throw seconds out once a week.
The father lived near the dump and so he and his son would go into the dump every week and take everything the business threw out. They made some beautiful things!
My neighbour redid his kitchen cupboards, and also (I loved this) panelled his entire dining room with the cupboard doors. He had sanded and stained them.
It looked like something out of an English manor house.
It was truly beautiful!
Gail Wilson
Charlie,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing that story. I'm guessing they still throw out the seconds because we have junk malls that have booths dedicated to cabinet doors and end pieces of cabinet grade plywood. I love shopping there!
So many ideas for unwanted cabinet doors!
gail
Julie Meserve
You have a great blog! I'm gathering ideas for my home project's. I currently am on Chemo, but after im done I plan on sprucing up my home. I have a cabinet door I want to make over. I am pinning your site for later use. Thank you for your tutorials š
Gail Wilson
Julie,
Wishing you the best on your treatment. I do love what I do, projects, sharing, all of it. Come back whenever you need inspiration. Looking for something, just google My Repurposed Life with any search term. š
take care!!
gail
Kim
I love your ideas, everything turned out so cute. Thank you for the detailed instructions! I just made a coffee bar area and was looking for ideas to go above it. This is great and we have several old doors to use.
Gail Wilson
I love, love, love old cabinet door projects! So happy you are inspired to make your own project.
gail
Terri Hughes
So pretty, I love the shelves.
Gail Wilson
Thank you Terri. I love repurposing old cabinet doors. š
gail
Sheila Litz
I love your writing style. It's not just a tutorial, it has personality and humor. Did you ever write a blog about your favorite tools? I would love a compiled, comprehensive list of tools that work from a person that has actually used them.
Thank you again, Sheila
Gail Wilson
You are so kind Sheila! Thanks for your comment. I talk often about my favorite tools, but have never really done a post just about the tools I use most. At least not recently. I hope to do one very soon.
You can google My Repurposed Life and any tool you're thinking of buying and I'm sure you'll find lots of information on how many times I use the same tools over and over again.
Stay tuned!
gail
Laura Adams
Love this idea, and I already have a couple cabinet doors I could use. I love the "difficult" font! I have a Cricut (wish I had a Silhouette), and the ability to work with a design and simplify it, if necessary. Would you be willing to share the name of the font that gave you trouble? Thanks so much! Great idea!
Gail Wilson
I would definitely share it if I remembered what it was.... I'm sorry I can't remember.
gail
Anita Holland
I really love this project and lucky for me I have lots of old kitchen cupboards. I am looking to buy a vinyl cutter and I have narrowed it down to the Cameo and the cricut. Any recommendations?
Gail Wilson
I don't know anything about the Cricut really. I have both the Silhouette CAMEO and the Portrait. I use my Portrait 99% of the time. I know some friends have both and they use their Silhouette because they know it and don't want to have to learn new stuff. I think - for the most part they are pretty equal in what they can do. Melissa at Silhouette School has tons of videos and tips and is a great resource of information.
Wishing you lots of luck and creativity Anita!
gail
Dawn
So glad I found your tutorial! I have some cabinet doors in the garage that I was wondering whatever I'd do with š
My question is: would it work to put 2 shelves across the door? One on the top as you did, and one on the bottom? I wanted to make a decorative shelf for over the couch and the door has a decorative ?bamboo panel in its middle. I could then use it for framed photos, driftwood, etc... What do you think?
Gail Wilson
Dawn,
I have made a large cabinet door shelf like you're talking about. Mine was a chalkboard. https://www.myrepurposedlife.com/large-chalkboard-shelf/
good luck, have fun!
gail
Art
I'm about to start on one of these cabinet door coffee mug hangers, I'm planning on using the recessed portion to put old photos of my daughter, and covering it with either glass or plastic.
It's for my dad
This helpful tutorial is a great find.
Thanks for putting it out there.
Gail Wilson
That's an awesome idea Art! I'm happy you found my tutorial helpful.
gail
Roy Sorey
Just wondering what does the wax do ?
Gail Wilson
Roy,
Because the chalky paint primer (or any chalk paint) is so flat and we apply it without sanding and prepping, it will scratch off of a shiny/laminate surface. Applying a sealant, such as wax or poly will protect the paint.
I hope that helps explain it. š
gail
Theresa
These are great. Have given me some great ideas.
gail@myrepurposedlife.com
yay! Happy to help Theresa!
gail
phyllis
Where do I find the doors?
Gail Wilson
Try your local Habitat for Humanity ReSTore, or you can always ask your friends and family on facebook. That's how I find specific stuff I'm looking for.
gail
Kristin perrier
Where do u get the cabinet doors from?
Gail Wilson
I was given 40 doors by a friend, but you can find them at your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
gail
Nancy
"But first coffee"! I love it. I actually have a cabinet door I bought at a yard sale so I shall try it. Wish me luck! Wish I had your skill!
Sharilee
My heart is beating wildly after seeing this post of your projects made with cabinet doors. WELL DONE! I'm drooling after seeing your stash of cabinet doors!
gail@myrepurposedlife.com
Thank you so much for your sweet comment Sharilee!!! My stash of cabinet doors is definitely dwindling. š
gail
Angie @ Knick of Time
P.S. - I voted for you! š
Angie @ Knick of Time
You have one heck of a cabinet door stash,Gail! I love your latest project. Thanks for sharing it at the Vintage Inspiration Party - I pinned it to my "Spotted at the VIP board - https://www.pinterest.com/knickoftime/spotted-at-the-vip-vintage-decor-repurposed-projec/
Terry
You have such great ideas for repurposing old doors! I would like to invite you to share some of your work at my Making Broken Beautiful party this week! It runs every Thursday thru Sunday. I do hope you will come share some inspiration!
Smiles!
Terry
http://thecuratorscollection.wordpress.com
Tammy
Love these such a great idea and yes..."coffee first" perfect.
Mindi
I need to make some of these for me...I always love yours and have enough cabinet doors! I love the vinyl they look so professional, thanks for sharing the fonts!
Becky
I have used cupboard doors for years. I love the addition of the shelf.
Laurie Kearnes
Gail- you are my inspiration, as well as my hands down favorite blogger! I just learned yesterday how to use a Kreg-Jig and it is on my Christmas list, as well as the HomeRight Finish Max sprayer and the spray shelter. Can you recommend any other items for my Christmas list that I'll need to really get booking on these projects? I have a sander, and a power saw, and a manual miter saw. And lots of Gorilla Glue!
I'd love a Silhouertte, but I already have a Cricut - one of the small ones when they first came out. The largest letter size I can get is 5 inches, but I'll have to make do with it. Any other recommendations would be great - I'll just tell my hubbie that Gail recommended it, so that means I gotta have it for Christmas!
Thanks again for a great post! Have a wonderful day!
gail@myrepurposedlife.com
Oh my Laurie!! I am giddy about your enthusiasm! š
There a few of my favorite hand tools, such as a pry bar (cat's claw) and a pair of channellock pliers (great for removing nails)
In addition, make sure you get a great supply of the pocket hole screws. I buy them by the 1000's so I always have them. One more thing, clamps. Any and all kinds. I love Kreg right angle clamps to use with pocket holes, and Irwin quick clamps for an extra pair of hands. š
Gee, I think it's time to do a blog post on this. š
gail
chris aka monkey
love that beluga, it is a go with every thing kinda color xx
Holly
They turned out great!
cassie @ primitive & proper
it's amazing how versatile and useful cabinet doors can be! and yes, first coffee.. having it now!
Christina in FL
Gail I love your shelf projects with the doors! Wonderful!! I also appreciate the Silhouette inspiration! :))
Jackie
I have to ask - do you just pit your paint in the finish max, plug it in and go to town? This looks like the perfect tool!
gail@myrepurposedlife.com
well, it's a little more involved than that Jackie,
I strain my paint as I'm pouring it into the paint cup, then I add a little water (for latex paint) to dilute it. It's difficult to say how much, you can use the viscosity cup to gauge until you get use to it. I rarely measure anything these days. If the paint doesn't spray easily, I know I need to add a little water, if it runs, OOPS! I got it too thin.
gail