Reclaimed Armoire Door Book Shelf
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
When friends offer me free stuff, I rarely say no. Take this set of armor doors, which I turned into a bookshelf! Yes, I made an armoire door bookshelf.
These are the armoire doors I got from my neighbor Rodney. They had glass on the large inset pieces.
Attach Armoire Doors
The first step to building the door book shelf was to attach the doors to each other with shelf supports. I used scrap ripped pieces of 1x material. Pocket holes were drilled into the end of each support using a Kreg Jig.
I started by adding two supports at the top and two at the bottom.
These small scrap pieces of plywood are a steal at a local Peddler’s Mall. I picked up a stack of them for this project a couple of months ago. They were about a buck apiece.
Add Shelves to Door Book Shelf
It took a little more than one board per shelf. First, I ripped the boards on the table saw.
Visit the My Repurposed Life Amazon Store to shop my favorite items.
Afterwards each board was run through to make a small groove every 4-5 inches to make the plywood look more like planks.
Then pocket holes were drilled on each shelf to get a secure hold on the bookcase.
Need more details on using a Kreg Jig? See my article How to use a Kreg Jig Pocket Hole System
Pocket hole screws were used to secure the lower two shelves onto the book shelf.
At this point, I had to decide what material I would use for the large insets on either side. I considered chicken wire or hardware cloth but actually went with thin plywood, known as underlayment.
Attach Panels to Armoire Doors
The plywood was ripped on the table saw, then put in place with my nail gun.
Install Removable Shelf
For the upper shelf, I had to use a cleat instead of pocket holes. The thin plywood will not support the pocket hole screws.
Finally it’s coming together. I stapled the original curved armoire doors to the lower sections in their original places.
Attach the Top Boards to Finish the DIY Bookcase
The boards were cut to fit the top and attached using the brad nail gun. Do you see why I wanted the plywood to look like planks? I think it looks a lot better like this.
As in most projects, I mixed up DIY Chalky Paint Primer for the base coat of this armoire door book shelf.
Painting this monster by hand would have taken forever, so I pulled out the Super Finish Max Extra to get the job done quickly.
Laying the DIY bookcase on its back makes it easier to paint the underneath side of the shelves.
Oops, I forgot to mention that I also put the thin plywood on the back. To make my smaller sheets go further, I patched the sheets where the lower shelf is. This allows me to use two smaller sheets instead of one long sheet of plywood. The upper shelf is removable, so I painted it outside the bookshelf.
After the primer coat was on the book shelf, I liked the color enough to use it as the topcoat. As I was building this huge bookshelf, I learned that Vendors’ Village is closing at the end of the month. So, that may change some of my building projects. Transporting large projects like this to my craft show in the Fall is difficult.
DIY Armoire Door Book Shelf
It’s not the fanciest project, but it will make someone a lovely display cabinet or book shelf. I really love the color, but it’s difficult to guess what color someone else will prefer.
Here’s a close-up of the plank-looking plywood. I’m pleased with how it looks. I don’t think I’ve ever done this before. This option was better than 1x boards in terms of cost.
What color would you have painted the oversized book shelf?
gail
You may enjoy these other Door Project Ideas.
such a great save for those pieces. love the color.
Hi Gail, you say your door-bookshelf is not fancy? The doors have beautiful, subtle details and I love the vintage look. The plank type bottom shelf goes well with it. Quite ingenious! I really like the colour. What is it? A cream? Almond?
Thank you so much Danielle. I can’t remember the exact color name at the moment. It is a creamy off white. It’s a Behr color. They don’t sell it anymore. But I checked their colors and the closest seems to be Moonlit Beach or Shea
gail
GAIL, DO YOU DO ALL THIS CARPENTRY YOURSELF? YOU ARE AMAZING.
Kathy,
Yes Ma’am I do it all myself. Sometimes I ask for help loading or moving the really heavy (awkward) pieces. But all the sawing etc, it’s just lil ole me!
thank you for your sweet comment!
gail
Wow!! This is awesome, you are so good at repurposing!!
awww, thanks friend!
Oh I love this! It would be so beautiful in my living room. Awesome job Gail!
i think the color is a nice neutral. the bookcase/display case is lovely. maybe add an extra shelf or 2. (as mentioned above)
Gail, you should publish a book!!! Your ideas are amazing. This turned out so beautiful. One of a kind, unique and useful. Seems like someone would be crazy not to snatch this up. Who else would have a bookcase with curved panels? As far as color, you can’t go wrong with a neutral. Keep being awesome!
Carol!
You just made my day with your sweet comment! At one point I did get offered a book deal, but the publisher wanted me to do different stuff than I do on the blog. Crazy, eh? We went back and forth for a couple of months and I finally just said “no thank you”.
Have a great day!
gail
Oh, my. No more Venders Village? That’s awful. Are they closing because of economic reasons? Do you have a lot of pieces there waiting to be sold? You might have to rent a uhaul with a lift. Then you could bring larger pieces. But, would they sell, or is it a show that sells mainly small items? Maybe sell on offer up or one of the other apps that are available. Offer up has a free section too. I feel bad for the workers at Venders Village.
I agree it’s very sad. Many vendors will be misplaced as well as those who work the counter.
Glendale… it’s in a field where most people have to park very far away from my booth. There’s no way to get a vehicle into the area while the show is going on, so I try to keep my pieces small enough so that 2 women can carry it easily for a long distance. I do take a dolly so that I (or cousin Terry) can escort them with a heavy piece, then bring the dolly back.
Some of the items in the booth will get a makeover before they go to Glendale. I’ve only used craigslist online to sell. I’ve never tried offer up or Facebook. That might be an option after Glendale.
I like the white…..but……I …for myself …would have added more shelves….to much space.
Great job on the restoration.
Good point Bonnie. It was so hot and I was so ready to be done. Adding more shelves (as a piece being sold) would definitely up the price. Something to think about in the fall. 🙂
thanks so much for your honesty!
gail