Repurposed Drawers Bookcase

I’m going to show you how to make this repurposed drawers bookcase using the ugliest drawers ever!

turquoise and white bookshelf made from repurposed drawers

  Last summer my friend Cathy dropped off this chest of drawers, it was in really bad shape. I removed the drawers and made the chest into a bookshelf.  (see the picture at the end of this post)

I’ve been hanging on to the drawers ever since. While tidying up the garage, they were in the way, and I moved them one too many times.  I was so tired of shuffling them, and decided it was either time to do a project, or toss them to the curb.

Stack Drawers

I stacked the repurposed drawers on top of one another to see if they would make a small bookcase.  I cut a 2×6 to fit on the top.  I even tried using that 2×6 for the bottom, and changing out all the drawers.   note:  I just realized that I only used 3 of the drawers–one must be hiding in the garage somewhere. 🙂

I thought the drawers would look better if I split one of them by adding an additional shelf. I used one of the leftover IKEA drawer parts to make that shelf.  I ripped it on the table saw to match the depth of the existing drawers.

This photo shows how I attached each drawer to another.  I secured the back of one drawer into the front of another, from the bottom up.

Secure Drawers with Screws

I secured the additional shelf with my Ryobi Stapler .

Add Feet to Bookcase

I added some discs I picked up at the Peddler’s Mall for small feet using Gorilla Wood Glue and one screw. Then I got ready to paint it using my DIY chalky paint primer and my Finish Max.

After a coat of the DIY chalky paint primer I sprayed a coat of the paint without any plaster of paris in it.

A year ago I made a large white door bookcase—painted it white with a gray back.  I thought it was time to do it again, but this time I used a pretty turquoise.

Use a Pop of Color on the Inside

I did two coats of the turquoise using a small cheap chip brush and an artist’s brush to get into the corners.

I love easy projects like this repurposed drawer bookcase—that uses up old parts, and gives me a great project to share with you.

This simple repurposed drawer bookcase project would be great in a bathroom, guest room, or even the kids room. (please secure bookcases to the wall when children are in the house)

Repurposed Drawers into a Unique Bookcase

How would you use a bookcase like this?

You can see the actual repurposed dresser in my post Chest of Drawers Bookshelf.

gail

check out some of the easy, repurposed projects here