Dresser Table
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The weather has not been very cooperative lately. I have an unfinished project to show you today, but I’d like your thoughts about dresser ideas and how to finish it out.
Do you remember this dresser I picked up recently? It was more than I usually pay, but I knew I would get 2 projects out of it, so I felt justified in paying $20 for it.
As soon as I got it off the truck, I started cutting it apart to make the 2 projects.
This is project #1, a kid’s bench made from the bottom part of a dresser. It is still not finished. I’m looking for some fun fabric for pillows, so I’ll know what color to paint the hardware.
Today, I’m going to show you what I did with the top of the dresser.
This is the bottom of the dresser top that I cut off. It needs a base. In order to give it a base I need to beef it up a little so that I’ll have a way to secure the base. I used some scrap lumber pieces and Gorilla Wood Glue.
I wanted this table to be chunky, not dainty, so I used 4×4’s for legs. I used Gorilla Wood Glue and screws to hold the legs in place.
I use a scrap piece of 4×4 block to mark the area, so I’ll know where to put the screws.
After attaching all four legs, I used screws to secure a piece of plywood to complete the base.
To cover up the chipped veneer, I selected some scrap trim pieces I had laying around.
I purposely put the legs all the way to the edge…
. . . so I could use all three drawers as seats (storage) underneath.
This stage was at the beginning of December when we had some warm(ish) weather. Then it turned cold, and I had to store it away.
When the weather warmed up enough to paint, (a couple of days after Christmas) I gave it a quick coat of some DIY Chalky Primer with my HomeRight Finish Max .
I never really liked having the legs all the way to the edge. I didn’t look how it looked so boxy.
When I started working on the drawer/seats, I realized all three of them were not going to fit after all.
Time for plan B
I removed the table from the base, then I removed all four legs. It wasn’t easy to do since I used the Gorilla Wood Glue, but I knew I would never be happy with it the way it was.
This is a dry fit to see if I like the legs—thinking about adding two more in the middle.
Meanwhile, I start finishing off the drawers. I added plywood to the bottom (so I can add wheels). Because it’s going to be for kids, I really didn’t want to hinge it because of fingers getting smashed, and the lid possibly being abused and coming off. I decided to have a lift off lid.
This is right after painting it. I didn’t want to shut the drawers because the were still a little tacky. You can see that I decided to add two more legs in the middle.
The weather turned cold again, so it is in storage for now.
The seats will have wheels. This will make a great table for kids to sit or stand at. I have two ideas to finish it off. One idea would be a chalkboard table, the other being a Lego table. My cousin had mentioned she might be looking for one, so I got to thinking with all the storage this might make the perfect Lego table. We’ve never really had many Legos around here, so I need to figure out how to paint it and finish it off. The dresser drawers sort of look Lego(ish) don’t you think? I’d like to do some sort of Lego handles for the drawers. Have you ever made anything permanent by gluing Legos together?
I plan to cover the lids to make the seats softer. And of course it will be painted. The black is just a primer.
I’m open to suggestions to finish off this table. Can you think of a better use for it? Maybe a train table? What kind of kids table needs a lot of storage?
Hopefully we will have some warm weather soon so I can finish this project.
gail
see more repurposed dresser ideas here
EDITED TO ADD:
It’s a DIY Lego Table
Id put chalk paint on top. What amazing craftsmen u r. Great job
Legos or even some sort of craft table (says the mom of 1 boy who had a million Legos and a girl who became and art major)! I really like this project because I have a similar dresser…I’ll show this post to DL.
Wonderful projects! And yes, Lego table, excellent idea.
Lego table totally! If thats what you end up using it for, you should make the drawer pulls out of legos or something whimsical like that!
My girls had an awful lot of sylvanian families stuff…. you could paint a village plan on top… paths/lanes etc and all the miniscule stuff and characters and furniture could be stored underneath….. fantastic repurposing idea… love your site and work…. very inspiring !!!
Amazing! This would be perfect for Lego’s. And the seats could be used to store the booklets or separate Lego men from the bricks. As a mom of 3 boys who ask for -nothing- but Lego’s for Birthdays and Christmas, I could sure use one of these at my house. Guess it’s time to hit the second hand stores. Great Job!
I did something like this some 30 years ago. I needed place for standing practice for a developmentally disabled child. I used some scrap lumber to make an edge the sides and back of the table so that toys (or legos)would not fall off the back. I then took one of those extremely inexpensive closet mirrors, turned it on it’s side, and attached it to the back of the table. I put the table against a wall (for stability). This table was a good as anything in a therapy institute to encourage standing, and we used it for years, as the child in question grew very slowly. Thanks for reminding me of all this :). Oh, and the the only thing I had to go out and buy was a can of red spray paint. Every thing else we had lying around.
When you mentioned Legos,I saw the parts that looked like Legos being painted fun Lego colors,red,blue,yellow,etc
Then perhaps a lego themed fabric,if you could find any,this is a great project,enjoy
Love It!!!!!!!!!! I have a dresser almost EXACTLY like this one just sitting in storage!! I’m so glad that you posted this!! I plan to make this my spring project, as I have 3 grandchildren under the age of 4. You did a wonderful job! It’s so creative!! Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
You never cease to amaze me!!!!
Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How in the world do you see this potential when you see/buy the dresser?! Just love what you are doing to it!!
It would be perfect for Lego’s, cars (with a track on the table) or the trains!
Just want to say, wow, what great ideas! A fabulous job. My husband likes to do things like this also. Nothing like taking a old piece of furniture and refurbishing it to use in other ways. Good for you!
wish my husband could do things like this