Repurposed Nightstands create Vertical Storage eBook

This vertical storage option using repurposed nightstands is the perfect solution to have a good amount of storage without the large footprint.

You know I rarely keep my project pieces—that’s because my house is small and I just don’t have room for anything else.

Too Much Cord Clutter

This situation has gotten worse and it’s been driving me crazy! Ya see, I don’t have an office—I do all my blogging right here in this little corner of my living room. I really have made good use of these two IKEA tables that I painted, but it’s time for a change.

  Ahhhh, much better, don’t you think? Do you think I just picked up a small chest and painted it? Ohhhh no! You know me better than that!

Matching Nightstands Transformation

Do you remember these two nightstands I picked up last month? If you’ve been around for awhile, you know I love to stack furniture—it gives great vertical storage with a smaller footprint for tight spaces.

Disassemble repurposed nightstands

The first thing I did was remove the bottom trim on the front of one of the nightstands.

Cut nightstand bottom with circular saw

  Then, the best part! Because I didn’t want it to look like two stacked nightstands, I had to trim the lower one. Out comes the circular saw and I start cutting the nightstand to make it shorter. This little Ryobi saw makes quick and easy work of this kind of job.

Design vertical storage with repurposed nightstands

I was so anxious to stack them to see how tall it would be, and what I would need to do next. So I decided to remove the moldings, replace the bottom trim, change out the hardware, and do something with with the top of the bottom nightstand.

I removed the molding and the top of the bottom nightstand. I really don’t want to deal with the seam on the side…

Now it’s looking better. I have removed the molding on the top nightstand in addition to adding a piece of base molding for the bottom front. I decided to keep the top of the bottom nightstand, but trimmed it down on the table saw so it doesn’t protrude so much.

Easy vertical storage

It’s so difficult to see beyond that yellow paint! I couldn’t wait to get some paint on it.

DIY Chalk Paint as a Primer

I  mixed up some of my favorite DIY black chalk paint, and did a couple of quick coats on the repurposed nightstands.

Chalk Paint Primer needs Wax

I sealed the DIY chalk paint with Country Chic Wax. I waxed the chest, but not the drawer fronts because I had a plan for them after finding a great inspiration piece.

New vertical storage solution

brrrr the weather turned cold, so I had to bring it inside. Since it was inside, I filled the holes, sanded, filled them again, and repainted. Still haven’t waxed the drawers.

I guess it’s time to show you that inspiration piece. It’s from Pottery Barn. You’ll notice my piece has four drawers….time to address that!

Make Faux Drawers

To mimic the inspiration piece, I would have to make faux drawers for my repurposed nightstands. I braved the cold and ripped some thin plywood pieces.

Then I cut them to size on the miter saw.

 I painted the pieces and tinkered with some hardware choices. Bronze or Silver?

 I glued the faux drawer fronts on with Gorilla Wood Glue.

 I used my hem guide to get uniform spacing all the way around, and assuring all drawers matched.

Hardware Jig for Pulls

I did some painting touch-ups and then waxed the drawer fronts. This Rockler Deluxe Drawer Pull Jig  is really helpful to drill your holes uniformly when installing hardware.

 One more look at the before and after of the mess and the former nightstands.

It was nearly impossible to get good “after” pictures of this piece. It reminds me why I generally take my after shots outdoors. The silver pulls are from my friends at D. Lawless Hardware.

Breakdown of my cost:

• • • Nightstands $17
    • Paint: no cost, I had it on hand
    • Thin plywood: no cost, I used scraps
    • Cup Pulls:  7 @ 1.85 = $12.95
    • New surge protector:  $20
    • Easy Liner Midnight Bloom $5.50

Total cost for this project $55.45

Getting rid of all that mess—PRICELESS!

I lined the drawers with Easy Liner Midnight Bloom.

I still only have one surge protector with only one white cord that is fished out over the back of the drawer, under the back of the cabinet, and taped with white tape to the white baseboard, virtually unseen.

The back of this cabinet doesn’t meet the floor, so it was an easy task with no need to drill any holes in the drawer or the handy board on the back of the cabinet.

If you look closely you can see ONE surge protector cord running along the baseboard (to the left of the cabinet). What do you think of my solution? Do you have a similar cord clutter problem?

gail