Upcycled drawers from baby change table

[sandy_d]

An old baby change table was transformed into a rustic feature piece with a herringbone pattern created using venetian blinds.

• The project
• Materials
• Before and after
• More upcycling projects

The project

My babies have grown so I decided to upcycle their old change table with drawers into a centre piece. I recycled old venetian wooden blinds to create the herringbone pattern.

I cut off the top of the change table leaving just the cabinet. I sanded the top to blend in my cut marks. I sanded the drawers and under the slats to get a good bond when I applied the glue.

I cut the slats approximately 150mm and marked a centre line on each drawer. I glued the cut slats in a herringbone pattern. I placed a board on top with weights to get a good bond.  

Once the glue dried, I flush cut the overhang and sanded it flush to the original drawers. I left some of the original stain on the slats as I wanted more of a rustic look. 

I used ESP on the frame of the draws rather than sanding the entire thing. I sprayed the frame with my Wagner spray gun with a total of three coats. I sanded after the second coat with very fine sandpaper. Some of the spray splattered a little too thick with the gun, so I evened out the paint to look very smooth. Usually I wouldn’t sand unless there was obvious brush marks I didn’t want.

The handles were drilled in and now the kids aren’t getting their drawers back.

Materials

• Flood 300g ESP Surface Prep Spray

• Taubmans Easycoat Semi Gloss Accent Interior Wall Paint

• Wagner W100 Wood And Metal Paint Sprayer

• Taskmaster 96mm Matte Black Hollow T Handle

• Selleys 460ml Aquadhere Polyurethane Wood Glue Durabond Adhesive

• Recycled wooden blinds.

Before and after

More upcycling projects

For more project inspiration, check out this collection of upcycled buffets shared by Bunnings Workshop community members.

[aunt_nette]

That is amazing!

[EricL]

Hello @aunt_nette

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for joining the discussion.

Let me tag @sandy_d to make them aware of your kind words. I totally agree that it's an amazing transformation. It's great that it's been upcycled and given a second chance to be functional again. Are you planning on making something similar? If you have any questions we can help with, please let us know.

We look forward to seeing your projects here in the community.

Eric

[sandy_d]

@aunt_nette @Thank you so much 😊

[moodybyname78]

@sandy_d how do you like the Wagner spray gun? I’ve used the ozito brand gun and found it terrible. Just kept spraying out in blotches no matter what consistency I had the paint. I do have a compressor and a gravity fed gun but haven’t used the spray gun yet. 

[sandy_d]

@moodybyname78 @It’s not too bad for its price. I find that it works well if it’s kept clean after it’s use. I use to keep the paint stored in the container but even then some drying would occur and block the nozzles. It sometimes can be difficult to get the best setting but I always spray on a test piece. I now use around 4 lighter coats rather than 2 heavier ones. 

[moodybyname78]

@sandy_d  yes lighter coats are best and definitely clean out pot and gun every time after use. Sorry I should have mentioned that I have done spray painting before. I did industrial spray painting years ago. Haven’t done much lately. But will be getting back into it with my future projects. I’ll have to do a lot of trial and error pieces to get the right consistency and finish I want. I was thinking about getting one of those Wagner spray guns because I feel it might be a lot quieter than firing up my large compressor but I’m hesitant from using the Ozito brand. 

[daniknight4]

Hi @sandy_d 

I love this, I've always wondered how the herringbone pattern strips were applied to drawers. I've also seen someone use large popsicle sticks to create the same effect😊

[sandy_d]

@daniknight4  I saw someone using the large popsicle stick also. I was tempted to ask my Dr for some of his!!