Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Drawer-front Repurposed

In a recent post about some of my Shabby Finds, I shared this photo of an old drawer front that I bought for $5.00 to "do something with someday". Well, I finally got busy and actually finished this little project. I decided to repurpose the drawer front into funky wall art to use as a display for vintage postcards and photos. A simple, if a bit messy, project...


Here's the messiest part of the job...the scrub-down. I wanted to remove the paint from the brass pulls and clean up the wood a little bit without damaging the old paint.

To shine up the hardware, I got out my old tube of Simichrome Metal Polish.  You can find it at the hardware store and at many antique malls. It's kind of pricey but it will shine most metals as well as all of your vintage plastics. It's also a great way to determine if a piece you are thinking of buying is real Bakelite or a knock-off. To test for bakelite with it, the pinkish color of the polish should turn yellow from rubbing it on the bakelite...yellow means bakelite; not yellow, probably not.


When I scrubbed the drawer front, I learned the hard way not to get it too wet. By scrubbing with water, I managed to loosen some of the glue that held down the vaneer on the molding. So...time to get out the glue and clamps. Is any project as simple as it first looks? I also put a dab of glue under each of the drawer pulls so that they would remain upright to hold the postcards in place.


The original key was missing from the drawer so I decided to search my collection of old keys...I lucked out and found one that fit.

And here is the finished piece, hung above a shelf in our guest bathroom.

For now, I displayed two old postcards of Wells Beach, Maine on it. I like the idea that I can change it out and use seasonal postcards or vintage photos instead to suit my mood.




This post is happily linked to:
Sunday Favorites at Happy to Design
Tutorial & Tips Tuesday at The Stories of A to Z
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
What Are You Making Wednesday at Home and Heart
Treasures & Trinkets Party at My Cottage Charm
Time Travel Thursday at Brambleberry Cottage
Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville
Vintage Thingy Thursday at The Colorado Lady
Under $100. Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Show & Tell Fridays at My Romantic Home
Hodgepodge Friday at It's a Hodgepodge Life
Show & Share Day at Just a Girl
Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove
Catch As Catch Can at  My Repurposed Life
Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Addicts Anonymous at Addicted to Decorating

38 comments:

Unknown said...

The patina on that drawer front is priceless...good job and thanx for sharing and Congrats on reaching 100. I also just reached the 100 mark and plan on doing a giveaway soon. Tiff If you have not visited me, please do at http://thecrankyqueen.blogspot.com

Sherry@Back2Vintage said...

I love the etch work on those old hinges. Great find and great reuse!!!

Kim said...

I am truly sorry for the loss of your beautiful sister. What a wonderful way to honor her memory - with a blog. I'm so glad to have found you and I will follow you on this journey for sure. Btw, that song by Frank Sinatra is one of my favorites.
xoxo,
Kim

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Love this idea! That drawer front is amazing and the detail on the drawer pulls is beautiful. I love changing out things seasonally so this will be something I will keep an eye out for! Great job! hugs, Linda

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Thanks for the bakelite/polish tip. I am adding you to my link list. Love what you did with the amazing drawer front.
- Joy

Gayle from Vintage Farmhouse said...

Great idea. I love how the handles look all polished up. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Cheryl,
I just wanted to stop by and thank you for your kind words...I am so sorry about your sister....
I am hoping that one day soon things will change...and for the better. Sandy @ 521 Lake Street

My Cottage Charm said...

Hi Cheryl! :) That is SOO cute, what a wonderful idea! Love it! Thanks so much for linking it up..I'm always glad to see what you've been up to. :)
Thanks for you comment on my luigi and mario hats too...we had such a good time at the party and we really had a great time doing all the favors and food! :)
Have a great week
Missy :)

Jane said...

That turned out great!! I loved that drawer front when you posted it last week and I really love it repurposed to hold your vintage postcards. The patina on that piece is amazing!!
Jane

Blue Ridge Altered Art said...

That is incredible and such a beautiful display piece. ~~Sherry~~

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

Love this! The color is so yummy and the sweet drawer front looks perfect with all your other treasures. Thanks for the tip on how to clean up the hardware.

LV said...

You did wonders with that drawer. I liked it.

Jane @ Jane's Junk and Treasures said...

Aaaaand PERFECT!!
I love it!
Great job!!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Cheryl, that turned out SO pretty...a wonderful re-use project!

Marie said...

BRILLIANT! What a brilliant piece of artwork. I like it.

Happy Vintage Friday!
-marie

Ann@A Sentimental Life said...

love the metal plate face! It turned out wonderful!

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

What an amazing piece--love the color and those pulls, wow! Thanks for linking up to Beyond The Picket Fence.

Pam Kessler said...

I'm so glad you finished it already. I love how it turned out. It was such a great find!

Anonymous said...

It turned out fabulous. Great idea.

Completely Coastal said...

This is so adorable and creative!!! Love the entire vignette!

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Cheryl, I am loving this project!! great idea!!

Hugs,
Deb

Debilou ~ Mississippi Mama said...

love what you did with this old drawer,, and the colors on it are fantastic!

Mindy @ Heart Maine Home said...

That is such a fabulous idea. It's beautiful! I love anything beachy and Maine, of course :)

Home and Heart said...

What a wonderful and creative idea!!

Brenda Pruitt said...

This is adorable! What a creative use of this.
Brenda

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

Hi Cheryl, This is exactly why I love reading blogs. I have found so many creative ideas and this is certainly one of those. I love the drawer front and how you are now using it to hold postcards. What pretty handles and I love the paint color. Thanks so much for sharing this very unique and creative idea at my party.
Hugs,
Sherry

Anonymous said...

Great creative idea! I cannot believe how gorgeous the handles are.

Benita

molly susan strong said...

Love this idea, the re purposing is so cool. The color awesome AND I am a Mainer at heart. We vacation at my husband's family home on the ocean in Higgins Beach Maine.

Fonda @Southern Scraps said...

Love what you did with this. Just found you through Funky Junk's party. I'll be back to explore your blog more. It's lovely!!

Diann said...

That turned out great! What a wonderful redo. Those handles shined up beautifully! Thank you for joining me for my first TTF party! I hope you are having a great weekend!

Debra@CommonGround said...

This turned out amazing, love that blue paint color patina. and thanks so much for the tip on the polish. So glad you linked up to Vintage Inspirations Friday.
hugs,
Debra

pamq said...

So glad you showed how your drawer front turned out!

Very cool idea....

And those handles! Oh, my.

They are beyond description---just the type of thing I am always looking for!

Thanks for sharing this!

Anonymous said...

Very very cool idea and very clever, it looks great.

Unknown said...

THIS TURNED OUT BEAUTIFUL.. AND IM YOUR NEWEST FOLLOWER

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

What a clever idea! Your drawer front redo turned out great. And I love your reuse of it. ;)

Thanks for linking your cleverness to the party.

Blessings,
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

Cheryl,

Your repurpose of this drawer front is unique and creative!
great job
gail

Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating said...

So creative! I never would have thought to use a drawer front like that. I love the way it turned out. Thanks for sharing!

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi Sheryl...

What an awesome idea...I love it! Oooh...I love the ornate handles...simply gorgeous!!! You did a beautiful job with this project and I love how it looks on the wall holding the photos! Sooo very pretty, my friend! Thank you so much for sharing your project with us for the Sunday Favorites repost party this week! Such a treat!

Have a Happy Memorial Day, my friend!
Chari @Happy To Design