I love old furniture repurposed for a modern use. I am also partial to natural wood, as you may have noticed. But even I know a splash of color greatly brightens a room. During our house renovation, I wanted some specific storage. Hubby had bought me yet a fourth set of dishes for the Mother’s Day just prior to the renovation and I have a fair number of both plastic and glass storage containers. Replicas of many of my glass containers are actually in antique shops. My daughter is often amazed that we put our leftovers in collectibles! We have a large pantry and a fair number of cupboards in the new kitchen but there is never enough storage, is there? At least not for the likes of me 😉

When I saw this cabinet on a Craigslist Ad, I had to have it. The town was about an hour away, I called and begged them to hold it for me. They agreed to do so and daughter and I hoped in the van. I purchased it for 125.00, a bargain in my opinion. It is made of fir, something I refuse to refinish, as it is a wood prone to splintering. I did some sanding and filling, prior to painting. I also did a deep cleaning of the inside. There was a less than pleasant odor. As I have previously mentioned, I completely saturated the inside with ammonia water, took a household brush to it, hosed it out, then let it dry. One advantage I have is the very dry climate I live in, things do dry out. On the west side of my state, it would have had to come inside to dry out.

Even after my scrubbing, I detected a slight odor. This lead to two coats of spray polyurethane. I then painted the exterior. It is not a super smooth paint job. Somehow, I can cover defects when staining wood but paint makes them stand out. Also, I often ‘feather’ out a bad spot. This trick does not work on fir wood, one of the reasons I usually avoid such pieces. My home is rather rustic in nature, so it will not be sticking out like a sore thumb.

Hubby screwed in metal stripping, to accept brackets for hooks. He always likes for the piece to be able to be returned to it’s original state, if possible. This means no glue, or even nails. Pulling nails often leads to broken wood but screws can be removed cleanly. He then cut 3/4″ plywood shelves and attached a facing board for me. I applied two coats of polyurethane to seal the surface. Once the shelves were dry, my darling daughter steel wooled the surfaces, wiped them down, installed the hooks, and placed the completely adjustable shelves. Lots of storage! One side for the colorful fiesta ware, the other for my many storage dishes. We are considering how to label the individual doors.

A funny story- a young man saw these when I brought them home and asked what they were. When I told him ‘old lockers’. he was confused. Lockers were made of metal, not wood. Oh, the ignorance of the young!