The art of DIY furniture transformation where a dresser becomes a book shelf is truly ingenious. Do have the old dresser in your garage, or found one in a salvage shop? Why not turn it into a fashionable bookcase for your room. In this writing, I shall take you through the necessary steps How To Turn A Dresser Into A Bookshelf, with essential details and advice to accomplish a successful undertaking.
Contents
Materials and Tools
Gather all the required materials and tools before transforming which will make the process easier. Here’s a list to get you started:
Old dresser
Sandpaper (various grits)
Wood filler
Primer
Paint or stain
Paintbrushes or rollers
Screwdriver
Screws
Drill
Level
Wood glue
Shelf brackets
Saw
Measuring tape
Choosing the Right Dresser
This DIY project begins with choosing a suitable dresser for you and your space. Ensure that the chair is thick and strong. Size of the dresser, depending on space and how many books that are planned for storage. Pay attention to the dresser’s design and details as they play an important role in making the bookshelf aesthetically pleasing.
Preparing the Dresser
After, get the dresser that is, take off any hardware, including all Knobs, handle and drawer pulls. Remove them using a screw driver and put them aside until needed as spares. Smooth out the whole body of the dresser by using various grain sizes of sandpapers to make it paint ready. Repair scratches, nicks, and holes with wood filler if they exist. Re-sand the dresser once you’re done with the filler.
Priming and Painting
It’s important to prime the dresser before applying any paint or stain. Primer makes the paint stick well enough to yield the desired effect for an extended period of time. Ensure that you select a coat that suits the kind of paint or stain that you would like to put on your woodwork. After drying out the primer, spray on a layer of paint or stain, ensuring that both are applied thin and evenly. For instance, use a paintbrush or roller for a smooth finish. Only one coat should be applied at a time, and it needs to dry properly before each successive coat.
Creating Shelves
The interesting part is at last, converting the dresser into a bookshelf. Decide on how many and where are the shelves supposed to be installed. Identify and mark where the shelves ought to be inside the dresser. Gently use a saw and cut out the areas for shelves to be placed. To smooth all the rough edges in the cut portions sand them.
Installing Shelves
Consider the cross cuts/cut sections as shelves or cut new pieces of wood to form shelves in the empty spots created by the cross cuts. Put the shelves inside the dresser and attach them by wood glue and screws. Leveling of shelves will ensure that your books stand properly on their flat surfaces. For those who would like adjustable shelves, shelf brackets can be installed to give you the necessary flexibility of shelf placement.
Reattaching Hardware
Fasten the shelves before attaching the hardware you took off first. In this step, you give personality to the transformed dresser-book shelve. If the original hardware cannot be adjusted as per your vision, you should replace them with modern knobs or handles that match the new look.
Finishing Touches
Finish off the transformation by adding those items which will just make this dress up into bookshelves more attractive. Try to use decorations like wallpapering on the sides if you opted to have open book shelves without the sides being covered by sliding doors. Ensure that at this stage, you go back and assess your final output making any changes where necessary so as to get the desired looks.
Conclusion (How To Turn A Dresser Into A Bookshelf)
Making a simple transformation out of an old dresser in order to create a specialty bookshelf in the best hand-made project giving you the opportunity to give the room individual personality with custom furnishings. With this in mind, you should observe steps given below meticulously to transform an unwanted dresser into amazing bookshelves. You can add a contemporary finish or design for that old piece of furniture you have lying around. Try something fun and get excited about giving a new, stylish face to a former unattractive piece, creating a beautiful focus in your own home. Happy crafting!
FAQs: (How To Turn A Dresser Into A Bookshelf)
Q: Is it possible to use any dresser for this task?
A: The best is to select a dresser made of strong materials. You may have to consider other materials aside from solid wood dressers. Size, appearance, and material of the dresser should match your taste and your room’s capacity.
Q: The question is whether I need to sand the dresser which is already all right.
A: One should sand before one paints or stains as it gives you a smooth finish. The primer also sticks properly thereby enabling a durable coating.
Q: Could I just ignore the priming stage or do away with it completely?
A: It’s not recommended. Primer improves paint sticking and endurance. Failure to take this step can lead to the paint not getting properly absorbed and a weaker final coating.A: It’s not recommended. Primer improves paint sticking and endurance. Failure to take this step can lead to the paint not getting properly absorbed and a weaker final coating.