Project Rehab: Water-Damaged Wardrobe to Bright Blue Bookcase
See how this mother in Germany transformed an antique wardrobe into a fun and functional bookcase for her children
Upcycled furniture and decor add character, charm and style to many homes. Repurposed pieces can also save money and keep materials out of the landfill. As part of our ongoing Project Rehab series, which features reader projects, we’re highlighting an antique wardrobe that a mother transformed into a bold blue-and-yellow bookcase for her four children. Do you have a furniture makeover of your own? Please share it in the Comments.
The process: The wardrobe had sustained a fair amount of water damage, which had ruined much of its veneer. Some of the original details and the feet were also missing. The door couldn’t be salvaged, but that was fine with Dingler because she planned to transform the piece into a bookcase.
Dingler’s first step was to get rid of the remaining veneer. To accomplish this, she used an iron to heat the veneer to make it easier to scrape off. “I ruined my iron doing that,” she says.
Dingler’s first step was to get rid of the remaining veneer. To accomplish this, she used an iron to heat the veneer to make it easier to scrape off. “I ruined my iron doing that,” she says.
Dingler then used wood glue to reattach some decorative pieces and firm up any loose corners. Next she used a lathe to turn new feet for the base of the wardrobe and a replacement piece for the top corner. She completed the structural modifications by creating interior shelving out of scrap wood she had.
Dingle says her next move was to make a DIY yellow chalk paint by mixing water and plaster of paris in with standard yellow paint. She then used her concoction to paint the entire bookcase inside and out. Once the paint was dry, she gave her four kids some pieces of chain and a couple of hammers and “let them bang it up a bit.” Next came DIY blue chalk paint, which Dingler applied to the exterior only. After the blue paint dried, she used a wet rag and sandpaper to scuff up the outside in various areas to let the yellow show through.
To complete the piece, Dingler waxed and buffed the entire bookcase. “In the nooks and crannies where I wanted it to look old, I mixed a teeny bit of black paint in with the wax before applying it,” she says.
To complete the piece, Dingler waxed and buffed the entire bookcase. “In the nooks and crannies where I wanted it to look old, I mixed a teeny bit of black paint in with the wax before applying it,” she says.
Cost breakdown
Wardrobe: Free
Wax, glue, sandpaper and wood scraps: Dingler already owned these items
Paint: About $87
Wardrobe: Free
Wax, glue, sandpaper and wood scraps: Dingler already owned these items
Paint: About $87
The challenge: “My poor husband was irritated that this project took so long, because the beat-up old wardrobe in its various stages of repair stood on our back terrace for a solid year,” Dingler says. “But we’ve got four kids, so I could only work on it here and there.”
The inspiration: “I sincerely hope Pippi Longstocking would feel at home putting this bookcase in her topsy-turvy home,” Dingler says. “We’re big fans of Astrid Lindgren’s books.”
As for the selection of blue and yellow, Dingler says it was her salute to the Swedish flag.
More Project Rehabs:
Satellite Dish Now a Mosaic-Topped Breakfast Table |
New Leather Shade Makes a Vintage Lamp Light Up |
From Antique Icebox to Bright Green Vanity | Office Chairs Go Boutique Chic
As for the selection of blue and yellow, Dingler says it was her salute to the Swedish flag.
More Project Rehabs:
Satellite Dish Now a Mosaic-Topped Breakfast Table |
New Leather Shade Makes a Vintage Lamp Light Up |
From Antique Icebox to Bright Green Vanity | Office Chairs Go Boutique Chic
Project: Bookcase
Who did it: Amy Dingler
Location: Göttingen, Germany
Cost: $87
Time: Dingler worked on the piece in her spare time for nearly a year
The find: DIYer Amy Dingler says the wardrobe was used in one of the guest rooms in her husband’s grandmother’s small hotel. But for the last 50 years it had been stored in her mother-in-law’s garage. “I rescued it from eventual total decay,” Dingler says.