How To Update Particle Board Cabinets

Several months ago I updated a hand-me-downwards bookcase that had a very 70s experience to it.

I added new molding on the edges of the shelves. And a small pop of color on the back…

Well, the bookcase fairy is at information technology again for this month'south webisode! Hither'due south the afterward:

It was originally one of those chocolate-brown, particle lath bookcases that are inexpensive and budget-friendly.

(source: Walmart.com)

We joke that it was one of the three things my married man brought into our marriage. We already removed it from the business firm when he helped me convert a sofa table into a bed demote for our room.

And now I'm totally getting rid of it by helping my friend Allison update it for her little girl's room!

Information technology seems like owning something made from particle board is a correct of passage betwixt college and real life. I know so many people who purchase a bookcase or something similar for their dorm or first apartment. Merely at a certain point, nigh people are ready to upgrade to nicer furniture. And so if you're in that gunkhole, exist sure to watch the webisode above to see how we transformed this piece!

Here are the materials we used:

tape measure
decorative molding
miter saw
nail gun (w/ compressor, hose and small-scale nails)
drill/driver (w/ drill flake)
furniture feet
putty
spray pigment
fabric
scissors
Glue Dots Advanced Strength
Glue Dots Glue Squares

We used the molding to dress upward the sides of the bookcase. You could put information technology on the front or even top if you wanted to! Anywhere you put it, though, you'll need to measure from corner to corner and brand your 45 degree angle cuts on a miter saw. Typically the fatter part of the molding goes on the exterior, so make sure you make the cuts accordingly where the longest function of the molding is the thick function.

Once nosotros had the molding cut for both sides, nosotros applied our Advanced Strength Glue Dots. These are for a more than permanent situation. Simply as you tin can run into in the video higher up, they held their ain and kept our molding right where we wanted it while we tacked information technology in place with pocket-sized terminate nails.

**Thanks to Mucilage Dots for sponsoring this post! All opinions are nevertheless 100% my ain!

These would be essential if I didn't take Allison helping me out. Nothing worse than bowed, mind-of-its-own molding when you lot're trying to attach it somewhere! Ha!

Repeat the process for the other side.

This adjacent step actually ups the ante for this slice of furniture, installing feet! They cost about $4 a piece, merely worth so much more in terms of fanciness! To install them, nosotros used a drill bit slightly smaller than the bolt on the feet themselves. We eyeballed where we wanted them to go and then measured and marker the same distance on all 4 corners. You can add a little wood glue before screwing in the anxiety for extra oomph and security.

At this signal, we removed the shelf pegs and put putty in the nail holes on the molding. And vigorously shaking our cans (pigment cans, that is!), we spray painted the bookcase in its entirety. I find that it helps to beginning with the bookcase upside downwardly so you can paint the anxiety really well earlier flipping it over and spraying everything else.

Having a method with your spray paint helps give y'all the best coverage. I like to spray in ane management (say, horizontally) for the first glaze and then spray in the other direction (vertically) for the second coat to ensure everything is evenly coated. A light coat is all you desire at showtime or, trust me, you lot'll have pigment running like there's a sale at Target!

While the majority of the spray paint was drying, we took the back panel dorsum inside my workshop to add some flair with cloth. This is where we used the Gum Squares. Practical on the edge of all 4 sides of the back console, we gently fix our fabric in ane corner. So we smoothed it out over the Glue Squares as nosotros pulled it tight in all directions. In one case it was secure on all four sides, we trimmed the excess fabric.

After waiting on the paint to dry out, we reattached the dorsum panel with the aforementioned modest finish nails. The shelves were carefully fix back in identify and Allison'due south daughter, Jillian, was able to stock it with her favorite books and toys!

As with a lot of projects I aid other people on, I'thousand a tad jealous I don't go on to keep this after dressing it upward! I mean, it does fit right in with my dining room! 🙂