[DIY] Chalkboard catalogue drawers . . . . . for those who wish to draw on their furniture!

There are those who say that chalkboard paint has had it's day with furniture and DIY's, I say to those people . . . .NEVVEERRRR!

The original piece with a pile of yet to be completed projects to the right!

I found these drawers at a vintage furniture store in pretty gross condition but they immediately reminded me of library catalogue drawers which I love. The prices can be somewhat prohibitive though. I saw some about 2-3 times the size of these at a 'fancy' vintage furniture store in Sydney for $2000, and they had not been refinished / restored.  The drawer pulls on these were ok, just a little boring and not particularly memorable.

There are some examples below of how the library catalogue style has been used in homes.

image via HomeJelly

image via Designsponge

Having a number of different hidey places for all your treasures, along with the ability to label the individual drawers for organisational purposes is my idea of heaven. I long to be one of those perfect organised people and figure that good storage is a great place to start.

I have pinned a heap of chalkboard images in the past but this is only the second one I have actually completed. The first was a Ikea Lack table that I painted for my nephews birthday. I cut out a few safari kind of images from contact paper, adhered them to the table, spray painted blackboard paint on top and done. It was enjoyed, but I don't think it lasted too long!

So for the drawers I needed to sand back the body and the drawer faces and do a little rehab on the middle supports that had come undone. Nothing too drastic. 

The sanding took quite a while as the wood had been stained a dark kind of chestnut colour. I am not sure what kind of wood it is, maple? I don't think it is cedar. I think the piece might be handmade actually, and not commercially. There is not a heap of precision on the inner structure, almost as if the person has built the outside, then measured and cut the innards as needed. I quite like that!

So after a marathon sanding effort and puttying up the original drawer pull holes, I put a coat of oil based clear varnish on the body. The drawers got treated to a primer and the chalkboard paint. 

The delicious shiny, shiny top

Stella loves it too . . . . 

Then measured the holes for the new drawer pulls and done.

I tend to love furniture a lot more when I have refinished it or restored it and place a lot more value in it and keep it a lot longer. 

I love it. I am not sure whether I am going to draw so much on the chalkboard, but I love that I can if I feel the urge!