DIY Card Catalog Buffet

I should just start off by saying that in this post I tend to toot my own horn,a lot. However it's not because of me doing anything amazing myself, but for the fact that I am married the most AMAZING man ever! Go me!

A couple of months ago J bought this massive card catalog from Craigslist. It is from a closed down old Phoenix Public Library. It was so incredible, but yet we had no idea what the heck to do with it. It sat in the garage for a good four months until one day my hubby had a "light bulb" moment and decided he would take it apart and transform it into the most beautiful buffet ever...really, ever!

This is what we started with:

Here is the process:

• Removed the 72 drawers, numbering each with tape as we went so we could place it back in the correct spot
• Removed the outside plywood casing of the original cabinet
• Separated the four sections of 18 slots that were stacked 4x1 and reacquainted the with each other in a 2x2 buffet setting. Screwed the sections back together

• Purchased two 4'x8' sections of oak plywood and had Lowe's cut them to size for free. These would be the new top and base, but we used the original casings for the sides to preserve the character of the piece since they have great splits and dents already.

• Secured 8 legs purchased from Lowe's for $8 each to base sheet of plywood in a diamond pattern {the card catalog is probably 350 lobs. so we were really, really, relieved when the base withstood all of the weight.
• Added 3/4" trim purchased from Lowe's and cut at home with our Miter saw, then pathched the nail holes with wood putty.

• Sanded, re-sanded, and sanded some more to really smooth things out
• Painted all {freaking} 72 drawers {with a smile of course}and whole thing with Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint and primer in one from Home Depot {color:Rhino}- random fact: we will ONLY ever use Behr PPU for all projects, it is in our minds the best
• Rubbed some stain {Minwax Dark Walnut 2716} all over with a small brush and a few rags to give the antique look, followed by a little more sanding and then some Minwax Wipe on Poly to seal it

• Lastly, we placed all the original hardware back on each drawer {minus the 4 that are missing the little circle do-dads, we are very technical over here, do-dads} 

Photo credit:Melissa Young

Photo credit: Melissa Young

So far we have figured out that we can stick wine bottles, cloth napkins, serving utensils, and other small things..but lets be honest- 72 drawers is a little much! We shall see what junk I can find to fill it up...
Finally, how rad is my J. What hubby thinks of this, and then is even excited to do it over his three-day weekend. I kinda love him.


<3,
Adri

PS- I linked up this project with some of my favorite link parties:)

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