I have fallen in love with so many cubby shelves over the years. The ones that I love most are usually chippy, painted different colors and have signs of age, wear and years of use. #justmystyle
Cubby shelves are great for so many reasons:
- The storage they provide is amazing.
- The look is fabulous.
- They keep things organized.
- They can be decorated and redecorated over and over again! 😉
Not only have I seen cubby shelves at barn sales, but many of my favorite stores (Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, etc.) have some beautiful cubby shelves. I wish their price tags were just as beautiful. They’re not. They are expensive! Too expensive for this cheap budget-minded DIYer.
So, like always, if I don’t want to pay the hefty price tag for something I love, I will find a way to make it for a lot less. For some time now, Matt has wanted to build a cubby piece, but he hasn’t got it done because they aren’t the easiest things to put together.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I spotted this at Restore.
It was not the cubby shelves I have fallen in love with over and over again, but the wheels started turning and I thought we could make it into one.
I was right.
This project is a great example of why I do what I do and why I started this blog. You can have the things you love in magazines and stores without paying their high price tags if you just think outside of the box and get creative.
This piece was just your “run-of-the-mill” laminate box when I brought it home from Restore, but it was sturdy, in great condition and had a cheap budget-friendly price tag.
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I thought we could make it into cubby shelves with only a few adjustments.
First, I took it apart.
Then, I painted the “cubby insert” in “Pebble” from Fusion Mineral Paint.
We got rid of the original outer shell and made the new one with old boards we had in the garage.
Then, we measured them to fit and then added the cubby part back in.
We finished it with a new back and I painted it all in “Pebble” from Fusion Mineral Paint.
I used sandpaper around the edges to make it more rustic.
Look at all those cubbies to fill!
These DIY cubby shelves were put together for pennies compared to the others I have seen. It serves the same purpose and looks like the real thing. You would never guess it used to be a cheap budget-friendly, laminate cubby.
Where would you use this piece? What would you store in it?
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If you like this DIY Cubby Shelves post, you will also like these projects:
Spring Wreath: Made From Embroidery Hoops & Book Pages
Wild Willow Market has several containers for organizing that are farmhouse fabulous!
Check us out! http://www.wildwillowmarket.com
I will. Thanks!
I love it even more now that you have painted and distressed this piece. I would probably keep my fabric stash in it by color. It would make my life a lot easier and the craft/sewing room much neater.
Thanks for your posts, I enjoy them.
Sincerely,
Thank you Alice!
Lindsay this looks fantastic! I love fusion paint 🙂
Thank you!
Beautiful job giving it that farmhouse appeal Lindsay and I love how you decorated it!
Thank you Marie!
I would like to know where you got the little sugar bowl with the pink flowers on it. I have the full set of my great grandmother given to me by my grandmother when I was 14, I’m now 62. Just curious since I have never seen them anywhere but in my cupboard.
I found a set of those at a thrift store. I still see them now and again.