Nesting: Stylish Store-All

There are two things about those cookie-cutter cabinets you find at big box stores that make them brilliant diamonds in the rough.

First, they’re cheap! And second? The simplest ones can be customized into something that rivals high-dollar designs. Ours came from Lowe’s, and with a few coats of paint and some decorative detailing, it proved to be just the thing to organize a family mudroom.

You will need:
• Multi-purpose cabinet
• Phillips-head screwdriver
• Power drill
• 1 qt. primer
• 1 qt. paint
• 1 qt. chalkboard paint
• 1 can spray paint
• Paintbrush
• Scissors

STEP 1:   Assemble the cabinet according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (We inserted only one of the shelves, securing it with L-brackets for
sturdiness, at a height that accommodated
baskets.)

STEP 2:   Prime the exterior and interior of the cabinet and any shelves you want to include. After primer is dry (about four hours later), repeat with two coats of your choice of paint.

STEP 3:   Apply chalkboard paint evenly to the interior and exterior door panels and inside back wall of the cabinet.

STEP 4:   Spread hardware (coat hooks and door handles) on a tarp or newspaper. Spray twice evenly with paint (let the first coat dry to avoid bubbles).

STEP 5:   Attach remaining hardware per
manufacturer’s instructions.