Furniture Friday!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a project I completed last summer, and forgive me for being such a novice, but I only took one "before" pic. While perusing my local thrift store (when you shop at thrift stores its fun to use big words like "perusing," makes you feel mo' proper like...) I stumbled upon 2 cabinets that were pretty banged up. They were standing on their sides and at first I couldn't tell what they were. When I opened one of the doors I could see they were old file cabinets (the kind that mount to the wall.) Similar to the ones I had when I was trapped in cubicle hell for 5 years before I became a stay at home mom, only mine were carpeted...fancy fancy.

Anywho, I decided to lay them down...big mistake because I ended up dropping it on my finger, can you say OUCH, and it was then that I realized they are solid walnut! (alright, alright, so it helped that the back of the cabinets said "solid walnut.") When I lay them on their sides I instantly thought "bench" and I knew just where to put them. Checked the price tag and for a mere $3.50 a piece they were in the back of my V-150 (That means they were in the back of my mini-van that I treat like its a pickup truck.)

Once I got them home and gave them a good cleaning and sanding, I put on some minwax stain+varnish and they were gleaming. I placed them where I wanted them (at the foot of my bed, and in front of the bay window in the living room) and began to put stuff in them. I quickly realized that being on the ground like that made it impossible to open the doors. Because of the way they open, I really needed some extra clearance.

Enter my mother to the rescue, DUN DUN DUN DUN (why does that sound more like horror movie music? hmmm) My mom used to work for a prominent window treatment manufacturer in town, and well, shes a pack rat. So anything the company threatened to throw away, she took home. And in this instance, I knew just what I needed. I called my mom and had her bring me in one of the BAGS FULL of finials she had, and I got to work. Stained them the right color and screwed them in.

All in all I LOVE how they turned out. They are the best storage for shoes and dvds, and for $7, I couldn't be happier. :) My next addition is to take a curtain that I absolutely love and turn it into a cushion for the top!