{"id":3949,"date":"2014-06-04T14:53:05","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T19:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kirstenmortensen.com\/index.php\/?p=3949"},"modified":"2020-01-05T17:08:43","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T22:08:43","slug":"a-diy-artist-taboret-for-150-or-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kirstenmortensen.com\/index.php\/a-diy-artist-taboret-for-150-or-less\/","title":{"rendered":"A DIY Artist Taboret for $150 (or less!)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DIY<\/a>

A do-it-yourself artist taboret I made by recycling a thrift store bedside stand.<\/p><\/div>\n

This post is a long time coming, but since I didn’t make any promises out loud, who cares, right? :)<\/p>\n

The story starts late last year, when I was brainstorming on ideas for Christmas presents for the resident teen.<\/p>\n

Those of you who know me know she’s planning a career in the visual arts. So art-related gifts are always a good fall-back.<\/p>\n

In this case, however, what she needed was not more supplies, but a better work space (and more storage wouldn’t hurt, either). So I started hunting around for some sort of cabinet, and that led me to the idea of getting her an artist taboret.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the choices seemed to fall into one of two categories<\/a>: either very low quality\/poorly designed or OMG-you-must-be-kidding-me expensive. Then, in early December, I hit on an idea: what if I could find a used night stand\/bedside table and convert it into a taboret?<\/p>\n

And that’s what I did, and — for the benefit of other artists out there who want a terrific but low-cost taboret — here’s how I did it.<\/p>\n

The Nightstand<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Nightstand\/bedside<\/a>

Love at second sight. Yeah, its fugly, but I saw real possibilities…<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ll admit, the project started out with a bit of serendipity. I got the idea of a DYI artist taboret. I drove out to Henrietta, New York, where there are several thrift stores located in the same plaza, and I spotted it: a bedside stand in reasonably good shape, priced at only $15. With a drawer. And a shelf inside (missing the bracket pegs but that was a minor detail).<\/p>\n

That said, I didn’t plunk down my $15 right away, because I was a bit concerned about the base. I wanted the taboret to have wheels, and I wasn’t sure how I’d mount them. Plus the base made it look kind of . . . massive!? For such a small piece of furniture . . .<\/p>\n

But after shopping around a bit more I came back and flipped it over, and decided that hmmm . . . removing the base wouldn’t be that hard.<\/p>\n

\"Disassembled<\/a>

First step: took the base off, and the door, and removed the door knob and drawer pulls.<\/p><\/div>\n

And sure enough, it wasn’t: when I got it home I was able to take it apart without much trouble :)<\/p>\n

Then I gave it a light sanding so the primer\/paint would stick, mounted casters on the base (see the hardware section below) and I was on my way.<\/p>\n

The Leaves<\/h1>\n

One of the main requirements for the taboret was to provide extra work space; given the dimensions of the nightstand, that meant I had to add folding leaves to either side.<\/p>\n

To do this, I bought a piece of 1-inch plywood from Home Depot and — since I don’t own a power saw — had them cut it so I’d have two 12×18 pieces.<\/p>\n

I rounded their outside corners using a hand saw and sanded them.<\/p>\n

\"plywood<\/a>

Plywood, cut.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Leaves<\/a>

Leaves, after I rounded the corners.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Taboret<\/a>

Taboret leaf with holes cut in it for the brush and water holders.<\/p><\/div>\n

I also wanted the taboret to have a place to secure a brush holder and cup. I hunted around on the Interwebs for a bona fide, made-for-artist brush holder-and-cup set, but didn’t find one. So instead, I bought a brushed steel toothbrush holder and cup from Target (pic below) and sized inset holes to them :)<\/p>\n

\"After<\/a>

After I removed the base, it was a cinch to mount casters on the bottom.<\/p><\/div>\n

Once I had all the pieces cut\/shaped, I primered everything.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The brackets I used for the taboret leaves.<\/p><\/div>\n

To mount the leaves, I purchased some folding shelf brackets. I couldn’t find what I wanted locally, so I bought these brackets from Amazon: Folding Shelf Bracket SP1794 8in x 8in Sold in pairs<\/a>. I chose them because they are heavy-duty and I trusted they would lock out and stay locked out.<\/p>\n

The only thing I’d do differently: I bought four brackets total (two sets at ~$18\/set) and turns out I really only needed one per leaf. Two per leaf was more support than is really necessary, and operating two brackets on one leaf is a bit of a pia (to collapse them, you have to collapse them both at once).<\/p>\n

Plus if I’d used only bracket per side it would have cut my costs by around $20.<\/p>\n

\"Mounted<\/a>

Mounted the brackets on the leaf…<\/p><\/div>\n

\".<\/a>

. . . then attached them to the side of the taboret.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Miraculously,<\/a>

Miraculously, I did it right! The top of the leaves is flush with the top of the stand when they’re extended :)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Rest of the Hardware<\/h1>\n

Here’s the other hardware I purchased:<\/p>\n