DIY Bar Cart From Old Drawers

Learn how to repurpose drawers into a DIY bar cart with this step by step tutorial. This unique drawer repurpose idea is not just pretty but functional too!

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I am excited to be partnering once again with the Power Tool Challenge Team on a special challenge this month – the reader challenge! And there are prizes involved!! See more at the bottom of the post!

The theme for the challenge is “Upcycle”. And I am showing you how I upcycled old drawers into a bar cart!

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But first the story of how these drawers came into my life…

A long time ago, there was a daybed on the side of the road. My Mother in law and I tried to get it into the car but it was a heavy beast!

After struggling for almost 20 minutes, we threw in the towel!

But we salvaged whatever we could – like the headboard and all the drawers! That is how 4 drawers came into my life and have been waiting for me to give them a purpose!

In their new life, they no longer sit covered in dust in a corner of the garage but are a glamorous bar cart!

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How to make a bar cart from old drawers –

Step 1 – Prep the drawers

Clean those drawers really well… you never know when they have been! Also, remove any drawer slides. Mine were bottom mount and left a little cut out at the back.

Step 2 – Make any repairs needed.

Fill any holes with wood putty and smooth out any blemishes.

If you have a cutout like mine at the back of the drawer, you want to cover it up because its now going to be the front of the cart.

I used ¾” square dowels and nailed them in using 1¼” finish nails with my brad nailer.

Step 3 – Build the base

Cut out the 2″ x 2″ and the 1″ x 2″ lumber according to dimensions of your drawers and build a base using pocket holes like below. Also, you can cut up the long legs to the desired length at this time.

Step 4 – Paint all the parts

Time to paint! I painted all parts of the bar cart separately before putting it together because of the two color scheme i was going for. If you want to use one color, you can paint it after assembling.

I  used the Super FinishMax Extra to paint. The best thing about it is that you don’t have to dilute the paint! You just use different nozzle sets for different material!

I used silver acrylic paint on the base and the legs using the green nozzle set. The acrylic paint went on super easy and smooth!

For the drawers, I used primer followed by my favorite Navy Blue latex paint! 

Step 5- Attach casters to the base

I used threaded 2″ casters and T-nut inserts. The casters had a 3/8″ thread.

How to attach threaded casters –

1. Drill a hole into the leg using a 1/2″ drill bit. Make sure the hole is deep enough to accommodate the entire length of the thread on the caster.
2. Hammer in the T-nut insert till it is flush to the leg.
3.  Screw in your caster!

Step 6 – Put it all together!

First, attach the long legs to the bottom drawer from the underside with a strong adhesive like the gorilla glue and countersunk ¾” wood screws. Then, attach the base to underside of the bottom drawer with glue and ¾” wood screws.

Similarly, attach the top drawer to the long legs too. I used wood screws from the top of the drawer. Drive them flush and cover them with paint to blend in.

That’s it! 

I love the combination of silver and navy! I love it so much, I am in the mood to take into my office and use it store craft supplies where I can look at it all the time 😉

That’s 2 drawers down… 2 more to go… and that headboard too! Any suggestions on what to do with them?

More inspiring ideas –

Build this DIY Tall Bar Cabinet that will fit anywhere.

Take a plain Ikea Ivar Cabinet to a whole new level

Build an easy upholstered 2 x 4 X-leg bench

Love repurposed drawer projects?

Check these out –

• 10 Ways to Repurpose Old Drawers