Five fun projects!
These creative gardeners’ projects all make use of recycled drawers, dressers or boxes. They were designed for the garden for our July Project Challenge! See how a vintage dresser can be dressed up for garden storage and how to use a drawer to make a shadow box or a charming nesting box.
Charming Shadow Box
Rachel Albanese used a chippy distressed drawer, removed a drawer-front from another and nailed it to the bottom to hold some soil. You can line all the ‘flower box’ surfaces with heavy black plastic to preserve the wood.
she attached her shadow box to a 4×4″ post. Easy and very charming!
Rachel Albanese’s old drawer container
Nesting box
Nancy Carter says, “For my July Project Challenge, I made a nesting box for the birds. My materials included wood that we had on hand to build the box, a teapot for the nest, drawer handle, wood glue and a little finial.
Nancy Carter’s materials
Nancy uses easy spray paint for the project
Nancy’s ‘in progress photo’ of her nesting box for the birds shows how she built her box from recycled materials, a drawer handle, a teapot and some insulators and the process of painting it.
Nancy Carter’s finished nesting box. Pin it!
The cute nesting box for Nancy’s birds is finished. She created a how-to collage to Pin showing start to the finished project.
Dressing up the front porch
Valerie Blackwell’s July challenge was to recycle a vintage dresser to hold gardening supplies. Materials Valerie used for her project include two colors of paint, a shelf for between the bottom two openings, sandpaper and nails.
Valerie Blackwell’s finished dresser
Valerie used a distressed technique to paint her dresser and uses baskets for storage for the new shelf. Brilliant!
Valerie dresses up her dresser on the porch
Turn an old dresser Into charming storage
Sue Jordan started with this old cabinet
Sue Jordan explains, My “July Project Challenge” will be to create a gardening work area on my porch. This vintage kitchen cabinet base is the beginning…..”
Sue Jordan’s dresser fits in among all her treasures
After creating her gardening work space on the porch….Sue is finished… and enjoying it very much!
Antique dresser planter
Terri Kay’s Before picture… It’s a wreck!
Terri Kay Kemp says, “This old wooden dresser was pretty badly broken up: the dresser top was off, it had no back, was missing slats and drawer guides, had warped sides and it was nicked and scratched!”
Terri Kay shows the copper-screened sides
“I used a few screws to put the frame back together solidly,” Terri Kay says, “some sanding, stain and waterproof sealer, and I now have a lovely planter for my back patio. The sides were irreparable, so I cut some copper screen and attached it over the warped sides using tacks. What do you think?”
Terri Kay’s dresser all finished and decorated!
