Practical Uses for Old Kitchen Cabinets: Storage Solutions

If you’re remodeling your kitchen and plan on replacing your old kitchen cabinets, don’t get rid of the old ones – at least not all of them. There are many practical uses for old kitchen cabinets, and as expensive as sturdy storage cabinets cost, the old cabinets are worth keeping and using elsewhere in and around the home. In addition, old kitchen cabinets are hard to come by, and unless they’re literally falling apart you’ll find a number of practical uses you may have never before considered. You’ll be glad you didn’t get rid of them!

Utility Cabinets

You can never have too much storage space for hardware, paints, light bulbs, and all of the other items required to keep a house running smooth, and cabinets made especially for utility rooms and garages are quite expensive, even the plastic kind. If you have old kitchen cabinets that you’re not sure what to do with, consider mounting them in your garage, storage shed, basement or utility room. They’ll make very practical utility cabinets, and it really won’t matter how they look. If they’re sturdy, they’ll do the job!

Craft Cabinets

If you’re into arts and crafts as I am, you can never have too much storage space for craft supplies and finished pieces. I have an entire closet devoted to craft supply storage, but if I had a room just for crafting, and if I had an old set of cabinets, I’d want them for storing my craft supplies. Imagine having cabinets and drawers filled with everything you need to create your unique crafts.

Sand and paint the cabinets to match the room, and you’ll have the practical room for storage that every crafter dreams of. You could add artistic touches to your old kitchen cabinets and turn them into spectacular works of art. Just a few cabinets can be a great asset to an artist or craft project enthusiast, and they’re highly practical and very useful for any crafting purpose.

Create a Unique Nightstand

If you’ve priced solid wood nightstands you know they’re not cheap. Even particle board nightstands that require assembly can be a little pricey, but if you have a single wood kitchen cabinet in good condition it can be made into a practical nightstand for the bedroom.

Remove all of the hardware, fill in the holes, and sand away any imperfections. Paint or stain this makeshift nightstand, drill a large hole behind each of the shelves with a hole saw and you’ll have a place an alarm clock, a lamp, and even a small stereo. Use your imagination and creativity to make a couple of nightstands to match your bedroom. No one will ever guess your nightstands were once kitchen cabinets!

Open Storage Shelves

The same procedure to make a practical and highly useful nightstands can be used to make open storage shelves. Follow the same instructions for making a nightstand, but don’t drill holes in the backs of the cabinets. Paint, stain, and decorate the cabinets as desired. Add decorative ready-made trim, and mount them on a wall. You’ll have a practical storage shelf that can be used to hold books, trinkets, or anything else you don’t mind displaying in an open unit.

Make a Toy Cabinet

A kid’s room without ample storage space is a kid’s room that’s a disaster. If your child’s room is lacking storage space, it’s very difficult to organize. If you’re lucky enough to have an old set of kitchen cabinets, put them to good use. Make a practical and very handy toy cabinet for your child’s bedroom or playroom.

You can make an entire set of freestanding toy cabinets and paint them to look like building blocks, cover them with themed appliquÃ?©s, or paint them bright eye-catching colors. You can even add colorful handles and wood trim to make one-of-a-kind practical cabinets you’d never find anywhere else. There’s really no limit to the practical uses you’ll find for old kitchen cabinets. Best of all, they’re practically free!