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Making One Piece of Furniture from Two:


Woodworking Projects for Making a Beverage Serving Cart, a Hutch from a Bookshelf, or an Armoire

© 2010 by Jessica Ackerman all rights reserved

A home office bookshelf

If you need a custom piece of furniture and you can’t find exactly what you need in stores or online, think instead about how you can combine two pieces furniture into one custom piece that suits your particular need.

If you love do-it-yourself projects, buying two standard pieces and combining them to make a uniquely functional piece opens up a world of decorating creativity and opportunity. Here are some examples to get your creative juices stirring.

Making a Beverage Serving Cart from Two Coffee Tables

Two identical coffee tables, each about one and a half feet high, can be stacked on top of each other to create a drink serving cart of just the right height. Coffee tables with clean, straight lines work best for this project. Use four L-brackets to secure the two pieces together.

Screw one end of each bracket to a leg of the top table and the other end of the bracket to the top of the bottom table. Attach four caster wheels onto the bottom legs of your drink cart for mobility.

The table top on the bottom serves as a neat shelf to hold an ice bucket and bottles or cans. You may want to attach a matching strip of wood onto the top edge so that your glasses and bottles do not slip off the sides. A stemware holder can also be installed on the underside of the bottom shelf. Finally, attach a stainless steel paper towel holder to the side of the cart that will serve as a handle for pushing it around.

Making a Hutch From a Bookshelf and Desk

A small bookshelf may be put to more practical use if installed on a sturdy desk. This would be a good project to undertake if you have a limited floor space but empty wall space that will allow you to add vertical storage on top of your desk. If the two pieces are dissimilar in color, you may want to add a coat of paint to unify them.

Start by sawing off the bottom base of your bookshelf. Attach strips of adhesive felt to the sawn off edges in order to prevent scratch marks on the desk surface. Mount the bookshelf onto the desk and secure the shelf to the wall by driving a couple of screws through the backboard to studs.

Making an Armoire from Two Bookshelves

Attach two bookshelves together by hinging them at one side. They offer lots of storage space and even a small work desk if one of the bookshelves has adjustable, deep shelving. The bookshelves close up to hide your storage items and fits in a compact space.

All you need to combine the two into one is a piano hinge, a draw-bolt latch, and eight castors. Lie the bookshelves on their backs, shelves facing up, and screw on the hinge so that one side is attached to the front edge of one bookshelf and the other side to the front edge of the second bookshelf.

Attach the castors onto the bottom of the piece, four on each bookshelf. Stand it upright, close the bookshelves, and attach the latch. To finish off your piece, cover the front of the closed armoire with wallpaper in your favorite pattern.


About the author:


Professional designer Jessica Ackerman, writes for WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, and specializes in decorating with unique wall decorations and fish wall art.

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Article © 2010 Jessica Ackerman All rights reserved.