DIY: Recycled Cabinet Door Turned Memo Board

June 28, 2009

I have a dozen cabinet doors leftover from the old kitchen before our remodel, and I couldn’t bring myself to take them to the salvage yard just yet.  I’m glad I waited, because after I gave it some thought, I came up with a few ideas for repurposing them.  The first idea was to transform two of them into memo boards for my office.

Here’s the Before and After:

before and after

I think great fabric makes stylish wall art.  These two memo boards also add practicality, and a place for displaying inspirational images or mementos.  Here they are (unadorned) on my office wall. 

on wall in office

How to Make a Memo Board from a Recycled Cabinet Door:

Supplies:

  1.  
    1.  
      1. Cabinet door
      2. Fabric of choice
      3. Quilter’s batting
      4. Ribbon of choice
      5. Staple gun
      6. Nail head upholsterer tacks
      7. Rubber head mallet
      8. Pliers
      9. Picture hanging hardware

Step One:  Remove any hinges or remaining knobs.

remove hinges

Step Two:  Press your fabric to remove any creases.

press fabric

Step Three:  Align your cabinet door on top of your quilter’s batting and fabric.  I used two layers of batting to give it a hint more tufting. 

layer fabric and batting

Step Four:  Attach your fabric to your cabinet door with a staple gun.  Secure corners last. 

staple fabric   corners  

Step Five:  Lay out your ribbon on the top of your fabric covered door in a grid pattern.  Allow extra ribbon to overlap over the sides so you can later secure it to the back. 

lay out ribbon

Step Six:  Use pliers to stabilize your nail head, then pound into wood with a rubber head mallet. 

pliers and nailheads 

Step Seven:  Secure ribbon to back of board with a staple gun.

staple ribbon to back

Step Eight:  After securing all of the nail heads, lay your memo board face down on your work surface.  It’s best to use a towel or cloth between the nail heads and your table to avoid scratching the delicate nail head.   Secure picture hangers to memo board. 

attach hangers

And that’s how these:

pair of cabinet doors

Get turned into these:

on wall

Here’s a look at the tufting up close.

bit of tufting

I’ve just started adding some momentos: 

momentos

Oh, and ahem, yes, in the bottom left, that is the dream crooner himself Michael Bublé with yours truly.  It’s a long, funny, serendipitous story about how I ended up meeting Mr. Bublé.  Let’s just say it was one of my favorite life moments EVER !  I think I’m his biggest fan.  Like, bordering on obsession.  Love him.  LOVE.

Stay tuned for more projects recycling my old cabinet doors…




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58 Responses to “DIY: Recycled Cabinet Door Turned Memo Board”

  1. Sara says:

    LOVE the board and I noticed the tickets and squeeled a little myself—and then I noticed the photo. Michael Buble is not only dreamy to look at but his voice is just like smooth milk chocolate! HAHA

  2. [...] on the wall are those memo boards I made from recycled cabinet [...]

  3. noodle says:

    Love this! I need to get my DIY life organised…

  4. Chista says:

    seriously, this is just what i was looking for. I have some canvases (about the size of the cabinet doors) that i wanted to do this with for my office. Now i know to use two layers batting and to attach nail heads on ribbon before securing ribbon to back side. I would have probably stapled ribbon to back first! They look great I can’t wait to make these, Thanks!
    ps i am now a follower

  5. [...] made other memo boards in the past, like the pair of memo boards I made last year out of recycled cabinet doors for my office, and this other fabric covered [...]

  6. roz says:

    These are great! I’ll probably do something like that for my home! :)

  7. Maira says:

    I love Michael Buble and I get to see him this summer, and I am definitely going to make these memo boards. Soon after I finishing painting my dresser.

  8. Julia says:

    Love the idea, but I hate to be the bearer of sad news… Michael is my future second husband, and I am his biggest fan. Seen him 3 times in concert, he is so amazing! How in the world did you get a picture with him!!!

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