multi-purpose rolling cart | fun, collaborative DIY

Have you ever got to work with a friend? The last time I worked with a friend was during my summers in college. My very long-time friend {let’s call her Audra} and I worked as waitresses in a nice, local restaurant. Anytime we worked together, we laughed and were very silly. We laughed and were very silly even when we weren’t working together. So, working together as waitresses was probably not the best idea, but we had so. much. fun. Now, many, many years later I just got to work with another friend {let’s call her Beth} on a DIY project and again – it was a blast!

The project we worked on was repurposing a bedside table to be a multi-purpose kitchen rolling cart. This was a great idea. Repurposing. Is that a word? My friend wanted this piece for her kitchen area for the extra storage and work space.

We had a very rough plan. We knew we wanted to use casters so the piece could roll to be used wherever she needed it. And we liked the black, somewhat distressed finish. But it needed to look less like an end table and more like a working piece. Then she mentioned the word concrete. And we were giddy. The waitressing kind of giddy.

We gathered our tools, our ideas and we got started. Here’s a breakdown of what we did:

installed rolling casters

We sawed off the four small legs then drilled holes a little smaller that the caster screws we had.

We screwed the casters in carefully so the wood did not split. One of the corners started to split a bit so we added wood glue and tack nails and that worked great. These casters are big for this piece but we love how they give it that industrial feel and really add good support.

cork board backing

Since this piece will be rolling around, the back will often be seen and we thought it should have a purpose. Plus, the current back of this piece was a little warped and worn {not in the good way} and it needed some TLC. A cork board would be a great solution. It could hold recipes or any tidbits of info for entertaining.

We had a old framed cork board that we repurposed. We took the frame off {keeping it for a future project} and trimmed the cork down to the correct size. This was a little tricky since cork doesn’t always cut very nicely.

 

We used a sharp Xacto knife and ruler and just cut slowly and carefully. We used Super Adhesive 77 Spray mount along with some hot glue to adhere the cork to the back of the cart.

The edges of the cork were a little rough so we took a 1-1/2″ burlap ribbon to cover the rough edges. Then we used funky silver buttons and attached them on each of the corners to help bring out the silver metal from the casters. A simple notch in the cork and some hot glue was all the buttons needed to adhere.

made a concrete top {giddy laugh}

Since this piece was being used in the kitchen, the top surface needed to be durable and able to handle food and drinks. The current wood surface wasn’t going to work and we wanted something more industrial. We thought about replacing the wood with a separate stone top but we both love the look of concrete and this was the perfect opportunity to learn how to do it.

This was the most time consuming part of our DIY project. And what made it even more time consuming was that we messed it up! We got greedy and put on a second coat of concrete, which was probably too think, and we didn’t allow for it to “breathe” – at least that’s what our go-to guys at the hardware store told us. But we had patience and determination and fixed it. The results were pretty cool – allowing for a rougher textured finish. So I’d love to detail all the how-to’s on the concrete top but with our silly mistakes and learning curves, I think creating a concrete table top {and fixing your mistakes} deserves it’s own separate post – to come soon.

distressed the wood

We took our hand sander and went to work, focusing a little more on the edges. This was just what the piece needed to give it the worn {in a good way} look.

grasscloth drawer liners

This was a nice finishing touch that gave this piece a more unique look. We cut the grass cloth to size and used our handy-dandy Super Adhesive 77 Spray mount to attach.

After the pieces were secure, we brushed a thick coat of decopage over them. This will help protect the delicate surface from getting ruined.

We’re pretty excited about how this rolling cart turned out. The materials only cost about $25. Not bad for a concrete topped, multi-purpose rolling cart – with great storage! whew that’s a mouth full.

It may have taken a little longer to complete but it was well worth it and we both learned a few things along the way! Think about repurposing a piece in your home. And if you ever get the chance to work with a friend – take it. Make the most of it and have fun!

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