A bathroom cupboard makeover for £30

We have a lovely, very tall, cupboard unit in our bathroom that holds all our towels and other bathroom gubbins. 

It was actually two units (a wardrobe and drawers) from Ikea that my handy husband stitched together and, hey presto, perfect height storage...

Alas, a joyous union MDF and steam do not make and so after a few years the doors got blown and warped and generally looked pretty manky.

I started the hunt for a new cupboard but was really disappointed at the total lack of decent options on offer – most purpose-built (and water resistant) bathroom cupboards are really small and deeply unattractive. So Mr Abi suggested looking at solid wood ones because they wouldn't warp; I found a few but again, too small. Then I made enquiries about getting one made and was rapidly put off by the £500+ figures coming in.

Eventually we sort of gave up, but the hideous cupboard haunted us. Then one day Mr Abi had a lightbulb moment – let's just change the doors and drawer fronts; the unit itself was perfectly robust and impervious to steam so we (and, dear readers, when I say "we" I sort of mean "him" – he's the handy one...) embarked on a little DIY adventure.

We picked a solid rough pine from Wickes: six planks cost us £25.

Handy husband glued them together then cut them down to size to form the fronts – he used the old door and drawer fronts as a template, handy when drilling in the holes for the screws and handles etc.

After leaving them to set overnight and reducing any slight natural curving in the wood, by piling a tonne of books on top, they were ready for a coat of plain white emulsion paint. Dab the paint on and rub it in with an old cloth to bring out the natural grain. Again, leaving them to dry overnight.

Next was a coat of wood varnish (he used a clear satin floor varnish) to seal it and we were ready to rebuild the cupboard.

I think you'll agree it looks rather splendid – especially as it cost us less than £30...

Post by Abi