Restored Library Card Catalog

Sold summer, 2021: Dimensions: Length 33 inches, Depth 17 inches, Height 15.5 inches, Weight 80 pounds. Although you could store all kinds of small things in this piece, in my view its best use is for storing wine bottles. You can create labels to identify the bottle in each drawer, dropping the labels into the little frame on the front. The main structure is solid wood, but the drawers are plastic. $225

The Story 

I got this item free from the library in a former workplace when they converted to digital records of their holdings. It had been painted brown. (Unfortunately, I neglected to take a “before” picture; this was before I started upcycling in earnest.) I stripped and sanded all the exterior surfaces and revealed, much to my surprise, a beautiful oak veneer. The veneer was a little thinner than I expected and in a couple of small places my sanding went through it, but you could say it just adds to the aged, restored look. I left the wood natural and finished it with three coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic. The knobs and handles were originally natural aluminum, but I spray-painted them gold to better complement the refinished wood. The item is made up of three pieces: one layer with two rows of drawers, one layer with one row of drawers, and the top. They easily stack together to make a nice unified piece.

Related Items: Refinished Wooden Wine Rack #1, Refinished Wooden Wine Rack #2, Compact Metal Wine Bar Cart with Reclaimed Wood Shelves.