There are several things you can do with an old dresser that you don’t need or want anymore. You can give it to someone, you can take it to the dump, or you can turn it into something else. You don’t have to go searching for your magic wand; nearly anyone has the ability to transform an old dresser into a new and useful piece. It literally takes just a little while to make a bookcase using the drawers of an old dresser.
A dresser with at least six drawers – or four really long drawers – is ideal to make a full-size bookcase. Remove the drawers from the dresser. To give the bookcase a new look paint the outsides of the drawers. On the inside, you can paint the whole thing, or just paint the sides and apply wallpaper, gift wrap, fabric, or another material on the inside bottom.
Remove the handles or knobs from the drawers. Most are just attached with a screw or two. After that, stack the drawers to make the bookcase. Set the first drawer on the floor so that the back of the drawer is on the floor and the front of the drawer is facing the ceiling. Set the next drawer on top of that one – with it’s front pointing upwards – and nail or screw the two drawers together.
Stack two or three drawers on top of each other, nailing or screwing them together, then start a second stack beside that one. Stack the same amount of drawers, attaching them permanently, then screw or nail the two stacks to each other.
You’ll create one look by aligning the drawers in each stack in the same manner. You’ll make a different bookcase if you stack them in another way. For example, stack two tall drawers and a short one in one stack, with the short one on top, then, in the second stack, put the short one between the two tall ones. There are various ways you can make the bookcase look by the different ways in which you stack the drawers.
When the bookcase is finished use it to hold books, a vase of flowers, picture frames, nick-knacks, and more. You still have to get rid of the rest of the dresser since all you’ve used is the drawers. Take the cabinet itself to the dump or, better yet, make it into a desk!