Repurposed Drawers

It’s no secret if you’ve been to my home you could pretty quickly conclude that I am a collector. I love to display the little things I’ve come across that inspire or intrigue me and incorporate them into my home’s decor. Usually these things are antiques or nature-related. And late last spring, when a neighbor had this really neat little antique set of drawers (see photo above) that had seen some better days set out at the curb, I couldn’t resist taking it home and came up with an idea to repurpose it. Now, there’s a plan brewing for the overall structure of this piece which I’ll be sharing at some point later, but to implement that plan meant I would be left over with the three drawers and thought these could work well for repurposed for wall decor.

The deeper drawer makes a perfect shelf for the books that I’ve been recently or am currently reading — I usually have rotation of several going on that I like to read and then go back to as I process them, and then also to have the ones I plan to read soon there in sight is nice!

The other two drawers were fairly shallow, but I’ve been wanting to display more delicate nature finds in some way and I thought these would be great to make some specimen shadowboxes for doing just that.

First, I cleaned and wiped everything down with a little vinegar and water since there was a lot of dirt, I have feeling this piece was stored outside on a porch or something, or perhaps in the neighbor’s barn. I did discover some insect holes in the wood, but after storing this piece in my garage for a few months with no sawdust or new holes to be found, I’m hopeful it’s no longer infested and any little wood-eating bugs have since moved on prior to it coming home with me.

Next step was to paint the drawers. I used a chalk-based paint I had leftover from another project since usually it doesn’t require any sanding/priming, and it worked perfectly for the matte black finish I was aiming for. When the paint had dried, I let the drawers air out and cure in my garage for another week or two since I’m not a big fan of paint odors and these were going to be hung up on the wall in my bedroom so I didn’t want to disrupt my sleep with those smells!

Then I picked up some hardware for hanging for around $9 (which is the only money I ended up spending on this project) — I went with sawtooth hangers and used two per drawer attached to what would be the tops when hung (the thicker front-facing piece of the drawers). The drawer for the bookshelf was done then at that step and ready to hang, and the other two needed a little more work to finish their upcycled transformation into the specimen shadowboxes.

We had some foam from a shipped package we had kept instead of tossing, and I took some measurements from the interiors of the shallow drawers and cut the foam to size. Then I went through my fabric and pulled out some black linen that I used to cover the fronts of the foam pieces. I ironed the wrinkles out, got out the hot glue gun, and wrapped the fabric securing with dabs of glue around the sides and a little onto the backs. The backs are completely hidden, so there was no need to make it look neat or tidy, I just folded over the linen a bit like wrapping a gift, and pulled it taught so that the fronts would look smooth. The foam I used had some pliability to it, so it was easy to just press them into the drawers then and they had a tight fit that needed no further securing.

I found a pack of pins with pearl tops which I had gotten years ago for when I created my wedding bouquet, and it was so nice to finally have a use for those again! I used those to pin an assortment of pressed leaves into the foam, along with some feathers, butterflies I had collected from the road on walks where cars must have struck them down, a dragonfly wing found on a wetland forest floor that likely had been discarded from a bird as it ate the body of the dragonfly, a cicada casing, a bee I had found perished in my garden, a damselfly I found perished in a parking lot, and some chestnut oak acorn caps. I love being able to catch a glimpse of these little wonders now as I walk by, and it’ll be fun to interchange with new collections through the seasons (thinking dried flowers in the spring, bits of bark, bits of fallen bee/wasp nests).

IMPORTANT: I do want to note the importance when collecting and foraging of being careful, mindful, and respectful. I probably should make this a whole separate post at some point, but for now some of my practices are: I make a point to first observe, correctly identify, and know more about what I am collecting, and if I’m unsure, I take a picture and do some research. I never collect endangered or at risk species. I never collect live native insects (I have collected some invasive spotted lanternflies live and froze them, and even that gives me greatly mixed emotions and not something I feel ethical doing anymore). I only collect fallen, naturally-shed feathers but NOT during nesting season since birds may need them to line their nests with (and be aware there are laws against bird feather and nest collecting). I make sure there is an abundance that can support sharing and take only a few (a decimal or single digit percentage worth), and I try to check to make sure there is no one else using what I may want to take before I remove it — on closer examinations I often find tiny spiders or eggs on leaves and flowers, etc. so best to leave those be. I also study and research Indigenous Peoples’ practices of relationships within nature since there is such a huge gap and lack of wisdom and wisdom erasure on sustainable relations from my European white ancestry. From Indigenous Peoples I have learned to practice reciprocity, giving thanks and then giving back when I receive gift from nature. This can take all kinds of forms from scattering seed, to picking up litter, to offering a prayer, or creating art/poetry, etc. And this is all at the root of collecting, not just to admire and be curious, but to appreciate and delve into deeper connections that can bring us so much more dimension to LIFE.