Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Turning A Card Catalog Into A Buffet

I worked in a library all through high school, which means that things like microfiche and the Dewey Decimal System have a special place in my heart. So of course I was excited about this DIY project from Jeremy & Adrianne that involved turning a Craiglists find from an old public library into a signature piece for their dining room. Here’s Jeremy’s letter:

My wife Adrianne and I love your site. I thought I would send in our before and after pictures as we took a vintage Phoenix Public Library card catalog (purchased on Craigslist for $150) and turned it into a buffet for our dining room. Here’s a quick breakdown of what we did:

Reader Jeremy Before

  • Removed the 72 drawers, numbering each with tape as we went so we could place it back in the correct corresponding spot
  • Removed the outside plywood casing of original cabinet

Reader Jeremy During 1

  • Separated the four sections of 18 slots that were stacked 4 X 1 and reacquainted them with each other in a 2 x 2 buffet setting. Screwed the sections back together.
  • Purchased two 4’X8′ sections of oak plywood and had Lowe’s cut them to size for free. These would be the new top and base, but we used the original casings for the sides to preserve the character of the piece since they have great splits and dents already.

Reader Jeremy During 2

  • Secured 8 legs purchased from Lowe’s for $8 each to base sheet of plywood in a diamond pattern (the card catalog is probably 350 lbs so we were really really relieved when the base withstood all of the weight.)
  • Added 3/4″ trim purchased from Lowe’s and cut at home with our miter saw, then patched the nail holes with wood putty.

Reader Jeremy During 3

  • Sanded, re-sanded, and sanded a little more to smooth things out.
  • Painted with Behr Premium Plus Ultra Paint and Primer in one from Home Depot (a blueish gray color call Rhino).
  • Then we rubbed some stain (Minwax Dark Walnut 2716) all over with a small brush and a few rags to give the antique look, followed by a little more sanding and then some Minwax Wipe On Poly to seal it.

Reader Jeremy During 4

  • Lastly we placed all the original hardware back on each drawer, moved it into place and we now have this great, extremely unique buffet.

Reader Jeremy After 1

We keep bottles of wine in one section, napkins and utensils in another, and still have many drawers to fill with whatever will fit. It was a tough project since the unit was so heavy but we are so happy that we put a little time, a little energy, and a few dollars ($345 to be exact) to have this great conversation piece. -Jeremy and Adrianne at The Lentine Family

Reader Jeremy After 2

We’re totally digging this transformation (not to mention the meticulous refinishing that went into it). And it’s fun just to think that if we were ever lucky enough to score a similar discarded card catalog we could fill it with tons of fun stuff (from Clara and Burger’s collection of toys to Sherry’s extra lip balm tubes and my favorite ties and belts). Great work you guys- it’s a total showstopper akin to some 3K piece from Restoration Hardware or Anthropologie (but it’s even more one-of-a-kind). What do you guys at home think? Isn’t it quite the makeover? Who’s craving a trip to the library?

Psst- Don’t forget to check out our weekly BabyCenter post right here. We switched up Clara’s art wall again- we just can’t help ourselves!

Comments

  5. Mike @HA says

    Love it! We did something really similar for a card catelog (see the black one on the right in the hobby room?)http://www.athomealterations.com/2010/05/before-and-durring.html

    Yours looks bigger…we definitely couldn’t fit a wine bottle in our drawers but my wife uses it for scrapbook stuff – stamps, tape, etc. It makes me smile to see things re-purposed, great work!

    Reply

  7. Kristen says

    As a librarian I have a special place in my heart for the old catalogue card holder. I am always on the lookout for one of these and they are so hard to find these days… great find for $150.00.

    I hear the old card catalogues are often sold for big bucks to movie production companies these days!

    Great transformation… I am so jealous!!

    Reply

  8. Yuppielady says

    I luv the legs chosen for this piece. I was just in Lowes this weekend looking at legs for two ottoman I plan to reupholster. I’m a fellow DIY’er and this this is a cool idea. Great job!

    Reply

  9. bex says

    I’m unbelievably jealous!!!! As a total book nerd, I’ve been on the lookout for a card catalog for just about as long as I’ve had my own place to decorate (read: Freshman year of college). I’ve NEVER been able to find one for as cheap as $150!!

    I love how they made it into a buffet. Brilliant. This post is getting filed away into my little design folder for the “someday” when I’m able to hunt down a card catalog.

    Reply

  12. Lisa says

    I love this! I think my favorite part would be if you could somehow save that card catalog smell…. (I know, I’m weird.)

    Reply

  13. Mim says

    Very cool, but I can’t believe after all that work and an obvious love of libraries, they didn’t go the extra mile and put labels on the drawers so they know what’s where. I would love to see actual typed labels (or they could use a Courier font made to look like real typewriting) with drawers labeled “Wine” or maybe even the exact vintages. alphabetically, of course! and so on.

    Reply

  14. staceys says

    I just got a card catalog for my birthday this weekend! And today they’ve popped up on 3 times on my reder, strange coincidence!

    Reply

  15. Christin says

    Well done. Absolutely fantastic! Great job Jeremy and Adrianne!! It reminds me of that red vintage-ish piece from Pottery Barn with all the small drawers (or faux drawers) – but this is SO much better!

    Reply

  17. Emily @ The Happy Home says

    this is SO COOL! i hate going into libraries, now, and searching for books on a computer. the smell of an old card catalogue is something that shouldn’t have been replaced!

    i also remember the denseness of the wood that was used to make my old library’s catalogue… quality construction like that just doesn’t exist anymore! beautiful!

    Reply

  18. Deb says

    I have a card catalog, but I haven’t done anything with it. I need to repair a few of the drawers and pulls, and it could do with a refinishing, but I don’t think I would paint it. Just give it a nice stain.

    I use it in my living room and it holds all my office supplies, envelopes, dvd’s, cd’s, etc.

    Reply

  19. Jamie says

    As a librarian, I am deeply in love with this! Someday I hope to own a card catalog of my own and never thought about flipping it over like this! Such a great idea!

    Reply

  20. Sarah says

    I have been reading this blog for awhile and have found so many great ideas to try out at home. What impresses me about this project and so many of the projects here is how you are living rich on a budget. You are absolutely right that a similar piece could cost 3k. I am in awe. We plan to copy the master bedroom closet idea in our house soon, but this post makes me want to rob a library!

    Reply

  21. Kate says

    Awesome job! It’s so nice that something old got such a great new life!

    I think if it were mine I’d create little labels for each section (“Wine”, “Napkins”, etc), but I also like it plain how you have it.

    Reply

  25. Lisa-Marie says

    Amazing transformation Jeremy and Adrianne! My husband and I have been looking for one of these for a long time. If we’re ever lucky enough to come across one, we’ll have to keep your idea for a buffet in mind.

    Reply

  26. Katherine says

    I am SO GLAD you guys shared this! I bought one of my college’s old card catalogs (for $20! how crazy is that?!) but it’s been sitting in storage while I figure out what to do with it. I like the buffet idea but… I’d really like to turn it into a bookcase somehow. Gotta make it apropos, you know?

    Reply

  29. Rebecca says

    I have a library card file in my bedroom and use it for socks, bras and boxers, and office supplies in the middle. I LOVE it. It is super heavy though and a pain in the butt to move since you have to take all the drawers out. I actually love the color, but I could see it being really color as a bright red or green.

    Reply

  39. Jess says

    That is so frickin fantastic! I can imagine how much back pain and hardware store trips went it to this and it is so totally worth it! Fantastic job!!!

    Reply

  44. Carrington says

    I LOVE this. Adrienne is my friend and neighbor, and just last week we were on a walk, and they invited us in to get a tour of their home (and all their awesome DIY projects), and this piece is even more stunning in person. It has so much character, and such a great story (and it’s a beautiful color).

    I’m in awe at them, and all their creativity and handy-ness!

    Reply

  47. Jeremy says

    Thanks YHL for the post and thanks for all the kind comments.

    One questions I see seems to be why we did not put labels on each drawer. We had only a couple of the original labels so we would have had to create new labels. This would have been tough to add the right level of age and antiquey look to new paper or laminated paper. We did not want to take away from the overall patina of the piece. We also love the color and like how well it plays off the brass. So we did think about labels but decided we like it more without. And plus it is mostly wine, and wine comes in and out so quickly it would be tough to keep track of ?.

    As for tips for painting, obviously this can be difficult to describe without a play by play. One tip is if you are looking for that shabby chic finish that has chipping paint, follow these steps:
    -Sand the piece to remove old paint/stain
    -Rub wax from a wax candle over the area that you would like to have chipping paint.
    -Paint the piece and paint over the areas you have waxed.
    -Once the paint dries, drag your finger nail, sand paper, or screw driver over the area you waxed and watch how the paint comes up. It makes a really cool look.
    -You can then sand areas to make area look more worn and rub some stain over the piece. By applying the stain, it adds a nice aging look, the stain will be attracted to the exposed wood and will get caught in corners and cracks.

    We will post a how to on our blog soon with painting/refinishing tips. It is easier to describe with pictures and a play by play. Please visit us at thelentines.blogspot.com & dreambookdesign.com (coming soon).

    John and Sherry thanks again for the post, we have had over 1400 people drop in on our blog so far. And lets just say our confidence has sky rocketed with all the nice comments :).

    Reply

  48. Carla says

    Love it!!! I have one of those catalogues myself in my craft room. I didn’t refinish it but its perfect for all my stuff. Those catalogues are SO heavy!!!! They can be hard to get at a good price. I got mine for $100 when a local college was selling theirs…can run up to $700!
    Great job!!!!!

    Reply

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