DIY and Crafts

How to make a bedside table out of bread bins

Article by Your Home and Garden

This bread bin hack is the best thing since sliced bread

Every so often a life hack will go viral, taking social media by storm thanks to its DIY brilliance. The Kmart bread bin bedside table is no exception. With a stunning vintage-inspired facade mixed with Scandinavian sensibilities, the innovative storage solution is so popular that the discount retailer sold out of bread bins before we could get our hands on them for our project. Thankfully, they’re back in stock online for craft lovers, but in the meantime, we made do with a pair from Mighty Ape. Unfortunately, they arrived in flat-pack form, so the hardest part of this mission was putting together the bins themselves. Compared to that agonising hour of flat-pack assembly, constructing the bedside table was as easy as pie (or bread-making, as the case may be).

This was my first-ever foray into the DIY world; until this project, I’d never touched a paintbrush, let alone a drill. Rest assured, if I could manage this project, you’ll be able to do it too. While I don’t think I’ll be quitting my day job anytime soon, I can now say I’m the proud owner of a rather nifty, rather gorgeous bedside table. You can be too.

You will need:

• A wooden pole, roughly 1m long
• Saw
• Sandpaper
• Screws
• Drill bit
• Drill
• Wood glue/super glue
• Paint
• Paint primer (optional)
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Paintbrush

How to:

1. Measure your wooden pole (we used a broom handle) into four legs. Use a saw to cut, making sure the pole is secure and held in place. Sand down any uneven edges, if necessary.

2. Gather your bread bins and apply a generous measure of wood glue/super glue lines around the bottom. Have tissues on hand to mop up any side spillage.

3. Carefully place the two bases together, taking your time to ensure flat, level corners, and hold together until dry. Once secure, measure two marks on either end near the opening of the bread bin, keeping an even distance from both ends. Predrill a smaller pilot hole into both marked spaces to prevent the wood from splitting. You’ll want the holes the same depth as the length of your screws, keeping the drill perpendicular to the wood. Use the drill to insert the screws into the pilot holes.

4. By now your creation should be starting to take shape. On the bottom of your new side table, measure and mark where your legs are going to go, making sure they’re spaced evenly on either side and kept clear of the moving door parts.

5. Using the same technique as earlier, predrill holes into each of the four legs. Attach your screws into the base marks, and when you start to see the head of the screw crowning through the wood, screw in each table leg.

6. Check that your new table is balanced and functional. Do the doors close? Do the legs wiggle and are they level? Correct any mistakes now, before painting.

7. Lightly sand the table with sandpaper prior to painting.

8. Apply a paint primer, if desired. Paint the table, waiting for the first coat to dry before applying the second. A heat gun will help speed up this process, but beware of blowing too close to the paint, otherwise bubbles will ruin all your hard work.

9. Enjoy your gorgeous new bedside table and style to your satisfaction. If you’re tight on floor space, consider ditching the legs or attach to the wall as an enviable medicine cabinet or kitchen cupboard.

Words by: Caroline Moratti. Photography by: Babiche Martens