Wish your shelf was a pull out drawer? Why not use the shelf to make a pull out?
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to convert a shelf into a cabinet pull out drawer. The shelf becomes the bottom of the pull out drawer, so all you need is wood for the sides of the drawer and drawer slides.
Related: $10 Roll Out Cabinet Shelf Tutorial
How to take an existing cabinet shelf and convert it to a pull out cabinet drawer.
I love this project because not only is is super functional, adding more storage and making your base cabinets more accessible, but you hardly need any new materials.
I reused the shelf, making it the drawer bottom, so all you have to do is get wood for the sides and drawer slides.
Watch! Here's the steps outlined in a video:
Steps to Convert a Cabinet Shelf Into a Pull Out Drawer
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Step 1 - Remove and Save the Shelf Remove the cabinet shelf from the cabinet. Save it. We'll build the new pull out drawer using the cabinet shelf. |
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Step 2 - Measure Your Opening Since the drawer will need to pass easily through the cabinet opening, measure the opening width. |
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Step 3 - Cut Shelf for Drawer Slide Clearances The shelf will need to be 1" smaller than the opening, the 1" is clearance for the drawer slides. Cut with a circular saw, supporting the shelf on scrap wood pieces or a piece of foam. NOTE: If you wish to add sides on the outside of the shelf, the shelf will need to be cut down further in size to accommodate the widths of the boards added to the outside, see next step. |
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Step 4 - Add Sides to Top of Shelf Use 1x2 or 1x3 boards to add sides to the top of the shelf. I used a brad nailer with 1-1/4" brad nails and glue. NOTE: If you wish to have the pullout sides installed on the outsides of the shelf as pictured, the shelf will need to be cut down in size to account for the board widths. The finished pullout needs to be 1" smaller than the cabinet opening. |
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Step 5: Add Drawer Slides Add drawer slides to the sides of the pullout. I used full extension drawer slides. |
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Step 6: Drawer Slides Installed In Cabinet If your cabinet has a face frame like mine, you will need to add a spacer behind the drawer slide cabinet member, so the drawer slide is installed flush to the face frame. EXAMPLE: If your face frame overhangs the inside of the cabinet by 3/8", attach 3/8" plywood pieces to where you'll be installing drawer slide cabinet members. Install the drawer slide cabinet member at the location you would like your pullout drawer. |
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Step 7: Slide Drawer into Cabinet Now just slide the drawer into the cabinet and make any needed adjustments until the pullout slides smoothly. |
Preparation
It is always recommended to apply a test coat on a hidden area or scrap piece to ensure color evenness and adhesion. Use primer or wood conditioner as needed.
