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Recently at work our maintenance team gifted me with a small empty wooden cable or wire spool. (Do they know me or what!?)

I had seen so many examples of the larger spools being repurposed into tables, and I knew there must be a use for this size too. A quick review of Pinterest yielded several good ideas, but my favorite was the creation of a countertop coffee station. It seemed simple enough, and after some planning I decided my coffee station needed to meet the following criteria:

• Be as compact as possible to save countertop space.
• Spin for easy access to all the cups.
• Decoratively corral supplies on top so they would not “fly off” while spinning.
• Have a “vintage cottage kitchen” look.

Here are the steps I used to complete my coffee station!

I removed the two full-length bolts that held the cardboard center tube in place, and retained those for a future project. I pulled the tube loose easily from the top and bottom wooden pieces.

Using spray adhesive, I wrapped the tube in a carefully measured and cut piece of textured wallpaper that I had on hand.

You could also paint the center tube, cover it in Contact paper, wrap it in nautical-style rope, or even wrap it in a mosaic tile sheet finished with grout – whatever suits the look you’re going for. I trimmed the excess off the ends so the paper was flush with the cardboard tube.

I sanded both sides of each of the wood pieces, and painted both pieces top and bottom with three coats of leftover white paint.

I used my E-6000 glue to attach a spinning spice rack to the underside of the bottom piece of wood. Mine was already white – you might have to paint yours depending on what color you need it to be.

I attached white screw-in cup hooks to the underside of the wooden top, using my trusty “eyeball-it” method and a stand-in stunt mug to figure out the spacing of the hooks.

The key here is to make sure the cups don’t touch or clink together, so be sure to use your largest cup as your stunt mug. I set my hooks far enough in so the cups would hang under the top edge, as this would save space. I also had to experiment with a variety of hook sizes so that the hook would fit my cup handles but not drop the cup so far down that it touched the wood base. (I now have a lifetime supply of cup hooks of varying sizes and finishes that were used in testing!)

The top also needed to corral supplies such as sugar and creamer packets. For this purpose I attached a decorative basket to the flat surface of the top, using small dots of hot glue around the perimeter of the basket bottom. This could also be a small wooden box painted to match, a small bin, or any small container that fits the surface and your design theme.

With the individual sections now complete, I used my E-6000 glue to re-attach the center tube to the wooden top and bottom sections. I used books as weights to hold everything solidly in place as it dried.

Once it was dry, I simply stocked my coffee station with mugs, coffee, and other supplies. It sits neatly under the kitchen cabinetry and keeps everything within easy reach.

This piece could also be used for tea or hot cocoa supplies – customize for your beverage of choice!

I’ll be sharing my repurposed wooden spool coffee station at these fun DIY parties.

• DIY Salvaged Junk Projects (Funky Junk Interiors)
• Inspire Me Tuesday (A Stroll Thru Life)
• Metamorphosis Monday (Between Naps on the Porch)

Hey remember that post where I told you that I never paid more than ten dollars for a table at an auction, except for the time that I did? Well this is that table – and again, although I don’t have a before photo, you can imagine this being a plain honey-pine side table with details that could either be interpreted as ranch/western… or ship’s wheel/nautical, which is what I chose. Here’s how I turned it into a nautical theme table as a gift for my daughter who loves all things beachy and seaside!

Painted a light baby blue using the Martha Stewart brand of chalk paint in Agave.

Seahorse and oceanic graphics applied using an inkjet transfer method. The quotation reads: “The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. – Jacques Cousteau”

Nautical rope applied around the edge using hot glue.

All ready for an umbrella drink!

I hand-painted a directional “beach” sign to go with this piece that also featured a bit of rope and some shells. Shortly after she received these items, my daughter relocated to Florida for six months to take part in the Disney College Program, where she worked at the Magic Kingdom, visited the beach many times, and even learned to surf. I’m pretty certain she’ll be going back some day!

Like virtually every other crafty person I know, I’m a hoarder when it comes to supplies. And while some of my stash is kept in the basement (where I can effectively live in denial about how much is there that I am not using – ha!) I definitely prefer to have some of my frequently-used items stored upstairs, close at hand. This lets me do a quick repair with the hot glue, or maybe add a silk bloom here or there without having to go dig through bins in the basement. 

What I needed was a way to corral my most often-used items… paint, brushes, glue, silk florals… that was practical as well as pretty.

This little dresser found at The Brass Armadillo antique mall was just I needed to wrangle those items, and at just twelve dollars it was certainly affordable. It just needed a little cheering up!

So out came my Fusion Mineral Paint and a bottle of custom-mixed gray-blue acrylic craft paint, and this is the result:

Originally I planned to number the drawers in that French style I’ve seen so often, but then I thought, why number the drawers and then have to remember what’s behind each number? Just paint the content label right on the drawer fronts.

Anyway the little dresser became a cute little corral for my glue/adhesives, paint, potential painting surfaces, and miscellaneous project elements. It fits neatly in the tiny second bedroom of The Dollhouse, and looks “shabby sweet.”