How to Fix Broken Drawers the Quick and Dirty Way
Nothing irritates me more than a wonky drawer. It drives me batty. We have a cheap little cupboard with 5 drawers down at our holiday home and since day dot those drawers have been the bane of my life. I can’t tell you how many times we tried to fix them. We added new slides, replaced the back, but it didn’t make One.Single.Iota of difference. I was this close to using that thing for firewood when my hubby came up with a quick and dirty plan that fixed those broken drawers once and for all.
Here’s how those silly drawers looked before we, errrhhhm I mean the hubby 😉 came up with that plan.
Horrible things. Okay, maybe I’m being too harsh on that poor cupboard. It’s not entirely her fault. The humidity at the coast plays havoc with cheap wood and makes it bend and buckle. And when it came to that cupboard the humidity had made one of her sides bulge in a most unflattering way.
Which meant that no matter what we tried she would always lose her drawers 😉 So if you have a cupboard that suffers from the same problem, I thought I’d share the hubby’s quick and dirty trick. Warning. It’s not pretty!!! Well from the outside it is……
……….the inside, bleh not so much, but it sure worked like a charm. And you know what? I don’t care. No-one sees the inside unless they’re packing something away, and the drawers will be forever beautifully aligned. Plus, we still have that storage space that our small holiday home needs. And the best bit, we used salvage pieces of the drawers to fix her too. So not only did the fix work, it hardly cost us a thing except a little time and a few metal strips with holes 😉
How to Fix Broken Drawers – The Quick & Dirty Way
The first thing we did was remove all the drawers and take them apart.
The front, back, and bottom of the drawers are pressed wood, and the sides are plastic. Told you she was cheap 😉
I saved the drawer fronts since I’d spent a lot of time painting her way back when. My first feeble attempt at hiding the fact that she was bent, battered, wonky, and broken.
Save the other bits to make this puzzle platter or this adorable dog leash holder.
Turning the drawer fronts into a door
Line the drawer fronts up neatly and glue them together to form one big piece. We used perforated metal strips with holes and screwed them on over the joins for extra hold.
Those metal strips weren’t as strong as I hoped so we took a few of the drawer backs and screwed them on too 😀
At this stage, the back of the “drawer door” looked like it came from Fort Knox 😀 Oh well, as they say in the classics “There’s nothing that a little paint won’t fix“. So we sprayed the back of the door black to help disguise the quick and dirty fix and then hung it on that little cupboard with two hinges.
It’s still a little Fort Knoxish, but I’m okay with that. Maybe one day we’ll put one big piece of wood on the back, but for now, I’m just soooooo happy she lost those wobbly drawers. We added some shelves on the inside and voila; that cupboard with her broken drawers was fixed and ready for a game of hide and go seek 😀
Or to store all those things a holiday home needs.
When the doors are closed you’d never say that those drawers were once broken and wonky.
Now I can enjoy all the original artwork on the gallery wall instead of focusing on the eyesore she used to be. Like these gorgeous lithographs that we found in the Midlands.
And the Egyptian cartouche we made a little while back.
Even Mozart up there in the top right seems to be smiling now that she’s been fixed.
Our pallet scrap artwork can rest easy on top of the cupboard.
Along with the magical urn that we turned into a lamp. Sometimes a quick and dirty fix is all you need to restore balance 😉
If you have one of those cupboards with broken drawers that need a quick facelift, don’t forget to pin it for later.
Oh BTW, if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you 😉
And if you don’t have time to fix your broken drawers I found these lovelies on Amazon for you.
As always, wishing you a beautiful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Thank you for popping in for a visit.
That was a creative solution to your problem! I love all the different things on your blog. The suitcase dresser is nice too.
Thanks so much Kristie. That suitcase dresser still makes me smile every morning when I get dressed
Michelle,
Thanks so much for stopping by!! I do love my weeping mortar even if it does mean that the construction guys were just too lazy to clean the mortar off after laying the brick! LOL!! I really do not know why those marigolds are doing so well….We haven’t had as much rain as we did last year…I do not know if that is why…But I will hang on to them as long as possible and then replace them with mums….
This is a stunning cupboard!! Really pretty!
Hugs,
Deb
I’m sure it’s going to look gorgeous as always Debbie and I’m so glad you like the cupboard too. At the end of the day, she was worth saving
What a clever fix for those wonky drawers! That would drive me crazy too! Your little hide and go seeker is adorable!
That hubby of mine is a clever man. He comes up with some seriously good ideas and I agree. Our little Hide and Go Seeker is adorable with her curls and naughty smile.
Michelle this is simply brilliant. I have one dresser that stores paper in my office that is oh so pretty, if and I mean IF, I can get the drawers unstuck. Its in a cold damp basement office and you described my feelings exactly! Love this fix.
It’s so frustrating right?! Those pretty dressers and cupboards with wonky drawers become like the white elephant in the room. I seriously wanted to burn ours but since we didn’t have the money to buy a new one, I’m real glad the hubby came up with his plan.
So stinking smart, I love it, but I’m sorry, your adorable hide and go seeker stole the show. Lovely furniture, but what a cutie!!
Isn’t she just the cutest. Rory is one of my favorite little people ever. Her Mom’s an amazing photographer and she snapped that piccy for us when they were down on holiday there. So precious
That was a very clever repair although it was so unexpected. At least you got to keep your beloved dresser and keep the storage. Shaun is a genius!!
He’s a very clever man that hubby of mine ?
I wasn’t expecting that for sure! Wonky drawers are a nightmare but hubby’s solution is so smart. What a great idea to save that cupboard adding the shelves inside
Right!!! He comes up with the best plans
LOL I would have thrown it out long time ago. Good save and I love the way you’ve decorated around the cupboard. So eclectic and interesting
That
thingcupboard, Aaaaaiiiii ? but we do love to upcycle so she was a good challenge and I’m glad we tried to save her one last time.Absolutely genius idea! Love it.
Thank you Mandolin ? ? ?
Ahh another genius idea! Now you don’t have to deal with those annoying drawers anymore, but don’t have to give up the look of them either!
Those drawers were driving me bonkers Katrin ? I’m so glad the hubby came up with the plan so we could save her from the bonfire.