We had been using an old IKEA trolley as our coffee bar, but it just wasn’t working anymore. The open shelves made it look cluttered, and it was always covered in dust and cat fluff. Our baby was starting to crawl and started getting into things stored in it. Then one night when having my usual Facebook Marketplace scroll, I came across a little timber sideboard with closed storage , plus it was free. So I arranged to go get it and Jason drove about 20 minutes to grab it. As soon as he brought it back and I saw it, I knew it had potential. It was compact, sturdy, and perfect for our small Sydney unit.
The cabinet was well made, but it needed an update. Some still like that orang-y colour stain, but I wanted to modernize it a bit. Follow my DIY flip and see how I turned this cabinet into coffee bar for our home.
It needed a deep clean, new hardware, and a few small fixes. But I could already picture how good it would look. After a bit of trial and error with the fabric inserts, and adding support for the new legs, things started to come together. I painted it in a rich green — “Black Cockatoo” by Porter’s Paints — and added gold hardware to finish it off. As a result, we now have a custom coffee bar that fits beautifully in our space and feels totally us.
This whole project was such a learning experience for me. I made a few mistakes along the way — like using too much glue on the fabric inserts — but that’s all part of it. I’ve loved seeing how it turned out in the end, and it’s really motivated me to keep going. Starting this blog and my YouTube channel has also been a big learning curve, but I’m figuring it out as I go. It’s been a bit scary putting myself out there, but also really rewarding to share these flips with you.
Materials
- Pine Cabinet – Free
- Sand Paper & Sanding Block: A$12.00
- Roller Kit: A$10.00
- Primer: A$0.00 (Old Primer)
- Porter’s Paint: Black Cockatoo – All-in-One Paint (400ml): A$44.90
- Furniture Legs: A$25.50
- Gold Spray Paint: A$13.00
Total: ~A$160.00
Gallery
