Category — DIY Projects

Sewing Machine Base Becomes Changing Table

I’ve always loved giving old or antique items a new lease on life by transforming them or re-purposing them for use as something other than what they were originally intended. Never one to walk away from something that had potential or pass up a good deal, I’ve collected numerous odd items that many others would likely consider junk. A perfect example - the dirty, old singer sewing machine base that was picked up for next to nothing at a flea market then left to sit in my garage collecting more dirt and taking up space until I could find a use for it.

When I became pregnant and began the fun process of setting up and decorating the nursery for my soon-to-arrive bundle of joy, the perfect use came to me. My baby was going to need a change table. Rather than buy a typical (and in my opinion, unattractive) changing table, I would build one myself using that old singer sewing machine base.

Building The Changing Table

Basically, I put a table top on the singer sewing machine base, then built a box that fit around it and was supported by the top.

The sewing machine base was scrubbed thoroughly with water, soap and steel wool. When dry, I gave the decorative metal a fresh coat of black paint. Constructing the top was easy and only required the purchase of a few inexpensive items.

Materials & Tools

1/2″ thick MDF
Wood Screws - various lengths
1″ x 6″ Pine Boards
Corner Braces
Wood Filler
Cordless Drill
Chop Saw / Cut-off Saw
Tape Measure
150 Grit Sandpaper
Carpenter’s Glue

Steps Taken

1. Determine size of table top - width & depth. Example: Width = 26 inches, Depth = 19 inches
2. Determine length of pine boards - width x 2 and depth x 2, add an extra 1-1/2″ to each width to allow for overlap when constructing the box, plus an additional 1/16″ to each width to allow placement of the box over the table top. Example: width = 26″ + 1-1/2″ + 1/16″ (Total Width = 27-9/16″)
3. Buy MDF cut-to-size or purchase sheet and cut on table saw.
4. Buy Pine Boards cut-to-size or purchase longer lengths and cut to length with chop saw / cut-off saw.
5. Position MDF on base, use drill and 1-1/2″ screws to secure MDF to wood supports on top of sewing machine base. Screw down from top. (I put 3 screws into each wood support.)
6. Construct box using a basic butt joint.Width pieces will overlap depth pieces. For added stability, glue then screw. Use 1-1/4″ wood screws. Sink screws slightly below surface.
7. Cover screw heads with wood filler.
8. Lightly sand the box smooth.
9. Stain and polyurethane or prime and paint box as desired.
10. Mount corner braces - Inside each corner, two inches up from the bottom edge of the box, mark the mounting positions for the braces.With bottom of brackets even with the marked mounting positions, screw the side flanges of the corner braces to the box sides - brackets should be positioned with the flat, triangular part of brackets down.

    

11. Fit box down and over table top. Gently push into place until the flat triangular sections of the corner braces are resting on the table top.
12. Screw bottoms of corner braces to the table top.

Once the changing table was completed, I made a soft liner and bumpers to protect my baby from the hard surfaces. Unfortunately, at the time I made this change table I didn’t have a digital camera to record the steps that went into its creation. When I did finally get a camera I was much more interested in the little person who was using the change table than the change table itself. The closest I can get to showing you the end result is this picture I created using a combination of Google SketchUp, Microsoft Paint and Photoshop - sorry about that.

As you can see in the photo below, everything worked out beautifully!

STEPS 1 TO 6

Front Porch Ideas for a Great First Impression

(A complete list of sources is included below.)

1. Grunge Is Passé - Replace those grungy, old or dated chair covers with new outdoor pillows and seat cushions made from durable, UV resistant outdoor fabric.
2. Set the Table - Pick a summer bouquet of flowers, pop them in a vase or antique pitcher, and place them in the center of your outdoor table.
3. Make Your Presence Known - Large, easy-to-read house numbers, placed in an easy-to-see location makes finding you, well…easy. Choose house numbers that complement or are in keeping with the style of your house and outdoor decor.
4. Romancing the Porch - Hang gauzy outdoor curtains to inject a little romance. Outdoor curtains mounted on opposite sides will elegantly frame your porch.
5. Roll Out the Red Carpet - Arrange your porch furniture on a new outdoor carpet or place a new welcome mat at the front door. (The color is up to you.)
6. Front Porch First Aid - Revive your front porch and your entrance door with a fresh coat of paint.

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I’ve had some sort of water leak going on under the kitchen sink for a while. One day last week the opportunity to address that leak finally arose. It was a perfect day for an indoor DIY project - rainy.

LOCATING THE LEAK

One of the first steps involved with repairing any leak is to locate the source of the leak. In this situation, I needed to empty the contents of my kitchen sink cabinet so I could get in there for a better view. (Sort of looks like I needed to do some dishes too!)

To locate the source of a leak it’s always best to start with a dry area, if at all possible. After removing the sink cabinet contents, I thoroughly wiped the water supply lines and the inside of the cabinet dry with a towel. Starting with a dry area allows you to easily see new drips.

I turned on the cold water tap and let the water run for about a minute. No leak. Next I tried the hot water tap. Ah hah - there it was! I turned off the hot water tap, and with a dry paper towel, wiped off the current drips, then turned the hot water tap on again to see exactly where it was leaking from. My first thought was that the water was leaking at one of the connections between the faucet and the water supply lines. As it turned out that wasn’t the case. Upon closer inspection, the drips appeared to be coming from within the kitchen faucet itself. Like many people, I turned to the web for repair help, but the only leak repair instructions to be found were for dripping spouts or leaks at the base of the spout. My kitchen faucet was leaking underneath. Looked like I’d be replacing it. [Read more →]

Finishing Touches of a Small Bathroom Remodel
(See Below for DIY PVC Trim Installation Instructions)

Bathroom remodeling is a wonderful thing. New tub, new shower, new sink, new tile, new bathroom fixtures - it’s all new! Sometimes, however, after getting all those new important bathroom items installed, the small or inconsequential finishing touches get left undone. You are so overwhelmed and (hopefully) happy with the completion of the big renovation picture that little things like trim and molding fall by the wayside. They may be small, but those little bits of untrimmed areas can make a big difference to the overall finished appearance of your bathroom. Left with unfinished or incomplete trim and molding, your bathroom renovation or remodel just doesn’t shine as brightly as it could. [Read more →]

It’s the job that’s dirty - not my mind! That’s one reason why I put off cleaning the rain gutters. The other reason, which sounds so much more acceptable, is…

I like to save this particular job for late spring - after all the dirty trees have shed their litter and the spring rains have washed that debris off the roof shingles.

Cleaning rain gutters can be a pretty dirty job. Depending on the types of trees you have growing around your house, your gutters could be full of pine cones, pine needles, leaves, discarded blossoms or maple keys. Too much dirt and debris will plug the downspouts and prevent rain water from draining properly. Instead it will flow over the sides of the eaves troughs like a waterfall, which totally defeats their purpose. If you missed cleaning your gutters in the fall and your downspouts are blocked, you’ll be scooping out handfuls of tree dirt that has turned into a disgusting sludge from sitting in rain-filled troughs. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?! [Read more →]

What’s wrong with this picture?

If you said the gap between the cabinets over the kitchen sink, you’d be 100% correct! The other thing that’s been driving me crazy is the lack of lighting above the sink and over the counter top work areas on either side of it.

I’ve decided to bridge that gap and add some lighting to the kitchen while I’m at it. The kitchen cabinets aren’t necessarily to my liking, but one step at a time folks! This is a quick fix intended to improve the appearance and efficiency of my kitchen until such time as I can afford to do a more major renovation (or I move).

The Whole Process Including Pictures

Because the kitchen cabinets are melamine, I chose to use that same material for my mini renovation. Before buying any material, I carefully measured the gap and planned not only the design of the bridge, but also how I would support it between the two wall mount cabinets. With my plans formulated I headed to the closest Home Depot. [Read more →]

I came across a question at Curbly where a reader asked about covering popcorn stucco walls with fabric.

I have an interesting problem. Interesting for others, but driving me batty.
I have moved into an apartment that is the old Mayor’s mansion in the town I live in. It really is a super cool space. Large rooms, hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows, a grand entrance…. Just great. EXCEPT the master bedroom. Someone, I have no clue who, felt that putting a chair rail around the room with popcorn ceiling style stucco stuff on the lower half was a good design decision.

The chair rail juts out quite a bit from the wall, so I was thinking that perhaps I could staple gun fabric from the chair rail down to the floor… but No clue what to do.
Any suggestions? Help. Please.

As I was attempting to answer her question it became obvious to me that my answer was too long to post in a comment, so here is how I would cover textured walls with fabric. [Read more →]

Create something unique with these ideas for easy, inexpensive, do-it-yourself wall art. Design your own one-of-a-kind art with wallpaper, fabric, scrapbook paper, greeting cards, original photographs / pictures, calendar illustrations….

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