Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl
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Pull Out Drawers with Chalkboard Fronts

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Did you enjoy that sneak peek of the pantry renovation project? I’m sure you are dying to see what lies behind that closet door. Well, you’re in luck because today you get to see the reveal and learn how I made these Pull Out Drawers with Chalkboard Fronts.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Recently I’ve been putting the finishing touches on the big pantry renovation. Although the space wasn’t that big to start with, I’ve created more usable spots to store our food and pantry items. Part of the renovation involved putting up a wall to create a closet with pull out shelving. This area is 1/3 of the original pantry. But, it holds about 2/3 of the original food items. Amazing!

I started with your standard 6′ wide by 3′ deep closet with bi-fold doors. It may sound like a fair amount of storage space, but the shelves were only 12″ deep and there were only five shelves. Trust me when I say there was a lot of wasted space.

Ready to see the new closet portion of the pantry? Let’s throw open that door and let you see the organization I have in there now!

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Hark, I think I hear singing angels! Keep in mind this is only 1/3 of the pantry renovation. The other two thirds will have more storage than you can shake a stick at.

A drastic improvement from the before:

Enough of the ugly, I’m sure you’re really here to find out how to create these fun Pull Out Drawers with Chalkboard Fronts.

Before we begin, I want to thank my sponsor for providing me with GE Iron Grip* 100% silicone adhesive for this project and for the giveaway. Just to be clear, I have partnered with the manufacturer of GE-branded sealants and adhesives to bring you this post, and have been compensated for my honest opinions.

Since receiving this product, I have put it to the test. So far I give it a top score. The curing time is much faster than some other adhesives I’ve worked with. What really sets it apart for me is the clear color, so it blends in with any project: wood, metal, masonry, tile, glass, you name it.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Ready to get building? Great! Let’s get busy making these fun organizational chalkboard front drawers.

Building Chalkboard Front Drawers:

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

This is an easy build project. You don’t have to use a nail gun if you don’t have one. The brad nails simply hold the box structure in place while the adhesive cures. If you do choose to not use the nail gun, be sure to secure the box with clamps for the required clamp time.

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Optional: Painter’s tape

Cut List:

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

1/2″ Plywood cut list:

  • 2 – 15 ½” x 6 ¼”
  • 2 – 11″ x 6¼”

1/4″ Plywood cut list:

  • 12″ x 15 ¼”

Masonite panel:

  • 12″ x 6 ½”

Backer band moulding:

  • 12″

Note: If you are using the drawers in an existing cabinet box, measure your opening and create the drawer to your specifications. You’ll also want to follow the guidelines and measurements provided by the drawer slide manufacturer*. 

*For this project I used the Blum Tandem full extension soft close drawer slides.

To make things simple for you, I put together this brief video to show you how to build the chalkboard front boxes:

Instructions:

Sand the edges of your plywood pieces to knock off any splinters.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Paint one side of the masonite panel with two coats of chalkboard paint (sand between coats.)

Upcycled Magnetic Chalkboard Frame | Pretty Handy Girl

Dry fit your plywood drawer pieces together.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut off the tip of your GE Iron Grip* adhesive tube.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Use the stick on your caulk gun to puncture the inner seal.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Run a line of adhesive along the sides of your front and back pieces.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Sandwich the front and back pieces between the side pieces.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Check the box to see if it is square by measuring both diagonals and making adjustments until they are the same length.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Add 2-3 brad nails into the side pieces to secure the box while the adhesive cures.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Wipe off any excess adhesive with a baby wipe or damp paper towel.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

If you haven’t cut your 1/4″ plywood base yet, that’s fine. I prefer to cut the base after building the drawer box to insure an accurate fit. Lay the box on top of the 1/4″ plywood and mark the perimeter onto the base.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut the plywood base and sand any rough edges.

Run a line of adhesive along the bottom edges of your drawer box.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Line up the base and press it onto the drawer box.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Secure the base with a few nails to hold it in place while the GE Iron Grip* adhesive cures.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Wipe off any excess adhesive that may have squeezed out.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Time to add the chalkboard face. Add a liberal amount of GE Iron Grip* adhesive to the front panel of your drawer.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Center the chalkboard panel on your drawer front. Press firmly on the chalkboard panel to set in place. Let the drawer sit face up until the adhesive has cured.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

For a finishing touch, add your backer band piece to act as a handle. Run a line of GE Iron Grip* adhesive along the inside edge of the backer band moulding.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Press the backer band over the front edge of the plywood drawer and chalkboard panel.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Insert your drawers into any cabinet box using the drawer slides of your choice or simply slide the drawer box onto a shelf for better organization of smaller items.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

I’m loving my new full extension chalkboard front drawers. It helps the kids (and me) find all our pantry items and keep them organized.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Front Drawers | Organized Pantry | Pretty Handy Girl

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for GE –branded sealants and adhesives.

*Iron Grip is a trademark of Momentive Performance Materials Inc.

 

66 replies
« Older Comments
  1. Barb Hass
    Barb Hass says:

    #Entry My bathroom cabinets are builder grade white laminate with a strip of oak at the top and bottom or each door and drawer. I will use GE Iron Grip* Adhesive to attach some vinyl trim strips to the cabinet fronts to give them a more modern look before painting them.

    P.S. Love the new beverage center and pantry!

    Reply
  2. eileen
    eileen says:

    I’ve been avoiding building drawers in my studio because it seemed too difficult. You make it look easy! I would use the adhesive to make a couple drawers. Thanks for the great tutorial! #entry

    Reply

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