When you find one of these old record cabinets, you absolutely must buy it. After a good cleaning, it's a perfectly charming piece of furniture you can use for a side table, printer stand or even to hold a vintage turntable. Once the wood is cleaned up, sanded, primed and painted, the sides are ready to cover in spotted cowhide. It's a piece of furniture that's practical, as well as chock full of personality. Occasionally, DIY projects don't turn out as well as you imagined, not so with this one, it's a keeper.
What you need
Materials
furniture cleaner
sand paper or sanding pad
primer
latex enamel paint
fine steel wool
pieces of spotted cowhide large enough to cover the sides of the cabinet
Old Gold Furniture Polish
contact cement
Tools
small foam paint roller and tray
sharp utility knife
ruler
1 1/2" foam paintbrush
roller or brayer
Instructions
1. Place the cabinet on its back and remove the sliding doors
2. Clean up the outside and inside of the cabinet and legs with furniture cleaner and a cloth
3. Lightly sand the top and sides of the cabinet, wipe off dust with a cloth
4. Prime and paint the top and around the outside edges of the cabinet, let dry, repeat.
5. Use steel wool to clean up the sliding doors and rub them down with Old Gold furniture polish
6. Measure the side of the cabinet to determine how big to cut the cowhide
7. Cut two pieces of spotted cowhide, paint contact cement on the back side and on the cabinet side
8. Carefully adhere the cowhide to the sides of the cabinet. Use a roller or brayer to smooth the hide flat
9. Replace doors
Additional notes:Sometimes you can find pieces of hides at thrift stores. There are online sources for hides but there are also places that sell scraps. Do some investigation so you don't wind up with an entire hide.
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Cute! I just saw one of these old cabinets on CL the other day, didn't think much of it. In the future, I will. Thanks!
Nice!
Wow, there is a second hand store near me that has 2 of these, she is super cheap and usually sells furniture for around $5 -$10. Plus she has had them for well over 6 months!
I don't have a record collection but any ideas for uses for kiddies room / playroom and I might be tempted to go and get them.
Love it! Really creative! I guess you could also cut up an old thrift store leather or fur coat (real or otherwise) and get the same general look.
Sorry, but the cowhide makes me want to retch. I like the clean up and paint job though! Maybe I can find one of those around Phoenix...
bella01 I'm very jealous you have a source that has two(!) of these for so cheap. I'd love them as side tables :(
Yucky.
The fur was an odd choice but it looks great nonetheless.
Yeah, I'd like it better without the cowhide. It reminds me of one of those children's books with a little touchable square of faux fur, like Pat the Bunny.
Either you like cowhide, or you don't.
i snagged one from a friend who was about to throw it out a few years ago - it has multiple layers of chipping wall paint on it, unfortunately. it's just been sitting in my basement waiting for a use but i may have been jump started to get to work on it! (minus the cowhide, that is)
Nah! I like the idea of buying the record cabinet, cleaning it up, stripping the old varnish off and repolishing, painting or whatever, but somehow this particular cabinet started off with a lot of charm and potential and ended up looking like complete tat. What a shame. Still, tastes do vary!
bella01... I bet you went right out to that store and snapped up your bargain cabinets anyway ;) but, just in case you haven't... how about using them to store the kids' books and possibly folders or magazine files, box files (if they'll fit!) for storing art and craft-making paper, etc? You might even find that any vertical panels inside might be removable! Good luck!
For all the hide haters-keep in mind that the goal of this tutorial might be to show us how to adhere any material to a flat surface using contact cement.
Cowhide aside, this was a good tutorial.
Am I seeing correctly that the original price was 11.95? Score!
@ Across the pond
I haven't got them yet, I was thinking about them in bed last night and might use them to make an arts and crafts desk for my little boy. Like you said great for storing books, paper etc etc.
Very excited I am going Monday to go and get them.
Cowhide can look cool, but not on the side of a cabinet... But I like the rest!
The cow hide looks incredibly tacky. But I like the idea of fixing one of these up. I'd use it for records... but if you don't have a collection, a side table with storage for magazines and coffee table books would work too! Or bedside tables. If you got two you could also put them together along a wall or at the foot of a bed, put pillows on top, and make a storage bench.
Frckin' awesome!
Can somebody please tell me what kind of chair is in the first two pictures? It's lovely, so if someone knows where I could get one...
LOL!
not sure about the cow skin but nice try
We have one that we turned into a bar. The bottles are on top, tumblers fit neatly on a shelf meant for a record player, and wine glasses live behind the sliding doors.
The cowhide is what makes this cabinet awesome! It gives it a subversive retro rockabilly chic.
We did a similar cabinet, though larger, a few years ago for our guest bedroom. Very similar idea, but we used some of my mother’s old wallpaper for the side treatment. The key was in the painting technique (roll and tip) that I saw on a boat website.
That cowhide is a bit 'what' for me, but other than that this is awesome! Definitely an idea that has made me look all those old and beaten cabinets with a different mindset.
I've tried to find something like this for some time now, and all those new cabinets that are made out of real wood are usually very expensive and hence out of my reach. But getting an old cabinet like this and then restoring it could be a good solution. So thanks for the tip :)
My fiance and I are doing this except its a record player stand, rather than a record holder similar funiture design though. Were using it as our TV stand and instead of panting, were going to go ahead and re stain the wood a mahogany color. I do like the modern look of the white on this piece though. :)
I'm trying to decide if this is real wood or veneer. I have a veneer one I'm wanting to fix up for my partners birthday gift (minus the cow hide, though I am planning high glosses electric orange on the inside and white on the outside...) Could the same proccess be applied to a veneer cabinet?
What happened to Home Hacks? Will there be more updates in the future? :\
Seriously, what DID happen to home hacks? it's been more than a month with no updates! this makes me very sad indeed.
I'd like to weigh in on the cowhide, though it's months after the original post... for what it's worth: I agree that cowhide is icky. I wonder how many vegetarians are subscribers to this blog - i bet quite a few. there must be some cool alternatives. Otherwise, a really sweet little project. Can't wait to find one of those cabinets at the Salvation Army!
I scored a free record cabinet this past summer, with three slots for records and a large compartment but no sliding doors! I think it's time to fix 'er up! I'm thinking fabric curtains instead of doors..
Stunning!
Oh my!!! Very helpful tips for mom like me. I can save for my living room decoration. So creative, transforming a junk furniture into an eye catching piece of classic decor in my living room. Thanks for sharing this great idea on my old cabinet to look polished and presentable. I have some great ideas to share that could also add to the interior design of your home, which you do not have to spend more, Best Interior Designs .
Love this site...
I am soooo stealing this idea! sweet.
I just got a wonderful floor model record player, but it's a walnut colour... and all my furniture is birch. I'm not sure what to do with it yet... I'm painting the wall behind it light grey, so I am thinking about painting it white. Would that be like sacrelige? ;)
Haterzzzzzzzzzzz... this thing already lived a life as a plain, boring storage piece... you gave it a new lease on life , now it's a show piece!!
Anyone could have cleaned, sanded and restored it... this DIYer thought outside the box... it's called creativity!!! Keep thinking bro!... whether you like the piece or not, all who commented say they've been inspired... that's what creativity does... keep going!!!! XOXVM
I already have too many things to groom, maybe a less furry version would be better