How to Create Workshop on a Budget

Budget-Friendly Garage Workshop Makeover

Painting and reusing old cabinets is a great way to create a defined workshop area in a garage. And adding casters to an old table saves money and gives you a portable workbench!

Materials

• milk paint (ballet pink)*
• paint sprayer (my most favorite one ever!)*
• scrap cardboard
• sandpaper
• respirator
• 3 inch screws
• drill/driver
• casters (30% off right now!)*
• 3/8″ and 3/4″ drill bits
• 2-part epoxy glue like this

Clean and Paint

Depending on how old your cabinets are and where they’ve been stored, they may require some repairs before they can be painted! Mine needed a good cleaning to get rid of the mildew (just 50/50 vinegar and water in a spray bottle) and a good sanding. I used 120-grit sandpaper to knock off any build up and smooth out any bare spots. Then wiped it down again to wash off the sanding dust.

Can you believe these cabinets are 79 years old?!

To paint, I’m using my tried-and-true paint sprayer* I got from Woodcraft*!

*This episode is sponsored by Woodcraft. However, I’ve been shopping their website for many years and all opinions are 100% my own.*

I’m also using a milk paint I’ve used before and loved! This time I’m going with the color ‘Ballet Pink’ because it’s my signature color.☺️

I added just a touch of water to the paint to help it flow through the sprayer. The paint can suggests using a respirator if using the paint in a sprayer, so I’m going with it!

Hang Cabinets

All cabinets have a brace or piece of thicker wood at the top and underneath to drive screws through for hanging. Since most cabinets are backed by a thin piece of plywood or luan, this brace, or cleat, is really the only place to use for hanging.

I hung cabinets in a friend’s laundry room a few years ago and have a detailed post on installing wall cabinets here.

Having open stud walls like I have in my garage made it easy to know where to drive the screws! If you don’t have open walls, make sure to mark your studs above and below the cabinets before getting into position!

Doors and Hardware

After the cabinets were hung, I was able to re-install the doors with the same hinges (saving that moo-la!) and cute, white enamel knobs which I can only assume are original to the cabinets and my house!

If you’re desperate for new knobs, pulls or hinges, be sure to bring your old ones to the store with you to pick out new ones! It’s so much easier to line them up side-by-side then trying to measure those tiny things!

Casters for Table

When I made over this table, I originally planned to sell it locally.

However, I loved it too much and my hoarder tendencies took over! It’s been sitting in my garage since I updated it waiting for its calling.🙄

So when it was time to make my garage into a bonafide workshop, I knew this table would be perfect for a portable workbench. Under normal circumstances, it might be a little too fancy for a rough and tough workshop table. But since I found it on the side of the road for free, I don’t have much to lose here!

To add these casters that I ordered from Woodcraft.com*, Dad and I used a 3/4 inch paddle drill bit to create a hole for the washer attached to the casters, about 1/2 inch down. Then we used a 3.8 inch drill bit to drill a smaller, deeper hole for the bolt of the caster to go in.

Since these casters are technically made for metal table legs with pre-drilled threads, we’re adapting the process to fit wood legs! They won’t fully tighten and stay that way so we added an epoxy glue that’s suitable for wood and metal alike. Once we screwed in the casters and tightened as much as we could, we let the table sit upside down overnight to cure.

We flipped the table over in the morning and she had a new life, again!

Watch for More!

The entire transformation of my workshop, with the help of my Dad, is on this week’s episode of Today’s Homeowner! You can click here to find where and when it airs in your town and set up your DVR!

Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea

*Thanks to Woodcraft for sponsoring this episode! If you use the links in this post to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission without adding cost to you! Please support the brands that support me and my website!*