Once again left with a storage unit piece of crap that nobody wanted and was just in too good of shape to just throw away I decided to create a cat feeding station. Having a cat and a dog means that your cat’s food cannot be on the ground (unless you have a VERY well-trained pooch!). I used this small media cabinet for about a year as my kitty’s safe place to eat before I finally tackled what turned out to be a very simple project.
I wish I had a before picture to show you (for drama purposes) but sadly I do not. I did want to show you what I had done anyway and I promise I will get better about the pictures (before, during, and after!)
Mew & Chew Kitty Feeding Station from an old TV / Media cabinet
There is a shelf for kitty goodies such as: cans, toys, and treats. A cabinet that holds that big old box of litter and large canister of food. I still need to add a hook to the side to hang the pooper scooper. I know I posted it incomplete, but you get the idea.
How I Made My Cat Feeding Station (if I can do it, anyone can!)
Update: 2 years later and it still looks brand new!
-
Remove all hardware (completely disassemble every piece that you can)
Kitty Approved! - Put all the small pieces in a safe place such as a shoe box, plastic baggie, etc.
- Get sanding. This particular piece did not need a lot of sanding, just enough to rough it up. It’s kind of a cheap piece, some wood, some particle board, some cardboard. (This piece of furniture was one of those, put it together yourself with the lettered stickers on each piece)
- I skipped the primer, probably shouldn’t have because it took 5 coats of paint to get it covered! Sheesh! (mental note: next time…USE PRIMER)
- I painted everything but the top. Yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow, and yellow. Like I said above, 5 coats of yellow and at least 4 hours dry time between coats. Phew!
- Black paint for the top (only took 3 coats)
- Stencil paw prints and kitty (I used carbon paper and traced my paw prints and cat outline, freehanded the rest)
- I wanted it to have a dirty, used, kinda weathered look so…
- After my kitty and prints were dry (I left it overnight), I mixed homemade decoupage with black paint to create a wash. This worked surprisingly well! Using a sponge brush, I brushed on my wash concoction and immediately wiped it off using a dry cloth. One hand sponge brush, one hand wiping cloth. Although I did not end up needing it, I would suggest having soapy water and a clean sponge handy in case you need to wash off any mistakes in a hurry.
- After everything was completely dried, I used Minwax Paste Finishing Wax to seal and protect it.
I am not a pro, this was one of my first painted pieces of furniture and I am proud of it. So far so good, we shall see how she holds up.
(We paid $50 for the entire unit. It was full of office supplies, some miscellaneous furniture, other crap and treasures. I used paint that we had on hand so the total cost for this project was next to nothing. I’ll take it!)
