Little Mom on the Prairie: Sunny Yellow Side Table from Vintage Medicine Cabinet

Before I split Little Mom on the Prairie and Little Mom Saves Money into 2 separate blogs, this was one of the most popular posts on Little Mom Saves Money! This project won 2nd prize in the Spring Cleaning Contest on Instructables.

This is one of my favorite projects that I have ever made. We found a perfect matched pair of vintage medicine cabinets in the basement of our investment house (aka the crap shack) basement. They have used razor slots in the back, and a delicate etching on the mirror front. I was amazed at the condition they were in (near perfect!) and immediately the vision of matching mirrored side tables popped into my head. I ended up exchanging my paint color 3 times before I was finally happy with this springy sunny yellow. It is a nice vintage type shade, and it looks better than I hoped it would!

Materials Used:
2 matching vintage mirrors from 1949
Wood Glue
1" trim head screws
1 3/4" wood screws
11 cans 'Sun Yellow' Rustolium Spray Paint
Spray Paint Application nozzle (highly recommended)
Fine grit and super fine grit sanding blocks
Paint & rust removal attachment, for power drill
18v power drill
3inch x 1inch x 8ft length of furniture grade cedar
8 table legs, stock from hardware store
6 cans clear water based spray sealant
protective gloves, eye wear and respirator mask, on hand from past projects

The slots in the back are razor blade slots. People would dispose of their used blades through the slot and into little "razor banks", or they would (like in our house) just dump them in between the walls. There was a big dangerous mess of rusty blades behind the lathe when we pulled down the interior walls of the house.

There was some rust and paint that needed to be sanded off before we could prime and paint.

We built a sturdy base for the medicine cabinet to sit in, so it won't tip. Also, to have something to properly attach the legs to, I thought it would topple over if we just bolted the legs to the cabinet. The mirror is very heavy. I could see it falling over if not for our handcrafted wood base!