DIY A Birdhouse Feathered Friends Will Love Using An Old Dresser Drawer

Discarding or disassembling an old unwanted dresser or desk can free up tons of room, but you might not want to be so quick to throw out the whole thing. Many of the drawers in these pieces of furniture can serve a clever repurposed use. These include under-bed storage, wall shelves, and fun DIY furniture projects like nightstands and ottomans. TikTok user @our_upcycled_life, however, may have one of the most ingenious ways to use an old drawer outdoors that will have your feather friends flocking to your yard to make their home. Using some salvaged and second-hand materials, including a slender shallow drawer and an old teapot, they created a birdhouse with an adorable welcome sign that works perfectly hanging on the side of the house, garage, or fence. The easy-to-create DIY piece gives a bit of rustic and natural charm to your yard in addition to serving as a welcoming shelter for birds.

To replicate this, you will need a wooden drawer and elements to fit inside your box as an assemblage. These include deep items that offer sufficient shelter for the birds like a large ceramic teapot. To create a welcoming sign, look for old wooden plaques in thrift stores or use a piece of scrap wood to create your sign. @our_upcycled_life used leftover hardware like drawer pulls and old chains to fashion a hanging apparatus, meaning that you can get creative in using what you have on hand. 

To create your birdhouse, begin by preparing your drawer and interior elements for the box. @our_upcycled_life painted her teakettle a bright yellow for a pop of color, finishing the drawer with a distressed chalk paint finish for a shabby chic look in pale blue. To attach the teapot, they used a discarded metal drawer pull looped through the handle so it hung with the spout downward. You could also use rope threaded through the top of the box  or create a hanger using a wooden or metal dowel drilled through the sides. 

To make the welcome sign below, they used a Mod Podge ink transfer process on an old wooden plaque for the letters, but you could also hand paint a message. To hang the entire unit, they used a chain attached to the top of the unit with screws. You can hang your drawer alone or create a whole grouping along a fence or wall to create a charming bird condominium. You could also mount it like a traditional birdhouse on a wooden pole. If your birdhouse is in a spot subject to the elements, coating the wood portions in a water-resistant finishing coat will keep it looking its best. To clean your birdhouse periodically, simply detach the teapot for rinsing and wipe down the rest with a cloth.

This project is infinitely customizable to fit your aesthetic and yard decor, particularly if you love whimsical, rustic, and cottage-style accents. You can even add additional natural materials to make it blend in with the surroundings and especially attractive to wildlife like twigs, stones, moss, and other greenery. Some birds are also attracted to bright colors and objects that glimmer and reflect, so adding some glittery tinsel, yarn, birds, or small mirrors can be extra welcoming. 

For a larger drawer, you can add other vintage dishware, like teacups and saucers, to the bottom to harbor water and birdseed. Those additions can make your birdhouse a one-stop shop for the avian visitors in your yard. Consider adding a bit of depth and visual interest by using a vinyl peel-and-stick wallpaper on the inside of the drawer or adding decorative elements like handpainted accents, some mosaic work, intricate moldings, or fairy garden miniature pieces in the bottom of the drawer for additional visual interest. No matter your style, a birdhouse is a stellar way to repurpose your drawers that you might otherwise discard.