Have you ever purchased a dresser or other piece of furniture that was missing a piece of something at the back – like a mirror or harp for a towel bar? I recently purchased one such piece, a cute little cabinet, but it was missing that small mirror or more likely towel harp. The piece was too cute to pass up, but I knew I needed to do something with that empty space at the back. To begin, I toyed around with several ideas and decided a cute pediment at the back would add a gorgeous detail to the dry sink. I checked our stash of pediments to see if something would fit, but had no luck there. Well then – I decided to just make one!

Here is the small cabinet before:

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And here is the gap at the back where you could tell there was some kind of mirror or pediment:

I did find some wooden decals in our stash of supplies that were perfect for dressing up a pediment. To make the backplate part, I first used a large piece of paper (this paper works great and is something I already had). I cut it into a rectangle the length of the back where it would be attached.

Next I laid the paper out flat and marked where the center of it was, then positioned the wooden appliques where I liked them; being sure to center the middle piece at the center marking on my paper. I marked the position of this middle applique on the paper. At this point, I folded the paper in half at the center marking and traced one of the other appliques at the top of one side of the paper. I cut out the paper in the basic pediment shape I wanted using the tracings of the applique at the top. Because I folded the paper in half and did my markings on one half, then cut out the shape (while the paper was still folded) I could be sure both sides of the pattern were equal.

Once my pattern was complete, I could simply trace onto a 1 inch wide board. I used my jigsaw to cut out my pediment shape from the board. (Here is the type of board I used) Once the basic shape was cut out, I then sanded the board and the cut edges smooth.

I was then able to position my wood appliques in the areas I had designated on my pattern and simply used wood glue to attach! Clamps were used to hold the appliques snuggly to the board while the glue dried.

Tip: Be sure to wipe off excess glue that may seep out from beneath the applique once the clamps are tightened. A damp cloth or paper towel works great. It is much easier to remove the glue while wet, than after it has dried! Trust me – been there, done that!

Since I knew the new pediment piece was going to be painted along with the small dresser it was intended for, I decided to prime and paint the piece before it was attached to make sure ever nook and cranny was covered. It was just a lot easier to manage while still off the cabinet.

After all the work to make the pediment, it was a quick couple coats of primer, paint and wax sealer to finish it all off. It was screwed to the back to complete this sweet little cabinet!

Kristen and I were so excited to see this cabinet fixed up with the help of our custom-made DIY curved pediment! Just how cool is that!? I didn’t pass up a problem cabinet, but instead created something new to give this piece a fresh look!

It turned out just beautifully for this cute little cabinet. The color also turned out perfectly. We ended up mixing paint to create this custom color along with our custom made pediment!

For more information on the color and how we painted the cabinet, see Kristen’s Teal Cabinet she made over previously which was the inspiration for this one.

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