Cupboard love

I really need somewhere to store all the bits and pieces I seem to be accumulating since I have started doing a bit of sewing and quilting. This house has very little in the way of storage facilities and I lost the spare bedroom/dumping ground when Sophie came to stay. At the moment my sewing "stuff" is spread about the house in different hidey holes but it would make projects so much easier if I didn't have to keep going on treasure hunts to round everything up before I started.
So I have decided to upcycle an old cupboard that is lurking in the shed. I pulled this out of a skip when there was a flat being cleared at my old job, and I have been intending to do something with it for the past few years. The last thing it was used for was holding handtools and bits and pieces in the shed but at the minute it is not being used, It is an old 1950's utility piece and a bit scuffed about but it is a solid piece of furniture and if I can revamp it to a decent standard I will move it into the living room when it is finished.It will be satisfying to give it a new lease of life if I can.
This is what I am starting with.

My first job will be to give it a clean to get rid of the mildew and cobwebs, then a sanding down to prepare it for a paint makeover. I'm not painting the interior as it is in a good clean condition inside and just natural wood, so that will be a bit less work to do 
I want it to be able to hold my sewing machine, small collection of fabrics, jars of buttons and other trimmings, scissors,embroidery hoops, and well as other crafty stuff like the paper guillotine,laminator etc.I'm planning to use materials and paint that we already have lying about the shed and garage to complete the project so it should be cost free, and will use up some of those odds and ends too. 


This is what I am aiming to do

• sand it all down
• paint or spray paint the exterior
• change the handles for some we have left over from another project
• make some patchwork fabric panels to infill the door panels
• attach a magnetic knife holder to the inside of one door for scissors etc
• make a pinboard or magnetic board for the inside of the other door to hold project ideas
• recycle some jars for holding buttons and other notions
• reuse some baskets from around the house for fabric storage
• do something with the top - perhaps mosaic with my LETS traded tiles

If I can achieve these I will be able to store everything in the one place and it will be so easy to just lift out the basket or jar that I need when I am doing a project.

I don't want our home to be a show home, I want it to be a personal and comfortable space designed around us, with things in it that work for our lifestyle,that are useful and decorative.I'm not looking for perfection just cosy familiarity,and functionability, so if I can upcycle this cupboard it will fit in fine and at the same time I will have saved buying new. I read somewhere that the greenest item you can buy is the one you didn't buy, so here goes :)

What are you upcycling or making do with and mending just now?