this incredible diy project makes my jaw drop every time i see it. the talented britt of cucumbersome created these seriously fantastic tables after seeing the curator table at anthropologie. inspired by angie’s diy faux-nelson jewelry chest on d*s, britt decided to create her own, more affordable (and dare i say, more beautiful?), version of the table for much, much less. using components from ikea and home depot, britt created these gorgeous tables for $96 each, a far cry from the $698 price tag on the anthropologie version. i just love britt’s initiative to create something with her own two hands that, in my opinion, came out looking just as good- if not better- than the inspiration piece.
i’ll let britt do the rest of the talking, as she so generously offered to share her full project instructions here today. i’m halfway out the door to ikea to make these this weekend, and when you see how simple, inexpensively these tables can be made, i have a feeling you will too. thank you to britt for sharing this lovely project and her diy instructions. click here to check out more on britt’s project at cucumbersome.
CLICK HERE for the full project instructions from britt after the jump!
I think there is a lot of potential here for other projects.
You could stack two or three of the chests together and add little ornate feet.
Or cut a larger base and attach four of them (2X2) together with longer legs and some sort of surface for the top. That would make a great little entryway table and place to throw keys and things.
What you’ll need:
Fira mini chest (Ikea)
4 12″ Wooden legs
4 Metal top plate to attach legs to chest
Decorative trim, assorted styles, 6-8′ long
Paint
3 Knobs
Wood glue (we used Elmers wood glue)
Paint brushes
Hardwood for base, cut to 14″X10″
Hammer and small nails
Hacksaw (we found a small one for $5)
Sandpaper
How to:
1. Put together the fira mini chests as per Ikea’s lovely instructions.
2. Attach the legs:
You can’t just screw the legs into the chest because then, of course, the bottom drawer wouldn’t open. So get a piece of hardwood cut to the size of the fira chest, or just a smidge smaller. A friendly worker at Home Depot cut ours. Use generous amounts of wood glue to adhere the wood to the bottom of the chest, then hammer small nails along the edge. Screw the metal plates into the wood at the four corners.
Now you can screw the legs in (and off should you need to move it).
2. Glue three top drawers into one (if using a 5-drawer version)
Attach the three top drawers together with the wood glue and clamp them. I used medium sized binder clips and they worked wonderfully. Our Elmers wood glue said to clamp for 1 hour and let sit for 24 hours. I didn’t have the patience so I set them aside, clamped, for a couple of hours while I did the other things. They were really strong by the time I was ready to use them.
3. Cut Trim
Cut all the trim to 14″ long (the size of the chest, not the drawers – so that they will go right to the edge) with a hacksaw . This didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Most trim was thin enough that it just took a couple seconds to saw and then snap them apart. Don’t worry about rough edges.
I laid the pieces out on the floor in the pattern I wanted.
*Some things to keep in mind:
I didn’t want the thin edges of the chest to show much so I let just a tiny bit of trim stick down below each drawer.
Use one of the wider trims as the top layer on each drawer so the little cut out is completely covered.
You need to leave a space between the trim on each drawer to make it easier to attach the knobs later.
4. Attach trim
Now start gluing the trim to the drawers. Hold each strip down for a minute or so. You can clamp the top trim with a couple of binder clips.
You can attach the trim with little nails but I don’t recommend it – the wood splits very easily.
Attach one strip around the bottom of the chest to cover the hardwood and metal plate (shown below).
5. Let it sit for at least a couple of hours.
6. Sand all the rough edges.
7. Paint.
You can prime and then paint. Or buy a paint that is primer and paint in one and do two thin coats (this kind of paint is for bathrooms I think but a girl at Home Depot recommended it).
Do not paint the sides of the drawers or the inside of the chest because it’s already a snug fit without layers of paint.
Let it dry overnight.
8. Attach knobs.
Screw them in where you left a space between trims on each drawer. And you’re done!
The whole process took me the most part of one day. I probably should have waited longer for the glue to set but it still feels very sturdy. It could easily be done as a weekend project.
