Ikea wooden drawers upcycle

I bought these little wooden drawers from Ikea a number of years ago. I don't think that you can still buy these exact drawers, although a similar version is still available - the Ikea Moppe mini chest of drawers. I always felt that I should do something to make them a bit more interesting but for some reason never got around to it. Then I discovered Pinterest, and one of the very first things that I pinned to my popular Craft Inspiration board was some decoupaged Ikea drawers. I've seen some other fab examples since, and so I decided it was time that I had a go!

This is how the Ikea drawers started out, not only plain but also looking a bit battered and faded after sitting on my bookshelf in sunlight for several years.

I began by removing the drawers and painting the outside frame. I lightly sanded the wood, then used white emulsion to paint, with a small amount of red poster paint mixed in to make it a very light pink. I painted the top and sides, then along the fronts. I didn't paint all the way inside the box, but I did go in 1-2cm around the insides, as the drawers are not a completely snug fit inside the frame and you can see inside a little bit.

Then I looked at covering the drawers. I experimented with both paper and card, and found that although the paper did work well, the card was really best. I used plain pink card and some pieces of patterned card that I received from Baker Ross as a member of their blogger network - Spring Patterned Card and Paper. I found the easiest way to do it was to place each drawer face down on the piece of card, lining up the smooth cut edge with the top of the drawer. I cut it out so that there was a border of approximately 2cm around the sides and bottom, then marked out and cut the finger hole in the top of the drawer.

To glue the card to the drawer I just used PVA glue. I glued the front on first, then folded the card around the bottom and sides and glued that in place. To secure it firmly I used sellotape, which I hope will also make sure that the drawers slide in and out easily and the card doesn't catch.

My drawers are not used very frequently, so I'm hoping that this will be strong enough to last. For drawers that are in more frequent use I would probably cover them with clear contact paper or perhaps a layer of glue. I also chose not to put labels on the drawers as I'm likely to change their function regularly.

I'm so proud of them!

And the best thing about this project? I completed it all with small children around! Harry occupied himself, and Mia did her own painting and cutting alongside me while I did mine, and considering how long I've been putting it off it really didn't take long at all!

I went on to do another Ikea upcycling project - decorating some Ikea wooden magazine files - another really simple project that has made a big difference to the look of my bookshelves.