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Amusements Home ~ Pottery ~ Sewing ~ Furniture Refurbishing ~ Craft ~ Dancing ~ MPA at Queen's Furniture Refurbishing Toy Box to Treasure I just completed a really cool project. The instructions are long and wordy, but dont let that fool you. It's pretty simple. It all started with two of these $15 toy boxes from Ikea.
The plan: To turn each of these simple boxes into multifunction extravaganzas! Part storage chests, part ottomans, part benches, part coffee tables, all the while, creating an exotic ethnicity sure to inspire oohs and ahhs from all. Impossible to get that much out of two cheap children's toy boxes you say? Pshaw! Ye of little faith, watch and be amazed. Materials: Step 2: I attached 4 castors, also purchased at Ikea, to the bottom of one of the assembled boxes. Dont do that. Wait until after youve painted (Step 3). Duh. Step 3: Paint or stain the frames of the boxes. I used "Drama Red" from Behr. In the case of the Ikea boxes, there are centre panels that are not real wood. I have chosen not to paint those. I will be adding a special touch of glamour to camouflage those parts of the boxes.
Step 4: If you were paying attention during Step 2, this is when you would attach the castors. If you werent paying attention, you probably already know that this is when you should have attached the castors. Live and learn! The castors are a little difficult to attach to these Ikea boxes. You need to use at least three screws in each one but the bottoms are not flush on the boxes. The corners of the box are slightly raised like feet so it is lifted slightly off the floor. You will need to add shims or small bits of wood to level off the corners and then attach the castors through the shims and into the box. Tricky, but not too hard. You could always skip the castors if you want to avoid some stress. Step 5: Assemble the bench lid. Cut the upholstery foam to the size of the lid and use the spray adhesive to attach the foam to the top of it. I didnt use adhesive and Im quite sure it would have made the project a lot easier. Up to you! Add a layer of batting on top which will smooth out the sharp angles of the foam. Make sure there is enough batting to wrap around the edges of the lid. The excess can be removed later.
Staple the material and the batting on the underside of the lid all the way around the edge, pulling it taut so it creates a smooth rounded edge with the foam, but not too taut so that you get bumps and ripples. Unless you like bumps and ripples. Try and keep things as flat and as even as possible on the underside of the lid, otherwise it may not fit on the box properly. I used a fabric edge sealer to keep the edges from fraying. You can add decorative trim to the inside of the lid to cover up your edges, too. I havent done that yet, cuz I have issues with perfectionism. It's true. Ask my mom. I get it from her.
Step 7: I had mirrors cut to fit inside the inset panels of the box. I then used a special adhesive for mirrors that does not degrade the silver on the back. Just a few drops in strategic places on the mirrors was enough to pop them into place, no clamping required. If this all sounds too easy, that's because it is. In fact it took me about a week to get my mirrors re-cut. They were just a 1/16th of an inch too big and would not fit into the panels. I okay'd the removing of an 1/8th of an inch to be safe. It also meant that the glazier could cut the glass properly instead of having to grind off the 1/16th. Now, with trials and tribulations safely stowed away in the "next-time-I-do-this-I'll-remember-to" lobe of my brain, they are all done and you can see the finished products below.
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Step 6: Cut your fabric with
enough left on the sides to wrap around the lid. Again, any excess
can be trimmed at the end. I decided to use a sari curtain panel from 
