IKEA Hack: Card File Drawers

You can't beat IKEA's low prices — that is, until your home starts to look like one of their showrooms. In that case, you might want to consider "hacking," or adding personal touches, to IKEA's pieces to make them truly one-of-a-kind.

Kristine Franklin from the Painted Hive shows us how she gave IKEA's MOPPE card file drawers a faux-antique makeover.

(The Painted Hive)

Materials:

I started with this cute set of MOPPE drawers from IKEA.

You'll also need brass plated card holders (which I found on eBay) plus some timber stain and sealer.

(The Painted Hive)

Step 1:

Because I was planning on using the pulls to open the drawers, I no longer wanted the visible finger cut-outs. The easy solution? Just turn the drawers around.

I began by giving the corners of the drawers a reasonably heavy sand to round them off a bit. It's just a small detail, and by no means necessary, though as you can see in the "after" pics, it does soften the unit and imparts the illusion of some wear.

Step 2:

Next, I applied two coats of timber stain. (I used dark teak because that's what I found in the shed.)

To add a soft lustre and enhance the richness of the stain, I then applied three coats of Danish oil. This oil imparts a soft sheen and nourishes the timber while enriching the color. It also goes on like water and, in my experience, dries perfectly every time. Unlike some sealers, it's virtually foolproof.

Step 3:

Once the oil was dry, I attached my pulls with a hammer and nails. For something a bit different, I aligned the pulls towards the top of each drawer.

The nails which affix the pulls will inevitably poke through the rear of the drawer fronts, so if this bothers you, simply file them flush or trim them down prior to fastening.

The visible dovetails are perfect for helping enhance the illusion of a true vintage piece.

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