CUBE NO.1 - UPDATE

 Well after we pulled them apart and cleaned them up, it was time for a trip to Ikea for the drawers - 48 of them in total (24 sets).

It took us awhile to put them together, but once you did one, the rest were easy.

So here is my new Craft Studio:

CUBE NO.2

 This is what happens when you dont look at something close enough - we knew there was a little water damage to the second cube, but once we pulled it apart, there was a LOT of water damage.

There was too much so luckily, I was able to buy another one (actually, I bought another 2!) and they were much better, only needing cleaning.

The following photos are of the damage:

I will say that Hubby has some plans for the shelves and dividers that are not damaged, so at least we will get some use out of them. 

I will have three of these 4x4 cubes in my Studio, which will be fantastic! Just have to wait a while before we can gut it and re-line with gyprock. It will certainly look better when this is done!

CUBE NO.1

Here is the first cube Wayne (hubby) and I have pulled apart, cleaned, repaired and put back together.

The second one is going to take more work as there is water damage that neither Wayne or I noticed (bugger!)

Anyway, here is what it looked like before:

It was quite dirty and had a lot of stains but with a little elbow grease, it came      up quite well. The cube shelves are held together with dowel pieces and then    there are screws on the outside.

First step is to remove all the plastic covers, screws and dowel pieces. All the frame and shelves and dividers should be all separate now.

I had an old table set up with a clean rag - when I cleaned one side, I turned it over onto the sheet so that it would stay clean.

The first clean was just using some household cleaner and a dishcloth to remove  the  dust and dirt.

The second clean was using the 'Magic Eraser' - and it is magic! I use these even on my stencils to clean them, they are great for getting inground marks off with ease. If you can see the photos above, the one on the left has been cleaned with the eraser and the one on the right, cleaned only using the household cleaner. This eraser takes off pen, paint .... all sorts of stains!

The above 2 photos are of the same panel - the second photo was reduced and cropped as there was a lot of background and plus I took the photo a bit crooked   .... well, maybe not just a bit - it was very crooked. But I promise, these two  panels are the same and look how clean it came up. Again, the Magic Eraser!!

Also, see how we didn't take our own advice ..... we missed taking out the      dowels from photo No.1, but I did take them out before cleaning it.

So clean all your panels and dividers the same and then you will be ready to        put it back together.

Place your top and bottom down and then one side - as above. Put all the dowel pieces back in and for the dividers (middle panels above) ensure the dowel goes  1/2 way through as this one piece will hold the 2 pieces on either side.

The next step is to start in the middle and put the dividers in (you might think they are the shelves but in fact, the smaller pieces are the dividers and the long pieces are the actual shelves). 

Here is Hubby clicking them into place - use your hand to 'slap' the pieces into     the dowel. If you cant, make sure you only use a rubber mallet gently to push the dowel into the pieces.

A couple of dowels were broken so we just used some wooden ones we had - as long as they are the same size, it doesn't matter if they are plastic or wood.

  Hubby thought he deserved a beer at this stage .... who am I to say he didn't???

Now all the dowels are pushed in and the unit is stable - don't lift it up yet,         you still need to put the screws in.

Nice and square!

 Now go and put the screws back in - if using a drill like Wayne has, dont screw them in tight as it could damage the screw.

Use an Allen Key to tighten up the screws.

The last thing to do is to put the plastic covers back over the screw holes.

                

A reminder of what it looked like before:

KALLAX CUBES

I have been after the Ikea Kallax 8 x 8 Cube shelving for a very long time ... each time I see one secondhand, I miss out on it by one person (ugh!)

Luckily, I was able to buy 2 of these secondhand from a Pre-School and I am over the moon! This has saved me $300.00.

Yes, they need cleaning and some fixing and especially the second one, needs more than the first, but a bit of elbow grease costs nothing and the end result is very exciting.

Shortly (hopefully) I will be renovating my Craft Studio and these cubes will help so much with storage as I will be buying some of the insert drawers and doors.

Hubby and I have finished the first one and I will post some photos shortly.

REPAIRS, RESTORATIONS & IMAGINATION

You can purchase second-hand furniture pieces and sometimes, if you are lucky, you don't have to do anything to use it.

Other times, you may have to give it a good clean and other times you may just want to make it into something unique.

Sometimes, you already have a piece that is quite boring such as a filing cabinet - not boring in an office, but quite boring in a craft room!

I have four projects I am wanting to do:

    1. Cleaning and repairing 2 Ikea Kallax Cubes (8 x 8)

    2. Restoring a Doll House

    3. Painting a Filing Cabinet to match my craft room

    4. Painting veneer bedside cabinets & Tall Boys