This DIY cube storage update is so easy you can do it in under 10 minutes!
When we moved into our new house I bought this cube storage unit to hold our bath towels and rugs. It functioned well for its intended purpose but it certainly wasn’t a good looking addition to the bathroom. Fast forward 7 years and I am finally getting around to redecorating our master bathroom.
I still needed towel and rug storage space but that cube storage unit had to go. Or did it? I’m really big on upcycling so I decided to come up with a way to make this piece of furniture look a little less college-dormy and a little more can-you-believe-that’s-a-cube-storage-unit?
Oh yeah and those beeee-utiful paintings on top…my husband and I did those at one of those paint and sip classes. I felt like I had to put them up somewhere for at least a little while but like my cube storage unit those also got an upcycling. See how I turned these two paintings into a single elegant piece of art.
But back to the task at hand. I came up with a plan for the unit and it worked perfectly…gotta love that. Most of the time I have to try several different ideas to come up with something I love, but every once in a while the crafting gods smile down on me and one shot is all it takes.
The 3 Items you’ll need:
- Three table runners
- I purchased mine at Target for $17.99 each. Unfortunately they are no longer available so I cannot link to them for you. Make sure you purchase a table runner that fits your particular storage unit. Measure the inside width of your cubes, then choose a table runner that is the same width or at most, only 1 inch wider. Choose a length that will be long enough to drape over the top and front of the cubes. You want a few inches extra so that it can hang over the back of the unit and a few extra inches on the bottom so that it can be clipped underneath the unit.
2. Six furniture legs
- For the legs I actually used 6 leftover legs I had from some entertainment centers that I had disassembled a year prior to upcycle into something else. But if you don’t have extra legs lying around you can purchase some. An even cheaper option would be to simply purchase a 2″ x 2″ piece of wood from Home Depot/Lowes and have them cut it into (6) 3″ pieces. Then, either stain or paint them and glue them to the bottom of your storage unit.
- You’ll only need 3 clips. I found a 4 pack at Joann for $4.99 and with a 40% off coupon, they are only $3.
Assemble your new Cube Storage Unit
Attach the legs to bottom of the cube storage unit. In my case I used caulk, but you may want to use something stronger like Liquid Nails, if you have children. The 3M clips are also going to go on the bottom so you just need to make sure to leave room for them which means the front of your legs should be set back 1.5 inches from the front of the unit. You’ll notice I didn’t think to make room for the clips when I glued my legs, so I had to pull them off and set them back 1.5 inches.
Attach the 3M clips to the bottom of the unit, so they are centered under each cube column and set back 1.25 inches from the front. Make sure the open end of the clip is facing the front of the cube storage unit.
Drape your table runners over the top of the cube storage unit. Take the end of each runner that is hanging in the front of the cube storage unit and slide it underneath and into the clips along the bottom so that each runner wraps underneath the unit. For the part of the table runner that’s hanging down the back of the unit, I didn’t add any clips. It wasn’t necessary since my unit is up against the wall and you don’t see the back.
One thing to note…my particular table runners had what seemed like bamboo strips woven in all along the runner and specifically had a larger bamboo strip at each end which made the ends of my table runners very stiff. If your table runners don’t have a rigid end, when you clip them into the cord clips in the center, each corner of your runner might hang down and then you’ll see it hanging down underneath your storage unit. If that’s the case you could easily solve that by using two cord clips towards the left and right sides of the table runner so that it is clipped evenly across.
So that’s really all it takes for this DIY cube storage update. I bet you didn’t think it was going to be that easy! The rest of my bathroom remodel is coming soon!
I’d love to see your cube storage update. Post your photo on Facebook or Instagram and tag us @stencildiystudios.
Author: Nicole Bolin