What can you do with a 16 cube IKEA Storage Unit? Well I’m going to show you how to make a DIY Faux Apothecary Cabinet or Card File Chest out of it. I had previously used this in my home office for storage. Since we downsized, I know longer have a space for it. However, I held onto it, waiting for inspiration to hit. We were in the final stages of completing our DIY Greenhouse when an Idea began to form.
Are you a lover of Apothecary Cabinets or do you call them Card File Chest? Anything with small drawers, even if the drawers are fake, it will catch my attention. I decided to attempt an IKEA HACK by building a DIY Faux Apothecary Cabinet – (Card file chest) out of this 16 cube storage unit. This will be perfect for storing my gardening supplies.
When we purchased the unit from IKEA, we purchased 3 door and drawer inserts to hide the stored items. Since 8 door inserts were needed for this project, it was necessary to purchase an additional 5.
Supplies and Tools needed
- IKEA Kallax Cabinet – used
- 8 door insert from IKEA (5 new ones purchased)
- Large Bun Feet
- Leg Mounting Plates
- Two Paint Colors of your choice – Chalk Paint works well on this slick surface. I used a white and a grey shade of chalk paint similar to these colors.
- Wax sealer
- 2 – 2×4 sheets of 1/4 smooth plywood available at most hardware stores.
- 32 – Label Drawer Pulls
- 1′ long wood screws black
- Dark Stain – American Walnut
Tools
- Cordless Drill
- Belt Sander
- Table Saw
- Phillips Head Screw Driver
- Paint Brush
- Sharpie Pen
- One sheet of card stock or heavy paper to make a 6×6 template.
How to make a DIY Faux APOTHECARY CABINET or Card File Chest from an IKEA Hack
First, paint or stain the wooden bun feet. Since the unit is square, this added the additional height needed for the space. Adding the feet is an optional step. If you are happy with the dimensions of the cabinet, adding the feet will not be necessary.
It is necessary to drill a hole the size of the screw attached to the wooden foot. You will also need leg mounting plates to attach the feet. Center the mounting plates over the drilled hole and attached with included screws. Then screw the wooden feet into place.
Paint the IKEA Cabinet your desired colors.
Next, it’s time to paint if you want to change the color of your cabinet. At this point I have decided to make the existing cabinet look like it’s two separate pieces. A larger piece at the bottom and the apothecary cabinet at the top. I painted the bottom half one color and the top half a contrasting color. I used French Linen for the bottom half and Old White for the top half. These Annie Sloan Chalk paints were some I had on hand and made the project more cost effective. Learn from this tutorial how to use chalk paint.
The existing cabinet has a slick surface and chalk paint does stick to this surface really well. I listed a Rust-olelum brand that is easy to find above.
Next, apply wax to seal the paint.
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Add Reclaimed Wood
In order to make the cabinet look like two separate pieces, you will want to add some additional wood and trim to the bottom half of the cabinet. I used some weathered reclaimed wood that we had left over from another project. You can purchase new boards or trim work from the hardware store.
Now add full size boards to the side panels. We striped the boards using a table saw to create the trim pieces. A single board was attached at the center of the cabinet to divide the piece. Now the bottom appears to be larger than the top. The IKEA Hack is coming together. The reclaimed wood gives the bottom half a primitive, rustic feel.
Building Small Wood Drawers for the Upper Half of Cabinet
Now it’s time to work on the top half of the cabinet. This is where the Apothecary Cabinet/Card File comes into play. Because we already some of the door inserts for this piece, we choose to purchase more to create our drawers. By purchasing two 2X4 sheets of 1/4″ plywood you will have enough wood to create the illusion of small drawers. The 8 door fronts are 13×13 so begin by cutting 32 – 6×6 squares. We used a table saw to strip the plywood into the appropriate size.
Then use a belt sander to smooth the edges. Although it is more time consuming, you can use a sanding block or sand paper if you don’t have a belt sander.
In order to achieve a distressed look for the Apothecary Cabinet Drawers, you will want to stain each square with a dark gel stain. These are stained with Old Masters American Walnut Stain. Once the stain has dried, then paint each square to match the top half of your cabinet. I only used one coat of paint because I wanted to allow the stain to show through.
Create a template for the Apothecary Drawers
This is an important step and will save you a lot of time and heartache. It is very hard to get the hardware installed evenly without a template.
Next create a template for your drawer fronts. Decide where you want your hardware placement and punch a hole in the paper template to mark for your pilot holes. This will assure that your hardware is placed in the exact same spot on each board.
Attach Hardware and drawer fronts to door inserts
Now you will want to drill two pilot holes in each drawer front with a small drill bit.
You want to be sure you space the wooden drawer fronts evenly on the door insert. Use wood screws that are 1 inch long to attach your hardware and your wooden drawer fronts, securing them firmly to the door insert. I used label holder pulls for my hardware. The screw goes in from the front on these label holder pulls from D. Lawless Hardware, making them perfect for this project. The same pulls are used on Our Farmhouse Island and the Re-purposed Silverware Box.
Install your Apothecary Doors
Finally, you are ready to install the door fronts per IKEA instructions and your Apothecary Cabinet will be complete. I plan to add labels to the drawer pulls once I start adding supplies to the cabinet.
Shop My Farmhouse Style
The upper Apothecary Cabinet Section appears to be sitting on top of a more primitive vintage piece. See how I made a potting table and a solar chandelier for the Greenhouse
I hope you like this IKEA Flip. It’s exactly how I envisioned the project and am thrilled with the results. This will provide much needed storage for the greenhouse.
Check out this blog post where I share all the photo’s and details about how we built this greenhouse.
Shop My Farmhouse Style
Good Morning Rachel
Of course this is absolutely amazing. It sure does seem pretty tricky to come up with something so creative but you did it. I love it so much*
deezie
Deezie,
Thanks so much.
Oh my ever-lovin-soul! I cannot get over this fantastic transformation! I would never have believed it was an IKEA Kallax if you hadn’t shown us. It’s aaaahhhhhmazing! Pinned
Awww Thanks for making my day Cindy. I appreciate this so much.
Rachel
Again, you knock it out of the park! Thank you for inspiring and sharing!
Sondra,
I appreciate this so much. Thanks for these encouraging words.
Rachel
Unbelievable!! Your DIYs are the best! What a perfect piece for that dreamy green house. Hats off to you. I’m still in disbelief of the transformation. What a vision.
Cindy,
I am so glad you like it. Thanks for these encouraging words. I really appreciate your taking the time to comment.
rachel
That is an awesome transformation. You are so creative and talented.
Karen,
I am so glad you like it. Thanks for stopping by.
Rachel
This is such a fabulous idea! I love how you made the top and bottom halves look different, Adding the reclaimed wood was such a clever idea!
Katerina,
I really appreciate your comments. So glad you like the transformation.
Rachel
Wow! What a gorgeous faux cabinet–love it! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm–pinned!
So glad you like it Cecilia. Thanks for commenting.
Rachel
Hi Rachel, oh I LOVE this! I’m all about vintage garden goodies and anything for a greenhouse, so I’m totally smitten with this wonderful cabinet. You did such a great job! Thanks for coming by to link up at All About Home, I’m featuring this post this evening!
Debra,
I’m so excited to be featured. I’m so glad you liked this post.
Rachel
What a wonderfully creative project! Adding the doors with the faux drawer fronts is ingenious! And thank you so much for sharing the paint brand – in the past I struggled to get paint to stick to the slick Ikea pieces and went thru the tedious process of priming with oil based primer. I can’t wait to try the Rustoleum brand chalk paint! I popped over from Common Ground’s All About Home Link Party.
Carolyn
I’m so glad you popped over. Thank you for your comments. Yes, chalk paint is a game changer for those of us who had to sand and prime everything to get the paint to stick. Telling my age I think!!! Again, I appreciate you so much. I hope you have subscribed to my newsletter to not miss a post.
Rachel
This project is AMAZING! I’d love to feature it on Thistlekeeping! Let me know if I have permission to use one photo and I’ll link back to you!
Happy day friend!
karianne
KariAnne,
I’d be so honored. Thank you!
Rachel
This looks amazing! I would never guess it was all one piece!
Pamela, thanks so much for stopping by. I really appreciate your compliment! That was my intention to make it look like two pieces. Thanks so much.
That is one of the most amazing furniture flips I’ve ever seen. So creative of you to have envisioned this and executed it so beautifully. Love it!!!
June,
I appreciate these sweet comments so much. Thank you for stopping by.
Rachel
Does the top work as drawers or doors? And did you put a solid back on the upper to keep things from falling out? Thank you for this inspiration! I love it.
The top works as a door. There are 8 doors and the inserts from IKEA include a back and sides as well as the door. I originally thought I’d add a back to the bottom but decided not to. I appreciate your input.
Rachel
I love your ideas…I have been making solar chandelier hangers for years….yours is beautiful….I just made one for my friends memorial garden for her young daughter….apothecary is stunning…looking forward to see other ideas….🌸
Candie,
Thank you so much for commenting. I appreciate all your kind words and support. Have the best day.
Rachel
Incredible! I have always loved the look of the apothecary drawers but could not really think what I’d use all the small drawers for. This is a genius idea combining such a great look with much better (for my purposes) functionality. Thank you so much for posting this. Your other projects are great too so now I’ll have to look through all you’ve done and try some of your ideas. What a creative and talented person you are!
Diana
Diana,
Oh my gosh, what sweet compliments. You just made my day. I really appreciate you for taking the time to stop by and share your thoughts. It’s comments like these that make it all worthwhile. I hope you have the best weekend.
Just WOW!!! This is incredible, I would have never guessed it was an Ikea cabinet. Amazing job!
Sarah,
I’m so glad you like it. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Rahel
Wow! This is amazing!! I love how you added the weathered wood. It looks like it was supposed to be this way all along!
Hey Jennifer,
I’m so glad you like it. I wanted it to appear to be two pieces. I appreciate your comments.
Rachel
Rachel this piece turned out amazing! I LOVE it. You are so talented and creative!
Kelly,
OOh my gosh! I’m so glad you like it.
Thanks,
Rachel
Rachel — I just tried to sign up to your web site and got an Error Message saying you aren’t there anymore. Please let me know how I can subscribe to you — Thanks! janduda@att.net
Jan,
I am so sorry. Can you tell me where you tried to subscribe? If there is a break in the link, I’d like to get it corrected. In the meantime, I will try to get you added to the subscription.
Thank you for reaching out.
Rachel
Such a unique looking interpretation. What I don’t like about Ikea furniture is that it is lacking in personality, has no distinctive visual appeal, and absolutely must be personalize, which you have done amazingly. No one could guess what the ‘innards’ of this piece are. Lovely idea to adapt for indoor use too.
Johanne,
I really appreciate these encouraging comments. Yes, this piece served it’s purpose when I needed office storage. Now it has new life. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Rachel
Rachel thank you for giving us such detailed instruction on building this cabinet! It turned out fantastic. And your greenhouse is the bomb, oh what I’d do to have something so nice! God bless you and I’ll be looking into the rest of your great ideas! Thanks again!
Susan,
Thank you for these sweet compliments. Looking forward to sharing more adventures with you.
Rachel
What?, that beauty used to be an IKEA storage unit! I noticed this stunning apothecary cabinet in your amazing DIY greenhouse post and figured you must’ve got it from an antique shop. Wow, Rachel, you guys did an amazing job with this transformation! Pinned 🙂
Marie,
Thank you for saying this. It was such a fun project. I appreciate you for pinning it. Have a great day.
Rachel
That is a very cool “IKEA flip”!
Jeanne,
Thank you so much. Have a great week.
Wonderful job Rachel!! How come there is NO dirt in your greenhouse, mine is a mess on the floor,, yours looks like another room of your home. Just beautiful, keep up the good work.
Ellen,
We used treated lumber for the floor and I can sweep the dirt through the cracks. LOL. Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate this.