Make Mine Eclectic

Cube Redo

February 3, 2009 at 9:35 am (Projects) (box, cube, decor, decorate, design, diy, do it yourself, help, home, house, instructions, paint, project, redo, refinish, storage)

I have had this little storage cube since I was a kid.  When new, it had a unicorn and a rainbow on it.  Recently I redid the look of the cube so that it could be used in our home.  I forgot all about the cube project until yesterday.  There was a question posed on Apartment Therapy about recommendations for redoing a similar cube.  I thought that I would let you all know how I did the project, and although I do not have any before or durring pictures, I can show you how it turned out.  Here was the process:

1. I started by covering the picture areas of the cube with white contact paper.  I was lucky that the sides were the same width as the paper, but I did run short of paper at the top and had to piece two pieces together.  For a bigger box this is what you would have to do.  Not to worry, the seem barely shows once you get the paint on the paper.  Just try to line them up as exactly as possible.

2. Once the paper was on, I used an Exact-O knife to cut the contact paper around any hardware or latches.  This worked well and really didn’t cause any problems as long as you work slowly and patiently.

3. After the paper was laid and cut, I painted it.  I picked a dark red, and simply used wall paint from the hardware store and applied with a regular brush.  I recommend this, as it was easy and inexpensive.  I personally wanted an antiqued look to go with the worn metal hardware, so I only applied one coat and left it a bit streaky.  If you want a smooth, more flawless finish, I think two coats would do the trick just fine.

4. To add a personal touch I used a foam stamp.  I found this stamp at the hardware store on sale for about 50 cents.  While the paint was still wet I pressed the dry stamp into it in a pattern I liked.  When you raise the stamp it takes some of the paint off, leaving a lighter area for the design.  I used a circular design that went with the antiqued look.

Viola!  Finished!  It really was that simple.  Now this cube serves as storage for blankets in our living room.  And, this has stood up to some use and abuse and even relocating a few times.  It has a few small scratches in it now, but that seems to add to it’s antiqued character.  If you want yours to stay looking new try using a protective clear coat on top.  Here’s what ours looks like:

Some foam stamps similar to mine can be find at http://www.makingmemories.com and other scrap-booking websites.

Have fun!