My inspiration for this one, was the rattan cabinet from the IKEA Stockholm 2017 collection. I thought it would be ideal with a DIY project in the same style. And I wanted to make a cabinet that fitted with the ongoing trend of rattan, wooden furniture, bamboo, warm notes and craftsmanship.
IKEA items used:
- IVAR cabinet
- EDVALLA drop handle
- BURFJORD legs
Other materials:
DIY rattan cabinet
First, I measured the cabinet doors and cut two pieces of my pre-woven cane to fit. Do leave a little extra room to work with. You can cut off the excess as one of the final steps.
The next thing to do is to soak the cane webbing in warm water, for about 40 minutes. I used my kitchen sink for this purpose. A bathtub may also do the trick.
While the cane webbing was soaking (this is to allow the fibres to soften) I assembled the IVAR cabinet and screwed the legs on. However, I left out the shelves and the cabinet doors from the assembly.
After 40 minutes, remove the cane pieces from water and dry them off as best as you can with a towel.
Attach cane webbing to doors
Then, while it is still damp, I started attaching it to the cabinet doors. I started off on one side and slowly placed the brass studs from one side to the other.
Next, using a paint brush, I smoothed on glue on the front of the cabinet door. Then, I pressed the rest of the cane on top of the door front.
To complete it, I attached the cane with brass studs on the other side of the door too.
After that, all I had to do was to let the glue dry. I placed the two doors under a lot of heavy books, over night.
The final step is to attach the doors, now with a woven cane front, back on the IVAR frame. I drilled holes for the door handles, screwed them in and that’s it!
It took me about two days to make and I am pretty happy with the result.
See the full tutorial here.
If you’ve not seen it, do take a look at my other IKEA hack along the same style – it’s a cane headboard.
~ by Caroline Birk Bahrenscheer. Follow her @carolinebahrenscheer