One easy step to glam up the DRÖNA box

This is a very simple hack, but I thought maybe someone else will find this idea useful for their DRÖNA box.

I bought a set of the plain white boxes since they are so cheap but didn’t really like the look of them.

drona storage box

DRÖNA boxes | Buy on IKEA.com

IKEA items used: 
Other materials and tools: 

Just by accident I happened to have some card stock paper handy and noticed that they have the perfect dimensions (12’’ x 12’’) to be used as a face for the DRÖNA boxes.

I just push them under the fabric lip and they stay in place. However, I secured them further with a few pieces of double sided tape and am now pretty happy with my IKEA “hack”.

~ by Jessica A.


4 ways to update the DRÖNA box to fit any room

The DRÖNA fabric storage box at $3.99 is the cheapest bin made to fit the KALLAX or EXPEDIT. IKEA says the box adds a sense of softness to your storage – whether it’s in the walk-in closet or in the living room.

Over the years IKEA has added more patterns and colours to the range.

DRÖNA box

DRÖNA storage boxes | Buy on IKEA.com

But there are times, the ready designs still doesn’t fit your home decor or tastes. When that happens, here’s what you can do.

#1 Stencil it

I had the stencils and stencil brush already and some sample pots left from another project. As the boxes cost something like €3 each, it was worth having a go. They also have two sides with the band, so if one side isn’t good — you can always turn it around!

IKEA items used:
Other materials and tools:
  • Any type of acrylic paint (I used sample paint pots left from another project)
  • Stencil
  • Stencil brush

Use painters tape to mark out the top band of the DRÖNA box and paint a solid colour; let it dry.

Then attach the stencil to the lower section of the box with painters tape and use your stencil brush to dab on paint. 

DRÖNA storage box stenciled

Related: Hanging file folders in a DRÖNA Storage box


Top tip: When stenciling, remove the excess paint from the brush onto a paper towel so you don’t get smudges under your stencil.

Test out your stencil technique on some scrap paper or cardboard before you start.

~ by Eleanor

#2 Adding handles
with handles

Punch 2 holes in the top edge of the DRÖNA Box, an inch down from the top. Set and eyelet into each hole. Thread a piece of cord ribbon through the holes and knot each end tightly. Perfect handle for little hands. Read more.

Besides cord, consider other interesting material like leather strips, wooden beads, felt and cotton rope.

#3 Paint it
geometric bin

Interesting but affordable storage bins are not all that easy to come by. So, they resorted to IKEA and decided to get clever with the DRÖNA storage boxes. All they needed were painter’s tape and paint. Read more.

#3 Wrap with fabric
alternative front

Thought the DRÖNA wasn’t bad looking but it just needed a little something. The first thought was to attach fabric with spray adhesive or something but and easier idea came up and voilà! Read more.

This post was originally published on June 18, 2020. Updated with new content.