IVAR with beautiful Louis Cubes parquet design

ivar louis cubes parquet

I would never recommend trying this.

Because it drove me nuts. 

The end result is kind of cool though.

Whose cubes?
Louis Cubes is named after King Louis XIV as the design was very popular and widely used during his 72 year reign as the King of France. The pattern can easily take on a mesmerizing 3D effect. ~ Canadian Woodworking.

IKEA item used:

IVAR cabinet

ivar cabinet
Photo: IKEA.com
Other materials:
wood veneer

Basic wood veneer in maple, walnut and cherry
Painter’s tape
Sanding block 180 grit
Lacquer
Thinner

How to upgrade the IVAR doors with Louis Cubes

First, I paid somebody to laser cut my veneer into 60/120 degree diamonds.

cut into 60/120 diamonds

Back to the IVAR cabinet, I assembled the frame without attaching the doors.

Then, scuff sanded my doors with 60 grit sandpaper.

When I got the diamonds back, I taped together my Louis Cubes with some blue painter’s tape.

Louis Cubes parquet

I had some help.

helper

Next, I rolled some wood glue onto the IVAR doors. (The less glue the better. This was a gigantic pain in the neck and cost me like 2 ruined doors with bad results.)

Carefully, I transferred the cubes onto the door.

Making Louis Cubes parquet

I bought 400 million clamps and clamped the door against a piece of flat wood for 45 minutes. What I ended up using was just another IVAR door.

clamp down

I smashed out some wrinkles in the veneer and bubbles individually with more clamps and some leftover floor tiles I had. I let dry overnight

Then, I sanded the surface with 180 grit paper over a block (sanding sponges or soft sanders are a no-no).

I painted on a thin layer of lacquer thinner mixed with lacquer.

I smashed out some MORE wrinkles that formed from the moisture in the lacquer when the surface was mostly dry.

Again, I sanded lightly with 180 and covered with another lacquer thinner/ lacquer mix.

I repeated this step 800 times.

I sanded and lacquered the rest of my cabinet

Also, I added some washers to my door hinges to close the infamous IVAR gap.

Lastly, I added some legs.

Louis Cubes parquet design on IKEA IVAR door

And was finally done.

craft storage
Louis Cubes parquet design on IKEA IVAR door

~ by Corinne R.