Farmhouse Cube Unit Makeover Tutorial

Learn how to give your cube storage unit a fresh farmhouse look with this DIY makeover tutorial.

In the home we are renting we don't have a large entryway or mudroom and with Elsie starting school in a matter of days, and William starting childcare, I needed a way to organise their school bags, hats and shoes without spending a lot of money.

I decided to repurpose an old cube storage unit we had but wanted to add some farmhouse charm and hide the clutter on the open shelves. So I resolved to add a simple wire-strung curtain to the cube unit above the sea grass baskets and found some lovely linen-cotton blend fabric to give it the farmhouse vibe I was going for.

I hung a pin board above the unit to display all the beautiful creations the children bring home. A cute wooden message board and fresh greenery completes the space.

Check out the before and after transformation!

What you will need:

• Cube storage unit (ours is a six 30 cm white unit from Bunnings Warehouse)
• Fabric of your choice (we chose a light cotton-linen blend)
• Cotton sewing thread
• Curtain wire kit (including wire, hooks and eyelets)
• Drill and bit

Instructions:

Cut your fabric to the desired size, allowing extra for the seams. The fabric we used was 152 cm wide and the cube unit was 91.5 cm wide. This allowed for a little gathering in the curtain. We wanted the curtain to run from the top of the unit, to the bottom of the second cube, which was 61.5cm. So we added a 2cm seam allowance and cut the fabric to 63.5cm in length.

If you have an overlocker, overlock the cut edges of the fabric. If you don't have an overlocker you can either sew a zigzag stitch along each side or use pinking shears to help stop the fabric fraying.

Iron your fabric, making sure it's square when folded in half.

To create the bottom hem of the curtain, turn the bottom edge of the fabric down by 0.5 cm and press with an iron. If you're using patterned fabric, ensure the pattern lines up and use pins to keep the hem in place.

Sew the bottom hem of the curtain. Repeat this step with each side of the curtain; fold, press and sew.

Finally, fold and press a 1.5cm hem at the top of your curtain. This will become the casing for the curtain wire. Sew the seam at 0.5cm to make at 1cm casing.

Thread the curtain wire through the casing and add a hook to one end.

Using a drill create guide holes for the eyelets in each end of the cube unit. Screw the eyelets in securely.

Please Note: When the wire is under tension it can be hazardous. Ensure you follow manufacturer instructions closely.

Attach the end of the curtain wire with the hook to the eyelet. Then pull the other end tight to create the right length and amount of tension and cut the wire. Add the final hook and attach it to the remaining eyelet.

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And that's it, you're done! After I finished this project I though of a couple of variations I might like to try next time such as adding a ruffle to the top of the curtain or making two curtains so you can open them from the centre.