Is it just me or is Ballard Designs store getting better and more creative? These Ballard Cambridge Storage units are just perfect: practical, beautiful, upscale and, a great DIY challenge to take! Might imagine seeing these in my beloved Anthropologie furniture store section.
Ballard charges $399 per cabinet. But I bet that is a best-seller, even at that price. For one, they look sturdy and well made. But most importantly, they are so useful and contemporary, striking just that fine balance between contemporary, chic and industrial in terms of home décor style. Which means that these cabinets will fit in just about every interior, from kids bedrooms, to kitchens, hallways and offices. Oh, and craft rooms of course!
How to DIY a Ballard Cambridge Storage Unit
That’s what Laura from FindingHomeOnline did. She desperately needed extra craft room storage for all her craft supplies. Inspired by the cabinet below, she went to work!
She took a couple of these metal baskets and completely transformed it into a full-blown DIY Ballard Cabinet knock-off! With hardly anything more than pieces of particle boards with a coat of varnish, a lick of chalkboard paint. Plus, couple of screws and a matching number of washers to attach the boards. E voila! A fantastic Cambridge storage unit a la Ballard!
In fact, I think she outperformed Ballard. Her handles are a bit more ‘romantic’ and less ‘industrial’, and I prefer that. And I prefer her price tag. She (refashioned)/ recycled her wire basket unit, and already owned pretty much everything else, her new craft storage cabinet is practically free to her.
For the rest of us, when we’d buy all elements for this craft storage unit new, I am estimating that it will cost :
DIY Ballard Cabinet Knock-off
- Metal wire basket units
- Plywood
$15
- Black metal paint $2.50
- Wood stain
- Handles
- Chalkboard paint
- Washers
- Screws
And here is Laura’s DIY project!
What a beauty! Laura from Finding HomeOnline deserves an applause and full credit for the image and this DIY cabinet makeover ‘How to create a Ballards-cabinet knockoff ’-tutorial
- Cut 1/4 plywood to the size of the fronts
- Cut a piece of 1/2’” plywood for the top.
- Stained the boards, e.g. with Minwax® Wood Finishing Cloths.
- Tape the fronts and painted the squares with chalkboard paint.
- The top is a board cut to the right size, stained and then just dropped into place.
- The front of the wire drawers were angled, so added a spacer to the back of the bottom of the boards so it would lay flat.
- Attached the boards with screws and washers that grabbed onto the wire openings. Add simple black hardware to the fronts of the drawers and done!
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