A chest of drawers came into our life at the beginning of the 18th century. He owes his birth to an ordinary chest. To get something from such a "bottomless" box, a chair was required, and sometimes a ladder. A little later, craftsmen equipped drawers inside such chests, and the lid gradually turned into a countertop. The first dressers appeared at the court of the French kings. Which is not surprising, because lush wigs had to be folded somewhere, and Richelieu's secret letters should be hidden under lock and key. Such miracle wardrobes were of incredible size, but it was they who became the great-grandfathers of modern dressers.
Today chests of drawers have firmly entered our lives. Due to its functionality and simplicity, versatility of forms and a variety of models, it is this type of home furniture that is especially loved by connoisseurs of order and comfort.
Pros for choosing a chest of drawers as a storage item
- Save space.
- The right things are always at hand, but hidden from prying eyes.
- A wide selection of models and materials.
- The top of the chest of drawers can serve as a working surface.
However, it is not always possible to find "the same chest of drawers with pearl handles" even in a large furniture store. In this case, it makes sense to make a chest of drawers with your own hands. The main thing is to determine what will be stored in it.
The first rule of assembling a chest of drawers
A minimum of costs is what you should strive for. In fact, the process of creating a chest of drawers with your own hands seems complicated only at first glance. To acquire some skills and understanding of technology, it is not necessary to even buy expensive materials or accessories. As a material for assembling a prototype chest of drawers, for example, ends from old beds, cutoffs of boards from the fence in the country, and even ordinary plastic bottles, are suitable. Ideas for a functional chest of drawers can come literally from the air. Here, for example, just such a chest of drawers for children's clothes and socks. However, it does not have to be with boxes.
The second rule is to know exactly for what purposes
For example, to equip a makeshift dresser for toys in general, you can use cardboard boxes, the denser they are, the better. When choosing a furniture option for a child’s room, one should not only pay attention to the quality of the material and assembly, but rather strive with the help of a new interior item to arouse in the kid an interest in cleaning and understanding that it is necessary to put things in their place after the games. An inquisitive kid will be an excellent assistant in the process of creating a chest of drawers with his own hands and will gladly express his ideas. In addition, after such an active participation in the creation of a man-made “masterpiece”, the problem of scattered toys in the children's room will be solved.
To create a home-made chest of drawers for toys, the following may be suitable:
- Packages from household appliances, shoe boxes, sometimes old mezzanines can be used.
- Plastic containers resembling a rectangle.
- Wooden fruit crates, provided that they are safe and the child does not stick fingers.
- Sometimes even an old suitcase comes in handy.
For the design of the chest of drawers with drawers, you can use both fabric and color cardboard. For fastening parts, you can use PVA glue, a stationery stapler or scotch tape. Sometimes, to add strength to the product from the inside, a dense fabric can be used at the joints.
The third rule is functionality and simplicity.
Beginners should not take on complex models with elaborate side shelves, pencil cases or designer uneven edges. Assembling such a chest of drawers will bring nothing but spent nerves and spoiled material. If desired, such models can be purchased at the store. It is important to know the algorithm of actions and strictly follow it.
Fourth rule - it all starts with a drawing
The first thing to do is create a drawing of the future chest of drawers. Plus in this case, a home-made product is that the dimensions can be as necessary for a particular space. It is important to take into account some points: whether or not wires pass under the chest of drawers, whether the baseboard will prevent it, whether it will block sockets, switches, etc.
Fifth Rule - Adequate Sizes
The standard chest size is 80 cm and the width is 80-120 cm. If you have free time and access to the Internet, you can try to create a sketch using special computer programs, for example, Compass 3D or AutoCAD. And if you don’t have any ideas how to make a chest of drawers, you can see the models in stores. At this stage, it is important to determine the basic elements of the product. How many boxes will be, what size will they be, based on the height of the entire chest of drawers.
The sixth rule is to consider the moisture resistance and wear resistance of the material
Sometimes it will require additional grinding or processing of wooden elements of the product. Remember not only about the edge from the sides of the chest of drawers, but also about the distances between the drawers. Usually, the thickness of the edge is subtracted from the height of the facade from above and below and a clearance is added. This is what the basic model of a chest of drawers created by yourself looks like.
Do not forget about fittings and fixtures. Some novice carpenters do not consider the bottom of the chest of drawers in their calculations, it turns out that the product "hangs in the air" and the lower drawer rests only on the guides.
The seventh rule - focus on the finished drawings
Sometimes it’s useful to have at hand not only your sketch, but also a basic sample. Typically, such drawings are in furniture workshops or ateliers. The following sizes can be taken as a basis. You can peek here and the assembly order.
Useful and the scheme for creating drawers. It can be seen in the photo below.
He is so alone!
Whatever chest of drawers you create, with drawers or not, wooden, made of cardboard or chipboard, plastic or iron fittings - it will become part of your interior. Creating the foundation is only the beginning. A new chest of drawers will come into your life, will "grow" with your children, shine in gloss or shimmer with stickers with cartoon characters. It will become a real heirloom. And even if someday there will be no place for him, the memories of the time spent next to this thing will remain with you forever.