Chest of drawers came into our lives at the beginning of the 18th century. He owes his birth to an ordinary chest. To get something out of such a "bottomless" box, a chair was required, and sometimes a ladder. A little later, craftsmen equipped boxes inside such chests, and the lid gradually turned into a tabletop. The first chests of drawers appeared at the court of the French kings. Which is not surprising, because the magnificent wigs had to be folded somewhere, and Richelieu's secret letters had to be hidden under lock and key. Such wonderful cabinets were of incredible size, but they became the great-grandfathers of modern chests of drawers.
Today chests of drawers have firmly entered our lives. Due to its functionality and simplicity, versatility of forms and variety of models, this type of home furniture is especially loved by connoisseurs of order and comfort.
Pros for choosing chest of drawers as storage item
- Saving space.
- The necessary things are always at hand, but hidden from prying eyes.
- Wide range of models and materials.
- The top of the dresser can serve as a work surface.
However, find the same chest of drawers withmother-of-pearl handles”is not always possible 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 dresser assembly
Minimum cost - that's 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 understand the technology, it is not even necessary to buy expensive materials or accessories. As a material for assembling a chest of drawers of a prototype, for example, the ends of old beds, trimmed boards from a fence in the country, and even ordinary plastic bottles are suitable. Ideas for a functional chest of drawers can literally come out of thin air. Here, for example, is 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, for arranging a homemade chest of drawers for toys, you can generally use cardboard boxes, the denser they are, the better. When choosing a furniture option for a child’s room, one should not so much pay attention to the quality of the material and assembly, but rather, with the help of a new piece of furniture, arouse in the child an interest in cleaning and an understanding that it is necessary to put things in place after games. An inquisitive kid will be an excellent assistant in the process of creating a chest of drawers with his own hands and will be happy to express his ideas. In addition, after such an active participation in the creation of man-made"masterpiece" the problem of scattered toys in the children's room will be solved.
To create a homemade chest of drawers for toys may be suitable:
- Packaging from household appliances, shoe boxes, sometimes old mezzanines can be used.
- Plastic containers resembling a rectangle.
- Wooden fruit crates as long as they are safe and the child won't pinch them.
- Sometimes even an old suitcase comes in handy.
For the design of a chest of drawers, you can use both fabrics and colored cardboard. To fasten parts, you can use PVA glue, a stationery stapler or adhesive tape. Sometimes, to add strength to the product from the inside, a dense fabric can be used at the joints.
Third rule - functionality and simplicity
Beginners should not take on complex models with frilly side shelves-pencil cases or designer jagged edges. The assembly of 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.
The fourth rule - everything starts with a drawing
The first thing to do is to create a drawing of the future chest of drawers. The advantage in this case of a homemade product is that the dimensions can be as needed for a particular space. It is important to take into account some points: whether or not wires will pass under the chest of drawers, whether the baseboard will interfere with it, whether it will block sockets, switches, etc.
The fifth rule is adequatesizes
The standard size of a chest of drawers is 80 cm, and the width is 80-120 cm. If you have free time and Internet access, you can try to create a sketch using special computer programs, for example, "Compass 3D" or "AutoCAD". And if there are no ideas at all on how to make a chest of drawers, you can look at models in stores. At this stage, it is important to determine the main elements of the product. How many drawers will there be, what size will they be, based on the height of the entire chest of drawers.
The sixth rule is to take into account the moisture resistance and wear resistance of the material
Sometimes additional grinding or processing of the wooden elements of the product will be required. Remember not only the edge on the sides of the chest of drawers, but also the distance between the drawers. Usually, the thickness of the edge at the top and bottom is subtracted from the height of the facade and a gap is added. This is how the basic model of a chest of drawers, created with your own hands, looks like.
Do not forget about fittings and fasteners. Some novice carpenters do not take into account 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.
Seventh rule - be guided by ready-made drawings
Sometimes it is useful to have not only your sketch on hand, but also a basic sample. Usually such drawings are in furniture workshops or ateliers. The following dimensions can be taken as a basis. You can peek here and the assembly order.
Useful for use and scheme for creating retractableboxes. She can be seen in the photo below.
He's the one
Whatever chest of drawers you create, with or without drawers, wood, cardboard or chipboard, plastic or iron fittings - it will become part of your interior. Building the foundation is just the beginning. A new chest of drawers will come into your life, will "grow up" with your children, shine in gloss or shimmer with stickers with cartoon characters. It will become a real family heirloom. And even if someday there will be no place for it, the memories of the time spent next to this thing will remain with you forever.
