Ikea Malm drawers change table nursery upholstery makeover

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Before Baby was born I prettied up this double width chest of Ikea Malm drawers we bought for his change table.

The idea for the project came from this tutorial and I posted about my inspiration here.

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In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best project to undertake heavily pregnant as it involved a fair amount of crawling around on the floor, but I'd still rate it a pretty easy DIY.

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I knew I wanted a fading ombre look and chose this scale of yellows in plain cotton.

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I used a thin piece of quilt batting underneath the fabric to give the front of each drawer a nice squishiness. I laid each drawer, face down on a cut out rectangle of fabric with the batting between them.

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Then I got busy with the staple gun. Pulling the cotton tight over the edges of the drawers

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and folding around the corners.

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To finish off the inner edges of each drawer and hide the staples from tiny fingers I used fabric tape from Bunnings. Mine was white because the drawers were but this stuff comes in heaps of colours.

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I gave each drawer a few coats of Scotchguard as I finished it to project it from grubby fingers. And that's it. We're four and a half months in to operation Baby now and the drawers are holding up well.

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I didn't use any glue in this project as the staple gun held everything tightly enough. I like the idea that down the track when Baby is older I can remove all the fabric and return the drawers to their original state or redecorate them without too much drama.

12 comments:

  1. It is a very nice upgrade. It's sophisticated and classy. I, for one, was never into "baby" stuff for babies, always liked a less froo-froo look. I also like that you chose colors other than pastels. Good job, Mom.

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  2. Love the rug! Where is it from?

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  3. The rug is ikea too. One of my faves.

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  4. What a great hack! I've never worked with fabric at all before and am unsure what to look for in a fabric if I attempt a similar project for my nursery. Can you give me any tips? Is just 100% cotton fabric fine or is there something more specific? Thanks so much for the inspiration!

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    Replies
    1. Hello,
      Sorry for the late reply. I used 100% cotton fabric and had good results. I gave everything a good coat of scotchguard spray but my son is 18 months old now and the drawers are still looking good. Good luck!

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  5. This is such a great idea to the makeover chagnign table and turn into the new look. It's really looking very nice with this different color cotton. This tutorial is really useful for a parent to makeover their baby stuffs.

    baby changer

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  6. Where did you get the changing pad/cover? I can't find any that look that thick and awesome!

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    Replies
    1. Hi,
      Our change pad cover was purchased in store from here:
      http://www.pramwarehouse.com.au/cateitem/listcate/cname/Change_Pads.html
      It was a few years ago though so I'm not sure if they have the same models now. Sorry I can't be more help.

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  7. Do you still use this blog? I really was hoping for an answer :(

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  8. Hi,

    Great idea! I was wondering what kind of staple gun you used? Does it have to be heavy duty or will a basic one do? Thanks!

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