Vintage card catalogs can be found for a pretty penny, but Kristen from The Painted Hive devised an amazing, inexpensive DIY using — you guessed it — an IKEA product.
Kristine wanted an old card catalog, but didn't want to fork over the large amount of cash that they often sell for. So she got creative, and used IKEA's MOPPE mini chest of drawers (which replaced the 'FIRA' and for some reason can only currently be found at the UK site). To get the authentic vintage look she rounded and sanded the corners of the drawers, stained the wood a dark teak color, and finished it with Danish Oil. To get the card catalog look, she installed authentic brass card file pulls (from eBay) and created old timey looking labels in Photoshop using a handwritten script front with a distressed background texture.
MORE DETAILS & PHOTOS: IKEA Hack...Card File Drawers at The Painted Hive
MORE CARD CATALOGS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Before & After: Stunning Card Catalog Makeover
• Inspiration: Using An Old Card Catalog as A Bar
• Organizing Tool: Card Catalog Table
• Before & After: Cast Away Card Catalog Turned into a Marvelous Media Stand
(Images: The Painted Hive)
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Wow! .......that is all.
great added detail with the gold drawer pulls! love it.
This is one of my favorite DIYs. I'm totally doing this!
I really like the globes...source of where you found them?
Well done. I approve!
Great DIY.
The implementation is perfect- but the vision is stunning!
How did she fill in the U-shaped holes at the top of each drawer?
I'm absolutely stealing that idea. Great job!
^ Oops, I just saw the link to the post with additional detail: She turned the drawers around! Duh. So clever!
Is this drawer available at US Ikea stores, or is it only the UK ones since that's the only way to find it online?
@LIVKT: The back of the drawers doesn't have the u-shaped hole, so she must simply have turned them around.
Discontinued.
I like the little blue clock.
Or is it green? Lol.
Great project! I think the drawer pulls need a little bit of aging too, however.
SUPER DUPER!
wow!!!! total transformation!
i saw this too. so inspiring!
Genius! If only Ikea sold a giant chest of these (or maybe they do -- I haven't looked)!
i have been trying to write pretty calligraphy....could have done what she has done...
I wish they were still available in the US! I've seen them re-done on Ikea Hackers and they look like they would be fun to work with.
Great job on yours!!
Amazing. What a fantastic job. If this was at Restoration Hardware, it would be easily $75.
Why on earth did Ikea ever discontinue these?
I love these products from IKEA and while I am sad that they discontinued them - they were quite possibly the most tedious thing I have ever put together from IKEA. Still, I wish they'd bring them back - I have one FIRA left that I've repainted so many times to fit various colour palettes that the drawers are starting to stick and I don't relish the thought of sanding them down to start over again.
Brilliant job. These have also been discontinued in Australia. Of course, I've now decided that I *really* need some of these for the office...
I love this so much! I tried to make this little drawer unit once and it drove me insane and I threw it away, so every time I see someone do something like this it looks even more beautiful.
soooooo cool. well done!
Dear Ikea,
Please bring back this lovely thing and the Edland bed. If possible, fire the person that discontinued these items.
Yours,
Elane
I agree. I feel so sad that Ikea discontinued these. What were they thinking?
This is the best before & after I've ever seen. Thanks! Do agree the door pulls would look better if antiqued.
What a fantastic idea... Well executed too!
Very impressive! What happened to the big finger holes/pulls near the tops of the drawers in the original?
Niceeeee...!!!! Agree, one of the best DIY around here :)))
BRILLIANT!!! Agreed, totally one of the best DIY's on here!
This is really cool. I think it would be perfection if she aged the brass handles too, but it's still gorgeous and clever as is.
Holy Cow, this is good!
Love!!!
Nice work! Very nice work!
As a Librarian who is SOOOO glad we have gone digital, this is hysterical!!! (As much as I love drawers for things, THIS look has bad history for me!)
Amazing!!
Now this is incredible. I love it!
Great job! If you want to antique the brass tags, putting them in a bag next to a small dish of ammonia (you only want the fumes) will do the job--leave for a few hours or overnight
Dangit...I had these drawers and got rid of them a while ago. Boo...
Whaaat???!!! Nice Job!!!
Brilliant!
really need ikea in my area.. love this
I used to work at IKEA long long ago, and MOPPE actually predates FIRA. FIRA was a downgrade, so if they're switching back to MOPPE, that's great.
MOPPEs had better/more styles of drawer configurations, they came already assembled, they had those nice dove-tailed corners, the backside of the drawers were solid (no finger cut-out pulls) so you could turn the drawers around and add your own knob or pull. They were also a little bit shallower than the FIRA.
What a GREAT idea and execution!
I am not sure if this is allowed here, but after I moved last week, I discovered I had a MOPPE unit in the basement, in its original IKEA plastic wrapping, never used.
It's still in its original unpolished light-coloured wooden state. Contact me if you want it. I am in Vancouver BC.
seawallrunner at gmail dot com
(hi everyone, me again - my MOPPE unit is now gone. thank you all for your interest)
LOVE!!! I am so sad this item is gone :(
I keep seeing all of these great hacks using these drawers, but as far as I can tell, they aren't (or are no longer?) available in the US.