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Before & After: Claire's Updated CD Cabinet

061009cdcase-04.jpgWe found Claire's updated CD case on her blog, Needle Book and had to take a closer look. She mentions that when she initially bought the cabinet, she had grand ideas of wanting to add fabric (but had no knowledge on how to make that happen)...

 
 

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061009cdcase-03.jpgAt first, Claire was thinking tension rods and then, while shopping she came across simple, white curtain rods with brass attachments. The real secret to the rods staying put is double sided tape! Claire has done a great job of making the CD cabinet feel less cluttered by covering up what's inside with decorative floral fabric.

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(Images: Needle Book)

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DIY, DIY, IKEA, before & after, Needle Book, cd case

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Comments (20)

I actually like the cabinet before rather than after. It looked great before, but with the addition of the fabric, you can't see what's in the cabinet and it just looks worse. Seems pretty goofy and overthought-out to me.

posted by craftwurk on June 10th 2009 at 12:31pm
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I'm not sure why people are still keeping cd's around. Download em and put em in storage. I'm just sayin....

posted by stt64 on June 10th 2009 at 12:32pm
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I'm trying so hard to convert my CD collection into MP3s, but it is so time-consuming.

I think the fabric panels look nice.

posted by clampers on June 10th 2009 at 12:48pm
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i hate that fabric

posted by Vicadin on June 10th 2009 at 12:55pm
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Now it looks more like a creative way to hide a thermostat or electrical meter, Rather than what it actually is- probably a varied and unique music collection, which says a lot more about the homeowner than a piece of fabric.

posted by teeze on June 10th 2009 at 1:03pm
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definitely like the "after" better. (although i do agree w/ downloading cds to the computer then putting the cds in storage somewhere).

posted by gretchenalexis on June 10th 2009 at 1:07pm
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Hmmm. I'm reluctant to be critical, but here goes:

1. Love the fabric.
2. Love the concept- I hate looking at CD cases.
3. I'm so-so on the execution. The fabric is hanging so loosely that it isn't really tidying up the look of the cabinet. I would either trim the fabric so that it was held more tightly, or I'd re-think the mounting method. My first instinct would have been to cut cardboard panels to fit the panes, cover both sides of the cardboard with fabric, and mounting it at the corners.

posted by shockthebourgeois on June 10th 2009 at 1:11pm
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I don't understand how the CD from the 2nd, 4th and 6th shelves, from bottom, are removed.

And keeping CD's is not necessarily a bad thing, it is a testament to a certain culture that is fading out fast (where visuals and audio could become one).

posted by flobo on June 10th 2009 at 1:53pm
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agree with shockthebourgeois, completely.

posted by sally305 on June 10th 2009 at 1:53pm
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Liked the before more. But yes, why do you need to keep CDs accessible? All that fits in a 2"x4" box called an iPod.

Now if I could just get some help building my cassette tape cabinet.

posted by andytseng on June 10th 2009 at 3:13pm
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@flobo

I think the cabinet has a glass door. See the glare on the bottom?

posted by cravethemind on June 10th 2009 at 3:17pm
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It definitely looks less cluttered. It is something I would consider doing given the same piece of furniture!

The act of physically getting up to wander over to my two tall cd shelving units or my shelves of vinyl, browsing through the cases and liners, spending a few minutes looking at the covers of some I'd forgotten I had, flipping them over to check the track list to see if it was the album I thought it was....that is a small piece of time in my existence that I enjoy.

While there is much to be said about having everything within reach (I also have loads stored via mp3), sometimes the memories are worth the extra piece of furniture. They are for me.

posted by Graceless on June 10th 2009 at 4:11pm
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I love it.

The fabric isn't tight because she sewed to fit. The hardware steals half an inch from both base and top.

If the glass ever broke, I'd be tempted to cut and sew the fabric into long strips and weave through the three horizontal pieces - stapling a finished seam at top and bottom inside the door.

posted by JoeyBrill on June 10th 2009 at 8:14pm
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I'm pretty sure Claire is sorry she posted this! Nice cabinet, either version. Sometimes it's nice to play a CD now...rather than wait until they become hotly sought after vintage collectibles.

posted by muirwoods08 on June 10th 2009 at 9:32pm
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'Rip em and file the CD's in those binders, for backup.

You can remove the booklets and store them in a nice little case right by your stereo, in alpha order. It's actually easier to get to them that way than in their jewel cases.

posted by sunspot42 on June 10th 2009 at 11:24pm
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I think she did a great job of covering them up. The new fabric she chose (see her link) looks much better. I am working on fixing a similar problem with my dvds. Her living room looks lovely as well. That couch looks super comfy!

posted by mechelle on June 11th 2009 at 1:35am
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I like cabinet with or without the fabric. I don't see a problem with the fabric execution. The tension of the fabric is a non issue. Why can't fabric look like fabric?

I think it is unrealistic to assume that everyone can and should burn all of their cd's.

posted by jennis on June 12th 2009 at 1:48pm
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I think it is unrealistic to assume that everyone can and should burn all of their cd's.

Why?

posted by sunspot42 on June 14th 2009 at 8:16pm
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sunspot42, files are more likely to corrupt than manufactured CDs.

posted by wig3000 on August 17th 2009 at 6:55pm
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