Princess Storage Without the Princess Price Tag

Materials: APA storage box

Description: Lately I have been drooling over the very expensive, and very few dress up storage garment racks on the market, but I didn't want to spend $200 on furniture we'd only use for a few years. Meanwhile, I'd already been using an Apa storage box for dress up clothes when one day I realized, it might work great with a rack built-in!

The construction is simple- I screwed two 3-foot long 1x4's into the inside panels of the toy box. Then I cut a dowel and screwed it between the two lengths of wood. Easy peasy! I used some pink hangers from the dollar store to add some cohesiveness (I like matching hangers) but didn't need to paint, since the toy box also has unfinished wood trim.

Now we hang clothes on the rack and store purses, shoes and hats below. It takes up no more room than our toy box was taking, and makes for easy dress-up!

~ Sarah, United States

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Eames' esque Storage unit hack

Materials: APA Storage Boxes, HYLLIS, Peg Board, Observator

Description: So I must confess I got half of this idea from IKEA hackers this was my take on an already great idea posted. The other half of the idea came from the great Charles and Ray Eames. I love the Eames Storage unit! However I do not love it to the tune of 2 grand. My wife and I wanted a simple credenza for our small dining area. Here is how we did it.

1. We purchased 4 APA storage boxes, 2 HYLLIS shelf units, 1 Observator cross brace, a few colors of spray paint (white, red, orange, and green. We used this awesome new matte spray paint from Aaron Brothers. It worked great) 1 sheet of peg board for the sliding doors, and 1 sheet of poplar for a top

2. Here is where you can get creative. Before we put the APA storage boxes together we spray painted the sides of the storage boxes and planned which side were going to show since it is 2 wide by 2 high 4 of the sides will not be shown so you only need to paint 4 if you choose. We turned some of the side panels inside out so the white was showing which saved paint other we painted colors.

3. We assembled the APA storage boxes leaving the end off on all but one. The one we put together we left the back off and put the Observator brace on the back to help give the Eames feel.

4. We measured the peg board for proper fit to use as a sliding door for 3 of the APA storage boxes. ( We used the insert for the storage box for reference our dimension for the door was half of the length of the insert x the height of the insert)

5. We used a dremel to sand where the door was going to slide we had to make this route wider to allow for smooth sliding. Another trick that helped was sanding down the peg board after we painted the board white because the paint is sticky.

6. We painted the peg board white, let it dry, and slid it in to the front of the APA box put the painted backs on and put the end on.

7. We cut all metal legs from the Hyllis to 33" high. We used wood screws to attach the legs to the APA storage boxes. Aligning one box to the top of the cut hyllis legs and putting the other just under it. Leaving a small gap under the last APA. You do this twice and basically make 2 ea 2 high units.

8. We than measure and cut the poplar to 10-11/16" x 55" and screwed the poplar top to the top of the units to make them one 55" long credenza.

9. Last but not least we used the remaining APA tops and HYLLIS shelves, and spray paint and made a nice piece of art for behind our sofa to tie in the 2 rooms.

10. It is awesome having a super talented wife as a side kick

~ Zion Hilliker, San Diego

Eames-inspired storage unit

Materials: 2x APA, 1x HYLLIS, screws, scrap 1/4" MDF w/birch veneer

Description: The Ikea APA toy boxes are inexpensive and reasonably attractive (with their white laminate side-panels), but I have never found them to be particularly useful for storage as intended. Inspired by a project in the book "ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer" and the classic Eames storage unit, I built this simple shelving unit out of two APA boxes ($14.99 each) and the vertical brackets from a HYLLIS shelving unit (also $14.99). The sliding door panels are fashioned out of some scrap 1/4" birch veneer sheets, salvaged from the back of an old BILLY bookcase. The doors slide back-and-forth in the pre-cut slots on the APA. The back panel is also scrap 1/4" birch veneer from a BILLY bookcase. Any 1/4" MDF would work for the doors and the back panel, and could easily be painted to taste if you don't have veneer.


1) Prior to assembly, prime and paint bottom panels of two APA boxes. These will be at the rear interior of the storage unit, so will be very visible. I used Kilz primer and two coats latex interior wall paint. I was able to get inexpensive paint samples from the hardware store since there's not much surface area to cover (and I still have plenty left). You could paint or stain the APA wood pieces as well, but I chose to leave them as-is.

2) Assemble the two APA boxes per the instructions, but flip one of the panels so the white side is toward the inside of the box (this will be the interior shelf surface). Set the box lids aside; I didn't use them in this project.

3) Set aside the metal HYLLIS shelves; I didn't use them for this project (but am saving them because scrap sheet metal could come in handy). Lay out two of the HYLLIS brackets on sawhorses and fit one APA box at the top, open end facing away from the brackets. Fit the other APA box about two feet from the first (the spacing here is flexible). Be sure to align the tops of the two brackets so the unit won't wobble. Drill holes through the metal and wood, and attach the boxes to the brackets one screw in each corner (4 screws per box). I attached from the sides of the box, but you could also attach from the front and back. You should be able to re-use some of the pre-drilled holes in the HYLLIS, but you will also need to drill new ones. Since they're visible, I used 3/4" #6 square-drive sheet metal screws and washers. Be sure to offset your screws from the APA box bolts, and pre-drill your holes so you don't split the wood.

4) Measure and cut a piece of 1/4" MDF to fit between the two boxes. I used a birch veneer, but you could also use plain MDF and paint it or cover it with contact paper. I used a small circular saw, cutting with the veneer facing downward to reduce splintering. Roughly sand the edges with 100 grit sandpaper.

5) Fit the back panel between the boxes on the brackets. Drill holes at each of the corners of the back panel all the way through the brackets. Attach back panel using machine screws, washers and nuts. You could use short sheet metal screws here instead, but I didn't want sharp points sticking out the back of the unit so I went with machine screws and nuts.

6) Place the remaining two HYLLIS brackets on top of the unit, drill holes, and attach using screws as in step 3. Be sure to align the tops of these brackets with the tops of the existing two so all four legs are the same length and the unit won't wobble. Each box will now be attached to each leg with two screws, one in each corner of the box.

7) Attach the plastic feet included with the HYLLIS to the bottom of the four brackets (I had to tap them on with a rubber mallet). The unit should now stand freely. I found it to be surprisingly sturdy and stable (the back panel helps quite a bit).

8) Cut two sliding doors out of 1/4" MDF. The door height should be 12 3/8" high to fit in the pre-cut APA slots. The width is up to you; mine were 12". Sand each of the edges, and round the corners slightly, using 100 grit sandpaper. Sand a little bit extra on the top and bottom edges - these will go into the slots and you want them to slide nicely. Pop the doors into place by bending them slightly. You could also put them in when doing the initial APA assembly, but I didn't have the foresight at that point and didn't feel like disassembling the whole thing.

In the end, I'm reasonably pleased with how it looks and have found it to be slightly more practical than the APA boxes or HYLLIS shelving units are on their own. Some other enhancements I thought about (mostly inspired by the Eames storage unit) but didn't try:

* Build two units and attach them side-by-side.

* Add metal cross braces on the side and/or replacing the back panel with metal cross braces.

* Replace the back panel with a third APA unit rotated 90 degrees from the others (and a third paint color in the back).

* Add additional design elements to the doors (stripes, shapes) using a contrasting peel-and-stick veneer or contact paper.

* Use pegboard instead of 1/4" MDF for the doors and/or back panel.

~ Andrew Rogers, Washington