GALANT tool cabinet with roll down shades

I wanted to find a tool cabinet to house my tools and other items. It needed to maximize space and hide all the clutter as well.

Materials:

• 3 white GALANT Add-On units (80 x 80 x 40)
• 1 white shelf (I had it at home, I think it was UTRUSTA, but you can also use KOMPLEMENT)
• 2 SOMMAR 2018 pleated shades – (100×190)
• Crochet string

Step 1: Building the tool cabinet

It was an IKEA sale and I found that the GALANT Add-On unit was about 55% off (around $33 each). So I assembled them as per IKEA instructions. Then I stacked 3 on top of each other and I got a 2.4m height cabinet with a depth of 40 cm.

GALANT Add-On unit | IKEA.com

I attached the add-on units together with the original screws, I just needed to drill holes in the upper part of the 2 lower units, on both sides.

The bottom add-on unit does not have a shelf. I had at home a shelf I previously bought from IKEA, with the length of 74cm (UTRUSTA), I cut it with a circular saw to fit. And also I cut from it 2 pieces of 74x2cm to lay the shelf on it, so it will not sit on the floor.

Step 2: Creating the shades

I bought the SOMMAR shades for about $3.50 each.

Since the length of the cabinet is 2.4m and shade is only 1.9m I needed to attach 2 shades together. I sewed them together manually with back stitches since the glue of the SOMMAR is very weak and cannot hold.

Cut the width of the shade to 80cm to fit the length of the cabinet.

Take a power drill with a small wooden drill, and drill small holes, about 3 cm from each side of shades, all the way through the pleats.

Cut two 5 meter strings, and thread the string inside the holes. (5 meter is twice the height of cabinet)

Place a small washer at the end of the shade to hold the string and tie it. Or for a nicer touch, you can put a bead instead.

Place metal rod at the bottom of the shade with zip ties, so gravity will bring the curtain down. You can use some wooden stick instead.

Step 3: Attaching the shades

Use the original double sided tape and paste it to the top of the cabinet.

Place 2 hooks to hold the drawstrings (on each side of cabinet). It is better to use closed-loop hooks.

Place each string inside its own hook, and bring both strings to the same side (in my case, it’s the right side)

Close the shades and cut the excess length. (You can make a knot, so both strings will stay together, also you can put another hook to hold the spring inside to keep the shades of the tool cabinet open, if you wish).

~ by Assaf

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