IKEA Hack: MULIG Shelving Unit

We have A LOT of glassware. Where it all comes from is a mystery to us, and why we need so much is unknown, since we rarely entertain. But since we have so much, we thought: why not display it?

While moseying around IKEA awhile back we came across a simple cart. The MULIG Shelving unit to be exact. We were looking for a new DIY project and agreed we should just buy it (it was only $24.99!) and decide what we want to do with it later. Well after our roommate moved out we had a lot of time on our hands, and a lot of empty space in our dining area. So we decided to repurpose our shelving unit into a bar cart. Sometimes great ideas just happen. Here’s how we did it:

Supplies:

• One cart/shelving unit like the MULIG Shelving unit from IKEA ($24.99)
• Primer and spray paint. We used Rust-Oleum Metallic Gold from Home Depot (about $3.79/can)
• Contact paper, in any design you like. We used Con-Tact Multipurpose Stainless Steel Drawer/Shelf Liner from Home Depot ($11.97/roll)

Directions:

1. Prime and paint your cart. We always wait 24 hours after we prime to paint, and 24 hours in between coats (just to be safe)
2. Cut your contact paper to the size of the shelf. I found it was easiest to measure the size you need, and make markings on all four corners on the paper as an outline. The back of the paper is lined with a grid, so I cut along the closest lines to my markings, to create a perfect rectangle.
3. Starting on one end, peel off about an inch or two of the backing. Line it up with the shelf and peel off more of the backing, pressing the paper down as you go. I though it would be hard to avoid air bubbles, but I actually didn’t have very many!

& THAT”S IT. It’s really that simple!

When it came to decorating our cart, we had mostly everything lying around the house. Here are some items we used:

Cart Decorations:

• Silver decorative vase with faux flowers
• Small, bronze vase
• Gold charger plate
• Cocktail shaker
• Striped paper straws, in a mason jar
• Votive candle holder
• Turquoise teacups
• Glassware: champagne flutes, petite flutes, wine glasses, stemless wine glasses, goblets, cocktail glasses, mason jar mugs
• Alcohol of choice. We just have champagne for now 🙂

 With this masterpiece, maybe we’ll be entertaining a lot more 🙂

Xo, Britta