Having a baby can be a daunting experience. Apart from the realization that you are now in charge of keeping a human alive, you soon come to realize that although they are tiny, they are expensive and they require a lot of things.

In an effort to be thrifty, my husband and I decided to use an old cube shelf he had from when he lived with his parents. His parents still had it in their home and they had no use for it, so they were more than happy to pass it on to us.

The cube shelf was white and made out of wood laminate, which meant it most likely would not be ideal to paint. I wanted to personalize my son’s space, so I decided to use black contact paper and create a checkered pattern over the front facade of the shelf.

I measured the widths of the borders and then cut out little cubes out of contact paper that would fit perfectly. Once I had all of the little cubes cut out, I simply began attaching them to the cube shelf as neatly as I could without being too perfect about it. Although it was time consuming, it was worth it. The cube shelf ended up looking exactly how I wanted it to.

I think this could be done with just about any furniture piece and in any color you wish (there are numerous options when it comes to contact paper).

I then cut out characters from scraps of Halloween fabric I had lying around and I glued them onto the cubes, with fabric glue.

Then I added all his things and ended up with a piece of furniture that functions as his dresser, bookshelf, storage unit, and decorative piece. I absolutely love it.

Have you modified any old pieces of furniture? Share your projects.

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