Handyman upcycles discarded Ikea storage boxes into quirky side tables inspired by dice and chess

A DIYer has breathed new life into two Ikea storage boxes she found on the side of the road with a fun and easy upcycling project.

The American Annika transformed the boxes into side tables by making one look like a dice and the other a chessboard. These multifunctional objects will also be used to store games and chess pieces.

Annika shared DIY tutorials on her TikTok page @blondesigns and a longer tutorial on his YouTube page.

READ MORE: Cheap Kmart bread bins turn into a stunning bedside table in an ‘epic’ DIY hack

The simple cubes were previously used as the base for Annika’s temporary coffee table, but after buying a real coffee table, she had to find another use for them.

Inspired by the tiled side tables she had seen online, Annika decided to use a few leftover tiled pieces to cover the boxes before painting the game designs.

“For the first box, I painted the entire tile white and applied about two coats of white spray paint. Then I used liquid nails to stick on the tile and started drawing dots on the side. I ended up using the top of my coffee cup to draw these circles and then I filled them with black paint,” she explained in the TikTok video.

Instead of going for a precise die pattern, Annika painted the box differently so she didn’t end up with a single dot on top. She also had trouble matching six points to the size of the circle pattern she was using.

Annika then coated the paint with a clear sealer before grouting the tiles.

Following she made the chess inspired boxwhich actually functions as a chessboard on which Annika can play.

Rather than going traditional for this piece, Annika wanted to make it “a fun color” so she painted the white tiles a pastel purple. Then she added the chessboard pattern with white paint.

“This one turned out so adorable, I love it,” she said.

READ MORE: DIY fan makes $40 dupe out of $600 tufted velvet bench using unlikely item

Annika’s game-inspired side tables have been popular with her followers, who have viewed her dice box TikTok video more than a million times.

“That’s so cute! What a great idea,” one person commented.

“The only DIY tile furniture I’ve liked so far,” one follower posted.

“Some people are so talented! I could never think of that!!! Go ahead girl!” another said of the chess piece.

READ MORE: The DIY guru proves you can turn junk into cool home decor with a quirky pom-pom lamp project

Although Annika didn’t specify which Ikea storage box was used for the project, presumably because she bought them second-hand, it appears that the boxes belong to the Eket range.

the Eket cabinets with doors are 35cm x 35cm x 35cm and cost $45 each. These boxes have a door that opens and closes with a spring feature, making it easy to open even if you’re sticking tiles on top.