We all know how shockingly expensive designer furniture can be.

Some of that pricing can be explained by the high emphasis on craftsmanship the designer puts in their pieces, which can be seen in the quality of materials used and the overall appeal and originality of the item.

Of course, we shouldn't also discount the amount of time, effort, thought, care and love put into the creation process.


However, even given all that, we have to admit that many of these items are just simply out of our budget.

So why not just recreate one for yourself? That's exactly what this one mum did when she came across a piece of designer furniture she instantly fell in love with.

Jaharn Quinn, a mum and an avid DIY-er from Queensland, came across a beautiful abstract cabinet on Instagram made by the design studio Atelier Akuko. However, it was out of her budget at the time so instead, she put her DIY skills to the test.


Here are the items she used:

• Storage Cube
• Measuring tape
• Melamine White MDF Panel, cut to size to enclose the back of the cabinet
• Staple gun
• Premium Plywood Pine, cut to size for the two cabinet doors using Bunnings cutting service
• 2 x Kaboodle Soft Close Hinges
• Pencil
• 4 x Pine Ball Furniture Legs
• Selley's Liquid Nails
• Painters Tape
• Zinsser B-I-N Primer Sealer
• 1L Dulux Lexicon Quarter White Exterior Paint

And here's how she did it:

(Bit of advice, folks! If you're doing this DIY project too, we suggest having a second or third person to help you as this will involve a bit of woodwork.)

First, begin by assembling the cube storage from Bunnings. (You'll find the assembly instructions on the product page on the Bunnings website.)

Once the cabinet is assembled, measure the width and height of the cabinet and divide these into two to get the measurements for the two cabinet doors.


Then head over to Bunnings, pick up your Melamine White MDF panel and Premium Plywood Pine, and get the cabinet doors and the melamine MDF cut to size.

When you get home, attach the melamine MDF (white side facing in) to the back of the storage cube using the staple gun.

Paint the cabinet doors. Once dried, lift the storage cube onto your work surface and place it on its side.

Attach the hinges to the storage cube and cabinet doors using these instructions from Bunnings. This video below might help:



The only difference is that the cabinet doors in the video above already have a hole cut out in them, so you will need to do this yourself. Using a pencil, mark where you need to cut a hole and then use a drill to make lots of small holes. Use a hammer to bang the plywood out.

(If this is a little confusing, you can head over to Jaharn's Instagram and watch her Stories to see how she did it.)

Then use a screwdriver to lift or drop the doors down, or pull them left or right. The Kaboodle hinges are incredible and you will now have a full-fledged cabinet!

Attach the furniture legs onto the underside of your new cabinet using a drill. If you find the legs are a little loose, use Liquid Nails and let it dry overnight.


Now it's time to make the abstract designs and patterns! Using a pen, draw the outline of a range of various abstract shapes and cut them out using a jigsaw. Then smooth the edges down using a sander.

Position the abstract shapes onto the cabinet and glue them down using Liquid Nails. The shapes may slip on the sides of the cabinet so use painter's tape to hold them into place, and let the glue dry overnight.

When the glue has dried, paint the furniture legs before standing the cabinet upright.


At this point, your DIY cabinet should already look like these photos. All that's left to do is to paint the abstract shapes over. You will need to apply several coats to fully hide the MDF.

While the paint is drying, apply one coat of Zinsser B-I-N Primer Sealer to the sides and top of the cabinet. Once dried (and it dries really quickly), apply a couple of coats of white paint and set aside to dry.

Then voila – your DIY abstract cabinet is finished!


According to Jaharn, this DIY project may have taken a lot of work to complete, but it's all so satisfying – especially after seeing the final product.

"As I sit and relax in the guest room, I can't help but smile and think to myself: 'I made that'... and there's no greater feeling," said the mum, before thanking and fully crediting Atelier Akuko for the major inspiration.


The abstract cabinet looks amazing!! Who would have thought that it was previously a storage cabinet? Not us, that's for sure…

This looks like the perfect weekend DIY project, folks! If you have some time (and budget) to spare, why not try making this? We bet this would go perfectly in your living room or your bedroom!