How to Quickly and Easily Recover an Old Storage Cube

4 Materials
$10
1 Hour
Easy

If you have one of these old, tired storage cubes at home it's time to give it a new life. All you need is some fabric and a staple gun and your storage cube can look unique and fresh in under an hour.

My tired and worn storage cube is really invaluable in my living room. I use it as a tray, for storage and just about anything else I need it to be. It has seen better days but I just can't stand parting with it so it was time for a little refresh.


To give this handly little cube a new life, I started by removing the lid. There are usually just a couple of pieces of hardware holding it in place that are easily undone with a screwdriver.



With the lid off, I laid the fabric on my dining room table and then laid the cube on top. You want the seam of the fabric (beginning and end) to be at the back of the cube so be sure to start at the appropriate place to make that happen.


To begin attaching the fabric to the cube, I turned the edge of the fabric over the edge of the cube and then secured it in place using a staple gun. I slowly worked my way around the cube until all four sides were covered and I was back to where I began.

Before I added the last couple of staples to the inside lip of the cube, I turned the fabric under to create a nice clean seam at the back of the cube. The fabric will stay folded in place because it will be pulled tight from the staples at the top and bottom.

With the fabric attached to the top of the cube, it was easy to secure it to the bottom. I turned the cube onto its top so that I could access the bottom and begin stapling the fabric to the cube frame. Be sure to pull the fabric taught and smooth as you work your way around the square.

If your cube has wheels like mine, trim the fabric so that it doesn’t interfere with them. This can be done once you have worked your way around the entire frame.

I covered the lid of the cube the same way I would recover a chair seat. You can see tips on  how to do that here…


The trickiest part of the lid is making your corners all look the same. It doesn’t matter how you decide to fold the fabric over the corners, it just matters that you do the same method on all of them.


Once the lid was covered, I just needed to reattach it to the cube frame.

This beautiful fabric completely transformed my handy living room cube and I am completely thrilled that it has a new life and look!


Be sure to check out the original Recreated Designs post at the link below and to see more upcycling projects, check out my new book Recreated Designs - Cottage Projects With a Vintage Flair.

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Recreated Designs
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Craraa Craraa on Jan 26, 2021

    I have one just like that and I would like to try it. Yours came out great. Could you tell me approximately how much fabric you bought.



  • Terre Tulsiak Terre Tulsiak on Feb 07, 2021

    Did you add any batting to the top? It seems like the old button would make it sink down in the center otherwise.

  • Judith Judith on Jan 26, 2024

    Did you take the pleather off it first?

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  • Shawn Rhoades Shawn Rhoades on Apr 10, 2021

    I have a small storage bench that I'm planning to recover! It's my dog's favorite thing to curl up on. What type of material do you recommend?

    • Recreated Designs Recreated Designs on Apr 14, 2021

      Hi Shawn, You can use a nice thick cotton or, if you want to make it cozy for your dog you could use a warm fleece even. I just wouldn't use anything that is slippy so that your dog doesn't have any trouble getting on and off :) Hope that helps!

  • Mab Mab on Jan 27, 2022

    Very Nicely done. You did a great job on the corners.

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