Finally...the mini-drawer makeover is complete...

Finished...finally! The makeover of the Ikea moppe mini-drawers that I started at least a month ago are finally complete. 

The inspiration and instructions for these are direct from Kristina's lovely blog, The Painted Hive. Her instructions are beautifully clear and easy to follow - so I'd certainly recommend her tutorial to you.

A few observations of my own (or my explanation of why this project became an exercise in perseverance)...

• Wood staining in the UK is very different from what I'd observed previously in Australia - when I used to watch/help my father with his projects, wood stain was applied with a brush. When exploring the wood aisle of my local hardware store I discovered that brush-applied wood stain only seemed to apply to exterior wood stain. For interior wood products, apparently wood-dye is the product of choice. I've no idea of the actual product difference in terms of composition - but the main difference for me was the fact that you apply the dye by wiping it on with a cloth. It still gave a lovely deep coverage, but I hate to think what is in the formula as it keep causing my surgical gloves to disintegrate.
• Thanks to Kristina's advice I tried danish oil for the first time - and I'm a convert.
• Obtaining traditional library-style card-catalogue drawer pulls proved to be one of the most challenging aspects of this project. After much internet searching I finally found one UK supplier - only to find when they arrived that they were too large for my tiny drawers. So it was back to ebay, and a purchase from the US (with the corresponding postage time delay...and the usual exorbitant royal mail customs charge to bring them into the country)...
• Finally, I eventually succumbed and invested in a drill in order to attach the drawer-pulls. I tried every low-cost option I could think of (bar gluing them on), including a lot of brute force. But, 5mm of plywood was surprisingly difficult to defeat, and the only way to succeed was to make yet another trip to the hardware store to purchase the drill. I'm now having to think of other projects where it may be useful so I see a reasonable return on my investment!

So all of my cords, chargers and odds and ends that used to sit in a disorganised mess in the drawer of my hall table, now have their very own place (and it makes me happy that I've cleared another drawer of clutter)...