Make a Beautiful DIY Cane Cabinet in 2 Easy Steps
Transform a storage piece into a beautiful cane cabinet with this easy DIY using thrifted or IKEA furniture and web caning.
Sometimes it is fun to go with a trend especially if you’re smitten with the idea. When you dream of your ideal decor and interior space, can you see cane furniture fitting in?
I love tropical and British colonial styles so even though cane cabinets are popular right now I can see them working with my favorite styles and know their classic design will work for many years to come so I was excited to try a cane cabinet DIY.
How to Transform a Storage Cabinet into a Cane Cabinet
While I was updating our dining room I knew I wanted to incorporate a cane piece of furniture but found the pieces I loved to be on the expensive end.
After finding the perfect size storage cabinet with glass doors from IKEA, I went with a simple cane cabinet DIY update to transform it into the furniture of my dreams.
What you need for a DIY cane cabinet
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- A storage unit with glass doors – I picked this one from IKEA because of its narrow and tall size and glass doors.
- Cane webbing – Perhaps it’s a trending material because this one was hard to find! There are different types of cane webbing like radio and classic design. I finally went with a plastic 1/2″ open mesh cane from this shop and it came quickly, albeit the website seemed a little less polished. You’ll find that caning or cane webbing can be expensive. I opted for the wider roll with the correct length because it was large enough to cut down the middle for two doors. It was 24″ wide and 7′ long for about $70. There wasn’t much overhang so I was diligent about measuring and cutting.
- Hot glue gun and sticks – This is my favorite set I use for all of my projects. It is a full-size gun with two heat levels and works great for more heavy-duty DIYs.
- Scissors – For trimming the cane webbing.
- Bespoke pulls (optional) – The natural cane webbing material compliments warm metals so well. I chose a beautiful pair of gold twig pulls from Etsy and was super pleased with how they look and they were very inexpensive!
I know there are quite a few tutorials out there for transforming or building cane cabinet doors but I haven’t seen any that included the glass.
I wanted a cleaner look and after testing the theory found out that installing caning behind the glass doors felt chicer and cleaner for a cane front cabinet.
How to Make Cane Cabinet Doors without Removing Glass in Two Easy Steps
Step One: Cut the caning.
- Remove the doors from the cabinet and place them on top of a blanket to help protect the glass. I set up a folding table for this task.
- Unroll the caning over the door and measure the length. Cut to size leaving at least 3-4 inches overhang.
- Measure the width and cut the cane webbing leaving some overhang for gluing. You can easily cut a straight line by following the cane pattern. Go slow and cut smoothly. You’ll want to make sure the cane doesn’t unravel so be gentle.
- Place a cut side next to the hinges. If you are able, loosen the cabinet hinges and slide some of the cane webbings underneath. Tighten to hold it in place.
Step Two: Glue in place.
- Start in the middle of the door and start gluing the caning to be back. Work a small section at a time ensuring the caning stays straight and smooth to prevent wrinkles or lumps. Glue from the middle to the edge and then repeat on the other long side.
- Glue the top and bottom in place last. Trim off any access pieces.
- Reattach the door and replace the pull if you desire.
Our dining room is a small area between the kitchen and living room and I’ve struggled with defining the space. A tall cane storage cabinet was the perfect solution to separate the living from the dining room and some other changes which I’m super excited to share in the dining room reveal.
This quick DIY was fun to tackle and I’m so happy with the outcome. You can’t go wrong with beautiful hidden storage in a small house.
What do you think?
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Hi! Love this – thank you so much! I am going to buy the cane for this project. Question if you can provide extra details. Do you know which style # you used for the 1/2 plastic mesh:
PC901 1/2inch Open Mesh – 24inch Width; 7 Feet; 0 Inches
OR
W901P 1/2inch Open Mesh – Plastic – 18inch Width; 7 Feet; 0 Inches
Thank you! I appreciate it 🙂
I used the 24 inch and cut it in half long ways to fit both doors and save money. 🙂
Hello! Can you clarify where exactly you are applying the glue? Are you gluing the cane to the door trim, or directly to the glass? Thank you.
To the door trim!
do you soak the cane webbing first? I heard that it helps with softening it up and making it more manageable.
I didn’t need to since it lay flat easily but I’ve heard that as well. Maybe common for upholstery or curved furniture?
Hello, I’m so glad I found this article. I’m looking to add caneing to my kitchen cabinets, down the center stile without actually removing it. Can you offer any advice on this project? There’s tons of material on caneing cabinets removing the center stile but your post is the only thing that comes even remotely close to what I’m going for. Ultimately I want to have my cabinets professionally painted but it’s going to be a while until we can afford it so I want to do the caneing in the meantime.
I love this idea. Do you think the cane webbing could be painted? I’ve just had cabinetry painted but still want to DIY the glass door fronts somehow and this looks much better than putting a film behind the glass. Would painting the cane make it more brittle and possibly break? Thank you for posting this article!
Oh! I’m sure you could. Probably spray for the best coverage. You may also be able to find it in white and black.