IKEA Hack - Kasseby Earring Display Cabinet

Recently I picked up a new hobby making small polymer clay figures and these turned out to be the perfect size for earrings for my wife. After a while I made a small 3D printed rack to keep them in one place, but then I needed two of those racks because it didn't fit and then that one was full so I needed a long term solution.

I knew I had an old IKEA Kasseby display cabinet lying around somewhere and decided to turn that into an earring organizer. The great thing about the Kasseby frame is that it has a glass window with hinges and a magnet which creates a dust-free enclosure for your earrings and makes for the perfect display.

This is an easy and quick project and can be made with a wide variety of basic products. You can use different picture frames and materials for the racks. In this instructable I will show you how I made my version, but the information is general and can be applied to your project as well. Enjoy!

Supplies

I used an old IKEA Kasseby shadow box for this project, but this product is now discontinued. Some are still being resold through online marketplaces, but there are plenty of other options which Ive listed below.

Products & materials:

IKEA Kasseby / Sannahed / Vastanhed / Hovsta picture frame OR
Picture or (kids') art display case with magnetic windows are sold online, for example here OR
You can always make your own shadow box or use an old medicine cabinet or a tea box organizer with a glass lid to save some time.
I used a 3D printer to make the racks and hooks, but there are many other ways to create these. To name a few you can use metal strips, MDF, triplex, acrylic or even cardboard.

Tools & hardware

(Cordless) Drill or multi tool with a thin drill bit.
Small wood screws, I used a total of 20 for 8 racks and 4 hooks. Type of screw depends on your preference, I explain more about this later on.
Pencil and eraser
Ruler and/or geo-triangle

Step 1: The Shadow Box

The starting point for this project was an old IKEA Kasseby shadow box I had lying around. As mentioned above this product is no longer sold by IKEA, but there are plenty of similar display cabinets available online.

A few things to keep in mind while choosing a frame to use for this project:

Do you want to be able to close the display off? In my case this is what I wanted, to avoid dust on the clay earrings. A display case with a window and lock or magnet is ideal for this.
How large do you need the cabinet to be? What will it hold and how big are the items?
Do you want to personalize the background or leave it as is? The Kasseby frame came with a grey fabric background which was fine for us.

Step 2: The Racks

To make the racks which hold the earrings I used a 3D printer and white PLA. I also made some small hooks to hold necklaces and rings. The 3D printable files can be downloaded below or through Thingiverse and are made to fit the IKEA Kasseby frame perfectly. They are 245mm (~9,65") wide with holes every 6mm (1/4"). If you're using a different sized frame these files will not fit but if your dimensions are close it might be possible to resize the model inside your 3D slicing software. Keep in mind that the holes will also resize!

I have made 3 versions for both the earring rack as well as the small hooks. These versions differ from each other in the way they are attached to your frame:

"no-hole" these have a flat surface that can be glued to your frame.
"straight-hole" these have a basic hole that can be used with a pan-head screw to avoid damaging or breaking your 3D printed part.
"sunk-hole" these have a tapered hole that can be used together with countersunk (flathead) screws to create a neat and flush finish.

I used the countersunk holes and found out my 3D print wasn't as strong as I expected. The flathead screws put too much stress on the print and it cracked a few of the pieces. If you're using PLA for this I would recommend you use the "straight-hole" version and use non-countersunk screws to attach the racks firmly without breaking your printed parts.

But what if I don't have access to a 3D printer?

I understand not everybody has access to a 3D printer. It is an easy way to create these parts, but surely not the only way. Below are a few options to consider for making your racks with other materials:

Metal: thin, flat metal strips that can be drilled and folded easily would be perfect for this.
Wood/MDF/triplex/multiplex: thin sheets or boards made from (layered) wood or MDF can be easily (laser) cut to size and drilled and can be glued to your frame or screwed with small brackets.
Acrylic: a bit more expensive, but looks great if you can glue it neatly to your frame. Can be lasercut as well.
Cardboard: the cheapest option, but not the easiest to put holes in unless you have access to a lasercutter.

Step 3: Measure & Mark

Before you start drilling holes you need to decide how many racks you want to put in your display cabinet. Depending on the size of your frame the measurements will differ from mine, but the idea is the same. In my case I found that the racks should be around 50mm or 2" apart to fit the largest earrings. This could be different for you if you have mostly smaller or larger ones. With a distance of 50mm I could fit 8 racks inside the Kasseby frame.

To space the racks evenly I divided the height by 8 and left a little room at the top. I marked the inside of the frame for each rack with a pencil and geo-triangle and put a small cross at the height I wanted to screw the racks later. Keep in mind where you attach the rack and how much space you want to leave between the glass window and your earrings. You want to make sure they hang freely inside the cabinet.

Make sure you mark down all the positions on both sides. In case you want to add additional hooks as well, mark these down too. I put these in front of the racks at different heights to fit a variety of necklaces and rings, etc.

Step 4: Drill the Holes

--- If you have chosen to glue the racks in place, skip this step ---

Once you have marked all the positions you can start drilling the holes into the sides of your frame. Make sure you don't drill too far and puncture the outside of your cabinet. To avoid this you can put a bit of tape on your drill bit at the correct depth.

My cordless drill was almost too big to fit inside the frame to drill the holes, but luckily I could just make it work. If you have a smaller (hand) drill or a multi tool that would probably work best.

After drilling the holes don't forget to use the eraser to get rid of the pencil lines before you attach the racks.

Step 5: Attach the Racks

It is now time to attach the racks to the inside of your display cabinet. Depending on the method of your choice you can use screws or glue to fix the racks to the sides of your frame.

To give myself a bit more room to work I decided to remove the backing of the Kasseby frame and attach it back later. I do NOT recommend doing this! It is fixed securely and the board breaks easily. I managed to put it back with some nails, but it was not ideal. Check your frame before you remove the backing to avoid damaging your product.

Another way to make it easier to reach the screws with a screwdriver is to screw the racks in upside down and then flip them over. Do this gently of course to avoid bending or breaking your racks.