The Rubik’s cube is an iconic piece of imagery and a timeless “toy,” one which is pretty much associated with the idea of a mental and physical puzzle. With its bright colors and three-dimensional movement, it has also lent itself to a staggering number of designs based on its unique appearance such as these Rubik’s cube mosaics, as well as modifications like the 4×4 Rubik’s Revenge or the world’s tiniest Rubik’s cube. Designer, father, and Instructables member makendo made up his own beautiful and practical design, making the Rubik’s cube considerably larger and turning it into a chest of drawers.
While too bright and kitschy for the aesthetics of many, the Rubik’s cube’s vibrant mixture of colors works wonderfully for a children’s room, hence why this build was made for the designer’s son. The drawers in this chest slide out in a sort of “3×1” formation, meaning that it houses a total of three separate drawers. Naturally, this also means the the cube only rotates on a horizontal axis, although this does make the puzzle much easier to solve. The designer certainly makes the thing look as if it will rotate like a standard Rubik’s cube, however, a testament to the accuracy in this beautiful design. Crafted from wood and including sliding drawers, the individual faces of the chest are made of thin, painted blocks of wood and held onto the cube with magnets.
Given the ease of the puzzle, the designer also decided to add a bit of optional difficulty by including locks for the drawers using dowels. Since the “stickers” are held on with magnets, they can be removed and re-stuck with ease. Not only does this let one create any pattern they want, it also hides a total of three secret sections (one for each drawer) which have dowels which must be pushed in if one wants to unlock the drawers. Of course, the dowel isn’t required, but it makes for a nice touch. The addition of “lazy Susans” to make the large drawers easily rotate, however, is probably the most impressive part. All in all, it’s a beautifully-done and appropriately-colorful project, one which is both practical and decorative, worth attempting yourself if it’s up your alley.
