IKEA Hackers

Kitchen Peninsula

2012-05-31T15:06:00.001-04:00

Materials: Akurum base & wall cabinets, high gloss Abstrakt doors & panels

Description: IKEA HACK 1: Changing an underused bar area into a multi-functional peninsula: Now this place serves as a prep-area for cooking (we only have a little pantry-style kitchen), and a food serving station (breakfast/happy hour/ buffet style dining).

That's Bobby with our bar area in the background. Tiles are already removed. Photo below gives you an idea about the size of the area. We wanted to use all the area for cabinets. No more bar stools sitting at the edge & more space for my linens.

However, we could not place base cabinets back-to-back because of lack of space. Therefore we used upper cabinets back to the base cabinets the front side of our peninsula. Cabinets were screwed together back to back, side to side & to the wall.

To hide the cabinet seems we got the high gloss finish panel ( it also matched our high gloss finished doors) & saw it to match. Same with toe kicks. Topped the peninsula with granite. Looks great.

Cabinets used: Base cabinets :4 Akurum/ 3 drawers: wall cabinets: 4 wall cabinets. All doors. Sides & toe kicks Abstrakt high gloss white. Strecket handles.

~ Robert, Jerry, & Liane

Billy Built In with Windowseat

2012-05-31T13:26:00.000-04:00

Materials: 2 Billy book shelves, plywood (1side finished), trim, crown molding, miter saw, jig saw, table saw, drill, screws, upholstery foam, fabric, thread and sewing machine

Description: I knew Ikea could help us 'cheapen' our built-in plans. With my super smart and talented husband our end result looks like we paid big bucks to a professional!

To replicate:
- Put Billys together, position in desired location
- Use large 'L' brackets to add window seat connecting shelves
- Add face of windowseat (ours covered a radiator so we used a jig saw to make an opening for a tin mesh section to let the heat thru and a space for the bottom to 'breathe'
- Box out top with miter saw and add crown moulding
- Add trim to the face of the book shelves for a more custom/substantial look
- Our shelves came with drawers on casters (that I couldn't find on Ikea's website, maybe they aren't the Billy or have been discontinued)so we added trim to the bottom of them to balance the visual weight of the crown moulding
- Prime and paint
- Cover cushion in desired fabric

Enjoy!

~ Lauren

Yup, another Expedit Bar

2012-05-31T07:36:00.000-04:00

Materials: Two EXPEDIT 2x2 Bookcases, two sets of CAPITA legs, 1 LOTS mirror set, 1 INREDA stemware rack, 1 DIODER light set

Description: This hack was inspired by a lot of the other EXPEDIT bars on this site with a few individual tweaks. We had 40+ bottles of booze, a ton of glassware, and not very much space, so we decided to get two Expedits and place them at a right angle. (One day, when we have more space, we may be able to use them side by side.)

We removed some of the supports to create space for the glassware and tall bottles, and also to make a hidden nook where the two bookshelves meet to tuck in even more booze. (Keep the expensive stuff out of sight?)

The Capita legs boosted the bar to a more manageable height and lets us tuck the lighting controls, a power strip, and a Roomba under the bar. We used a manual drill to make small holes before screwing the legs into the bottom of the Expedit.

The flower shaped wine rack is from Amazon but everything else in the construction is from IKEA, including the Dioder set taped up in the back. The mirrors on top ended up working really well as giant coasters since the finish of the Expedit is not ideal for mixing drinks over or handling spills.

~ Marissa L., Los Angeles

Malm Captain's Bed for tiny NYC Apartment

2012-05-30T15:00:00.000-04:00

Materials: MALM 6-Drawer Dresser, EKBY TONY/ EKBY BJARNUM, NISSE Folding Chair, 2x4s, Plywood Scraps, Shelving Board

Description: I have a tiny bedroom (about 6ft by 7ft) in a 3-bedroom apartment in New York City and was looking for a way to make the best use out of the space. As a student, I still wanted a desk space to do my work so that was a must. When I first moved into the space I was using the Tromso loft with the desk attachment underneath and that was about it. Being a tall person however (I'm about 6'1") I quickly found that a twin loft bed was just not going to work in the long term.

When I stumbled upon Ikeahackers and and saw some Malm hacks for storage beds it got me thinking about how I could make my own custom built for the space, and with the help of my father and uncle here is the result! I could not be more happy with the way it turned out!

The basic structure of the bed is an L-shaped table that was built to surround the dresser, which is free-standing. Since the dresser is only 63" wide by about 19" deep, the supporting structure needed to compensate for the rest of the bed, which overall is 74" wide by 54" deep. It is made of the 2x4's which were doubled up to make about 8 4x8 legs upon which the plywood top was attached. These legs were then connected and reinforced by cladding the inside with additional 2x4's that go around the perimeter. The unfinished end of the bed that was added beyond the dresser and the desk that was made to come off the end was made out of the finished shelving board which matches the finish on the Malm dresser almost perfectly!

The shelves above the desk are the EKBY TONY/ EKBY BJARNUM which were actually too big for the space. So my dad just measured them and cut them down to the right size before attaching them to the wall. The computer was put into place prior to attaching them to the wall to get the perfect height of the lowest shelf and then the books were put into place to figure out the placement of the upper shelf. The chair at the desk is the NISSE folding chair, which I am thinking about putting on the wall with hooks when not in use, but I am thinking that is not necessary as I have more room than I thought I would!

Overall the construction took about 6 hours and turned out pretty great if I do say so myself!! Would love to know what you all think as I love this site!

~ Peter M, New York, NY

EKBY Book Gallery Display Shelf

2012-05-30T13:24:00.000-04:00

Materials: EKBY Tryggve and EKBY Valter

Description: For a recent photography exhibition I decided to showcase a book next to some framed work. While a RIBBA picture frame shelf would have sufficed, I wanted something a little more conducive to page turning while the book was stationary, so... I got hacking.

You'll need the following, give or take a few items:
- 2 x EKBY Tryggve 31 1/8" x 7 1/2" wooden shelves
- 2 x EKBY Valter 7 1/8" wooden brackets (I used black here to match my photo framing)
- Buzz-saw or handsaw
- Detail sander or just sand paper/brick
- Biscuit joiner
- 2 x biscuits
- Misc. wooden dowels (approx. 5/8" thick)
- Wood glue
- Wood filler
- Tack nails
- Hammer
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Mounting hardware
- Paint (if desired)
- Lacquer (if desired)

Total time: ~1-2 hours (minus glue and paint dry time)
Total cost: $14 for EKBY items (all other materials were in kind)

1. Measure EKBY Tryggve shelves to desired length. For this hack, we cut the pre-existing 31 1/8" wide board down to 18 1/2".

2. Place you book on the shelf to get a sense of where it may sit or rest. Here we determined that there was too much space on the top so we reduced the 7 1/2" depth/height to 6 1/2" for each shelf piece.

3. Use a piece of scrap wood or dowel if you would like a retaining lip on the bottom of the shelf.

4. For added stability to your shelf cut a biscuit joint, glue and clamp.

5. Once your boards are joined and stable, attach dowels to the ends of the shelf. This will create a cleaner edge to the unit. As you can see, we have also added the bottom lip, for retaining the book. Smaller dowels are also glued and nailed to the bottom of the shelf for added support.

6. Fill in any gaps or holes will wood filler. Sand for smooth surface.

7. In order to mount the shelf at an angle, the EKBY Valter brackets must be used upside down, so that the angled part slopes downward. See image above for TOP and BOTTOM of where the wall mounts are.

8. Using a handsaw, cut off the unwanted end of the bracket.

9. Sand down the end of the bracket.

10. Align the brackets to the top of the shelf and mark where they should be glued and nailed.

11. Glue and nail!

12. Here is the completed shelf, pre-paint.

13. Paint as desired. I used a Behr glossy oil based paint. Several coats. Followed by a spray lacquer finish.

14. The finished and installed product!

Have fun and happy hacking!

~ Angry Alan, Providence, RI

Color-Backed Decor Bowls

2012-05-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

Materials: Hultet Bamboo Bowls

Description: I bought three Hultet decor bowls to hang on my wall but once I got home I realized they were really dull and boring.

To remedy this I painted just the back-side of each bowl and then hung them on the wall. It's very subtle but high impact!

See more of the decorative Hultet bamboo bowls.

~ Allison @ House of Hepworths, Texas

Expedit 19" rack

2012-05-29T16:26:00.000-04:00

Materials: Expedit, MDF 18mm

Description: I was planning to make a nice 19" rack with Expedit. But because the shelves are thin like paper, I had to reconfigure it.

What we've done: Making a sort of case with 18mm thick MDF, and put this in the Expedit.

Then there was some space left, and you see, with the original shelves, you can store your LP's.

Enjoy!

~ Thoon_Loque, Netherlands

Cool hacks for a Kool Kidz shop

2012-05-29T13:38:00.000-04:00

Materials: Expedit, Lack, Vika Gruvan

Description: How to make a low budget shop look cool:

1.
- Glue old cartoons on the Expedit shelves
- turn wheels on

2.
-easy as pie: be creative with the Lack shelves, make your own formation!

3.
- find a table top in the cheap nook
- attach it to a chest of drawers from the cheap nook
- glue old cartoons on the front
- add some led lightning

~ Ole Andreas Finseth, Oslo, Norway

Nice and quiet Rusch hour

2012-05-29T07:37:00.000-04:00

Materials: Rusch wall clock

Description: The Rusch wall clock is so cheap that it's practically begging for creative modifications.

In this case I spray-painted the body black and covered the face with a design I printed out and colored with gold ink. I replaced the hands with interesting shapes cut out of paper card stock and covered with gold gift wrap paper. The gold looks better in reality than on the pictures.

I found that the noise of the Rusch wall clock can often be greatly reduced by spraying the wheels with lubricant (I use silicon spray) and putting a few drops of heavy mineral oil into the well of the little wheel that drives the whole mechanism.

~ Eli, Belgium

Building/repair tool on rooftops

2012-05-28T15:49:00.000-04:00

Materials: BEKVÄM step stool

Description: Renovating an old house, I should remove paint, sanding the wooden panels, put primer paint and paint, sanding in between.

I am not a hero on the roof, standing on the small wooden slats on which the rooftiles are laying.

So I measured the degree of the roof and sliced away part of a BEKVÄM with same angle.

After that I fastened two slats under the feet of the BEKVÄM stool with screws.
These two slats I use also when working on the roof: six screws from the slats on the roof.

So I move my building tool on the roof taking out these screws, put the tool higher or lower and then fasten it again with these screws again.

Result: a tool with which it is good working! you can sit on it, hang on it, put paint cans, other things.

It gives me great confidence standing on my roof, working on my house.

~ Bert Lijnema, Netherlands

Sunburst Tajma Clock

2012-05-28T11:01:00.001-04:00

Materials: Tajma clock & Clothes Pins,Glue gun

Description: This was the very first item I bought for my daughter on her first year in University away from home as she wanted a wall clock. Red being her favorite color, I gave her Ikea's TAJMA wall clock. After three years, my daughter brought it home and not wanting to discard this item for sentimental reasons I thought of recycling the clock.

Looking intently on the clock I remembered I had some spare clothespins just lying elsewhere.

My idea was to set the clothespins around the clock resembling a sunburst mirror.

Hence my project: Sunburst Tajma Wall clock/Noteclips.

I really had so much fun doing this project, I even skyped my daughter who now lives in Montreal just to show off what I did to her red wall clock back in the days when she was still in the University.

There is now a reason for me to smile every time I check our Red Sunburst Clock.... ah, time flies fast!

Cheers to Recycle!

See more of the sunburst Tajma clock.

~ Tenivi, Toronto

Brada Laptop Cooler

2012-05-28T07:59:00.000-04:00

Materials: Brada Laptop support, 2 PC Cooling fans, screwdriver, drill, hole-punching bit.

Description: I love Brada laptop support. It's very cheap -9,95TL in Turkey- and comfortable. But in summer times my laptop need cooling. Well I decided to modify my black Brada laptop support. I drilled two large holes for cooling fans and four more holes for the fan installation. I decided to use 7" fans. Maybe you can use larger. After 5 minutes of working my modified Brada is ready to use. :)

Cheap, easy and comfortable...

See more of the Brada laptop cooler.

~ Hakan Cezayirli, Turkey

Leksvik to Lets Fix for Bigger TV

2012-05-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Leksvik bookcase, 1X12's, 1X6's, 1/10

Description: We first rearranged some shelves on a Leksvik bookcase to hold our 27 in TV. Then we bought a larger TV.

We retained the sides, doors, and used some of the existing shelves in a wider, lower TV cabinet.

Used a Kreg Jig for nearly all the connections.

I did this in the garage of a temp home in Austin. Tools were 7.5 " circular saw, clamps, Black and Decker workmate bench, kreg jig, power drill, and power saber saw.

The sides of the bookcase were cut down about 12 inches off the top and then the original top was used to trace same design on the new tops.

The 1X12's and were used for the new bottom and middle shelf. The 1X10 for the top shelf. The original shelves were used as needed for shelves and vertical sides.

~ L. DeFrance, Woodstock, IL and Austin, TX

2x2 + 2x4 + 4x4 = My re-structured Expedit

2012-05-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

Materials: 3 Expedits (a 2x2, a 2x4 and a 4x4), wood drill with stopper, some extra 6mm-dowels, Japanese saw, wood glue, 4 metal brackets, 2 perforated metal plates, 2 clamps

Description: I always liked the "thick-outer-thin-inner-shelves"-structure of the Expedit but wasn't too fond of the regularity of it ... and neither the fact that everybody immediately recognized the Expedit as such.

I found inspring hacks here like the "Expedit reshuffled" and the "Expedit to the ceiling" and I thought, I'd like some combination plus some modifications the best. So I bought 3 Expedit shelves, a 2x4, a 4x4 and a small 2x2.

I used the smallest just to get 4 extra case boards: 2 as delivered and 2 extra by sawing up the long middle case board into another 2, using a Japanese saw and two clamps. I used one of the delivered case boards to guide the saw a bit and get smooth edges and the same length of my cut pieces.

Then I assembled the 2x4 Expedit quite as intended, just adding a horizontal extra case board by drilling some extra holes and using some shortened dowels.

The 4x4 was assembled, also adding some extra horizontal case boards and shifting some of the vertical ones into different positions to loosen up the oh too cubical structure. The bottom panel was left away in order to have just one thick middle case board.

I attached small white brackets where I thought that the "outwards directed" forces on the shelves could be higher than intended and tolerated by the original Expedit, but I don't think this is truly necessary.

For the drilling I used a wood drill equipped with a little stopper to avoid accidental holes running through rather than just into the board.
The thin inner shelves are pretty massive but do take care when drilling into the thick but mainly hollow outer pieces. Those only contain massive parts where the screws and dowels belong in the original design.

Then I used 12 of the extra dowels from the 2x2 to fix the "bottomless" 4x4 on top of the 2x4. Since the massive parts of outer boards are only about 1cm thick (and then hollow again) the dowels needed to be glued into one piece and allowed to harden there. (Else they would have be pushed into the hollow gap instead of sliding into their "counter-holes".)

Since I'm a petite woman working alone, putting the pieces together worked best with both shelves lying on the ground and inching them closer and closer with 2 clamps. When the shelves were positioned properly, I fixed them with 2 perforated metal plates...just in case the dowels break or whatever.

Afterwards I "simply" lifted the whole thing from the ground (2,20m high and about 100kg ... get help from a friend as I should have done! ;) ) and pushed it into its space, assembling and adding four Expedit-doors into the whole thing.

One last note, the Expedit pieces are laminated and thus sensitive to sharp edges or anything else which could scratch them. I'm lucky since I built on a soft carpet and hence could push and shove the whole thing into whatever position. Else I highly recommend a large blanket or similar!

~ Katrin, Berlin, Germany

Antonius plant stand

2012-05-27T07:44:00.000-04:00

Materials: Antonius laundry bag stand

Description: I was contemplating to get another Socker plant stand when it occurred to me that the Antonius laundry bag stand is better looking, more stable (its screw feet can be adjusted to the floor), and only one third of the price (5€ for the Antonius, 15€ for the Socker).

I assembled the Antonius according to the instructions, then used a 3mm metal drill bit to drill 4 holes through the 2 "flat" connecting bars on the top. I used the holes to attach a piece of leftover oak panel with 4 wood screws. Apart from treating the wood with oil, the hack only took a couple of minutes, but the result is a very serviceable plat stand that looks rather elegant to boot.

~ Eli, Belgium

VIKA ALEX in the PAX

2012-05-26T14:34:00.001-04:00

Materials: VIKA ALEX, saw, and drill or glue

Description: I was looking for a chest of drawers to put in my PAX. It should be about half of the body in width, with the appropriate height and nice looking. So I came across the Vika Alex chest of drawers, with the perfect width and the same depth as the PAX! It was only a bit too tall. No problem, I have a saw! :)

So, I decided to just reduce it to the 3 top drawers. I sawed the sides and back and just followed the IKEA instructions to assemble it. As a nice side effect, I got a second chest of 2 drawers by just assembling the remaining pieces and using the base as the top of the new chest (I drilled 6 holes on the top of the sides and used the six screws from the base to attach the top).

Result: two perfect and sturdy chests of drawers for my PAX.

~ Carla

Standing desk with Utby legs

2012-05-26T11:27:00.001-04:00

Materials: Vika Amon top, Utby base, Ekby Jarpen shelf, Capita legs

Description: I too have joined the standing desk movement and my back has never felt better.

My first attempt was to construct my own desk, inspired by several I had seen online. I made a frame out of pipe segments. It was thin, but strong, and looked really cool... except for the top.

I failed to realize that all those desks I had seen online were made by people who just happened to have that antique farm door laying around, or the perfectly sized varnished piece of vintage driftwood just sitting in the garage without purpose. I had no such thing, so I just slapped down a sheet of plywood.

I made two miscalculations-- one, I decided I need storage so I added some blocks to the top and then a second sheet of plywood to make some cubby hole action. Second, I had to add feet to the whole thing so it wouldn't gouge up my hardwood floors. The shelf and feet added a good 6 inches to my initial design. Didn't seem like a lot, but after working at the desk for awhile I started having back and should problems. It was just too high.

I turned to Ikea Hackers for ideas on what to replace my failed construction with. I found most of the desks fell into three common categories:

1. Desks that were a bunch of things stacked on each on other. While functional, I just think it looks a little too clunky junky.

2. Great hacks using Expedit as a platform. While these all seem super functional have nice lines, they are also very HEAVY looking. My personal taste leans toward furniture that is as open as possible. I like rooms to feel spacious, even if they aren't. Blocky furniture seems to just make a room feel smaller. Having an Expedit at waist level under my workstation didn't feel right to me.

And...

3. Desks using Vika tabletops. These felt like the best solution for me since the Vika comes in a lot of sizes and finishes. The problem is, the base. Most of the legs intended for these tops don't extend as high as I would need them. The various solutions to this issue I've seen around seemed like they might be a little too unstable or have the same issue as #2 above.

My ultimate solution was not a hack, so much as combining the right pieces together. I discovered that the taller Utby bar table was just right for my arms-- but I didn't like the heavy, darker top design for the base.

I used a birch effect Vika on the Utby base instead. The Utby base is metallic and open, but makes use of a crossbar to actually make it as solid at home as it is on the showroom floor (which NEVER happens).

While perfect for my arms, it was not high enough for my eye to monitor line. I almost got a simple monitor shelf, but realized that there was Ekby Jarpen-- same birch effect and same width as the Vika. With a set of capita legs it made for a perfect sized shelf that created storage space below, and a shelf for my monitor and hard drives above.

The end result was exactly what I wanted-- simple, the right height, stable and not overly clunky/blocky.

With sales tax, and a simple Franklin stool for the end of the day when I get tired, the whole endeavor was just over $200.

~ Seth, Los Angeles

LACKed a 3 tier display

2012-05-26T07:11:00.000-04:00

Materials: 5 Lack side tables, 2 sets Capita legs, 1 Ekby Jarpen shelf

Description: Working for a small business means we don't have a lot of money to spend on fixtures, especially since most fixtures for retail are way over-priced. We needed a 3-tier display and in retail fixture catalogs nothing was less than $300. We've been using Ikea as a less-expensive alternative for our fixtures and having become a fan of Ikea Hackers I decided to see if I could create something myself.

I purchased 5 LACK Side tables ($9.99 ea) in black-brown. I put together 4 of them as normal for the base. The fifth one I added the Capita Legs in the 8in size ($14 for 4). I just drilled them into the bottom of the LACK table in place of the regular legs. For the top tier I used an EKBY JARPEN ($14.99) shelf that had been cut down to about 1ft square. Add some paint to the unfinished sides of the EKBY JARPEN shelf, then attach the second set of Capita legs to this.

What makes it great for business is that it's really versatile and allows for quick changes. All told I only ended up spending $92.94 and got a great looking display out of it.

~ Joe Robles, Austin, TX

DIY bubble chandelier from JARA lampshade!

2012-05-25T15:45:00.001-04:00

Materials: Lampshade, scissors, sisal rope, acrylic balls, gold leaf, grey paint.

Description: At first I painted the lampshade with my favorite grey paint.
Then I coat the inside of the lampshade with gold leaf. I left it a little bit messy and shabby looking.

After installing the bulb holder I wrapped the cable with sisal rope and glued it.
After that I had a little help with hanging it in my bedroom ;)

That how it looked without the bubbles.

And here are they stepping in the game;)

And here is the Lamp in my room, in my reading nook;)

See more of the bubble chandelier.

~ Pudel - design, Deutschland

Ancient lamp hack

2012-05-25T10:01:00.002-04:00

Materials: Januari, Ancient beam

Description: I've been browsing through IKEA HACKERS a lot lately, because I moved into a new apartment. One idea caught my eye and I decided to try this for my own apartment.

I found a ancient oak beam from the house which was build at the spot where my parent's house is located right now. It was build in the 17th century. The small piece of that oak beam was laying around at our attic.

I sanded the beam to get all the dust and dirt off. Then I cut the beam into three segments of different lengths. I took a drill and drilled through the middle of the beam, so that you can pull a cable through.

I unscrewed the Januari apart and attached a new longer cable to the lamp. I modified/shortened the metal pipe and pushed it into the drilled hole. I attached the bottom part under the lowest piece of the oak beam and voila, the lamp is done!

~ Joachim, Würzburg, Germany

A long one for cat lovers

2012-05-25T07:15:00.000-04:00

I know not everyone likes cat hacks, so if you fall into that category, please feel free to sit this one out. This post lists 4 hacks
- DIY cat shelves from Bjarnum shelves
- A cat tree from Expedit shelves
- A kitty litter from a Corras bedside table
- A hallway cat litter & food hideaway
- A Birkeland cat litter
~ Hiding a litter box in the hallway

Meow!
~ Jules

DIY Cat Shelves

Materials: Ekby Jarpen shelves and Ekby Bjarnum brackets, Flor carpeting and glue

Description: We were pretty much either unimpressed with a lot of the cat trees out there or AMAZED at the cost of the ones we were impressed with. So we decided to make our own. Here are the steps:

1. Mapped out a practical layout deciding which shelves would be loungers and which would just be steps.

2. Cut the Ekby shelves to size.

3. Cut Flor carpeting to size and glue to shelves.

4. Attach shelves to the wall.

Easy peasy. And our cats LOVE IT!

See more of the Cat shelves.

~ Lizzie, Santa Monica, CA

Expedit cat tree

Materials: Expedit shelves , L-brackets, area rug, padding, staple gun, screws, wall anchors , and power drill

Description: We had hacked a 4x4 Expedit bookcase to make an entertainment center. With the left over parts I made a kitty tree to replace a store bought one that took up too much floor space.

I used a long cross shelf and 3 small divider shelves. I pre-drilled holes in the long back and attached the smaller platforms with two screws a piece. I staggered two of the platforms so my kitty could easily jump to the top.

On the top again using a pilot hole I screwed a platform that was square with the edge of the back. I added L-brackets for support

I wanted my kitty to not just be laying on a hard surface covered with carpet so I bought some foam padding used in packing plates and stapled it to the platforms. I then covered the padded platforms with carpet cut from two 2'x4' cheap area rugs. I had enough carpet left to make a vertical scratching area on the floor level.

I then hung it on the wall with drywall anchoring screws. I didn't have to pre-drill any holes because there was holes left from the wooden pegs.

I covered the screws with small pieces of electrical tape because the screws were silver colored.

~ Kristyn, Pennsylvania

KITTY LITTER FROM BEDSIDE TABLE

Materials: Ikea "Corras" side table

Description: Over the weekend, I picked up an awesome Craigslist find - a discontinued Ikea side table slash soon-to-be incognito kitty litter.

The entire construction time came in just under 30 minutes and cost less than $20. This is how I made it.

SUPPLIES:

-Ikea Corras side table ($15 from Craigslist)
-2 hinges
-8 screws (for hinges)
Drill

I removed the four casters by removing the screws fastening the casters to the underside of the table. Then I made the shelf into a door by attaching two hinges to the front of the table.

Since the shelf came with the table, it was a perfect fit- no need to trim or resize. I didn't mind the visible hinges, but you could buy hidden cabinet hinges from the hardware store.

Then I placed the litter box inside as so:

The cat accesses the litter box from the back of the side table, which rests a about eighteen inches from the wall. To clean the litter box, I can access it from the front by opening the newly installed door. So far the kitty seems to like his new digs!

See more of the kitty litter.

~ Fran Laks, Brooklyn, NY

Cat Litter & Food hideaway

Materials: 2 Faktum fan cabinet, 2 Applad doors

Description: I wanted to hide the cat litter positioned in the corridor, and I thought that it would have been great to find a way to make also the cat's food bowl inaccessible to our greedy Jack Russell Terrier!

I dug into the Ikea website looking for a cabinet that could fit the place where the litter initially was and found the Faktum kitchen fan cabinet: I bought 2, in order to use them vertically one on the other.

We mounted the cabinets and first thing, with the help of a friend and the right tool, we cut out the entrance on the side, cat head shaped. Then we cut the inner passage between the two cabinets.

We mounted the 2 Applad doors; then we applied 2 layers of felt pads under the cabinet that stays on the ground so that the door could open without scratching the floor; lastly we put some double-sided tape between the two cabinets, so that they could be stable together.

I'm planning to add a shelf inside the upper cabinet to store food and bowls.

~ Laura, Italy

BIRKELAND for Cats

Materials: Birkeland nightstand, hammer, wide chisel (or something with a blunt edge), glue

Description: Inspired by other Ikea hacks I've seen for hiding litter boxes I decided to make my own. I chose the Birkeland nightstand because the inside was the exact size of my cats litter box, and the height was perfect for beside the daybed in my spare bedroom/den. I started by building the nightstand as instructed. The hack comes when you get to the door. Lay the door on the floor, backside up. With a blunt edge chisel bang apart the frame of the door, removing each side one by one.

Be careful not to break the dowels that interlock the frame together. Once the frame is apart just take away the middle panel and put the frame back together. Use a little bit of glue in the dowel holes to ensure it's strong enough without that middle panel. For added privacy attach a sheer piece of fabric to the inside of the door (I just taped it). Now just hang the door as instructed and voila! A super simple nightstand/litter box home.

~ Nicole R, toronto, canada

Hiding a litter box in the hallway

Materials: Besta, TOFTA doors, cat flap

Description: Since I had my cat's litter box in the living room, right in front of the entrance, and there is no other place to put it, since the cat sleeps in there, I decided I had to find a way to hide it.

The perfect cabinet fitting the rest of the furniture (and containing the litter box) was Besta.

The hack consisted in making two holes: a hole in one side of the cabinet, to install a cat flap (bought in a pet shop), and another in the back for a ventilation grate.

Then we put the litter box in one half of the cabinet, while the other half is used to store cat food, brushes, and the like.

Ginger did not mind at all the change, and now if you don't notice the small window in one side, you really cannot tell the litter box is there.

~ Vale, Roma

Ironing time and light in tuna sauce

2012-05-24T15:37:00.000-04:00

Materials: that light, that clock, a iron, a Campisi tuna fish can

Description: Mom gave me a iron even though she knew I would never iron: I added that Ikea light on top of it, perfect for boring books.

Campisi is a marvelous fishermen shop down to Sicily, their products rule: I had that as a base for a broken clock.

Both of them have been there for ages, Ada told me about Ikea hackers. Make love and hack.

~ enrico russo, naples

Window Shelf for Dog

2012-05-24T13:56:00.000-04:00

Materials: Fabian Shelf, Irma throw, Irma cushion, a generic wood board, shelf bracket, paint

Description: 1) I first cut the Irma cushion open and glued the filling onto the shelf, then wrapped the case around the shelf, pulled tightly and glued together underneath

2) Next I assembled the shelf.

3) I measured and cut the board the line the shelf, leaving one side open for my dog to jump onto the shelf.

4) I then nailed together the 2 pieces of the board to each other (L shape), and then painted it.

5) Next I nailed the board to the shelf. At this point the shelf has 2 sides covered by the board, the back open ready to attach to wall, and one side open for access to jump onto shelf.

6) Finally I found studs in the wall and attached the completed shelf, reinforcing with the shelf bracket underneath. Added the Irma throw and voila!

My dog (chihuahua) LOVES his shelf and spends most of his day in it.

~ Michelle, Ontario, Canada

Cool speaker friendly Besta doors hack

2012-05-24T07:47:00.000-04:00

Materials: Besta cabinets, wood framed doors with Home Depot Metal Screens

Description: Ok, so my wife and I bought 2 Besta cabinets and glass panels to hang our TV and store our sound components. We were gathering all the various pieces in the warehouse and of course the doors we wanted were not in. So we brought it all home anyway and proceeded to assemble.

As I was hacking up the cabinet backs to run speaker wire (many posts already about that) she asked if we could put speakers in the cabinets so we didn't have to look at them. Well, we could but once we went all the way back to Ikea to get doors, once the doors were closed, it would block the sound. So here is what we did.

I took measurements of doors we wanted off the website (which ended up being 1/2 longer than the cabinets so don't take web site measurements as accurate was first lesson). Then I made 4 picture frame squares to those dimensions and routed a grove around the inside edge of the back.

Then from Home Depot, we bought squares of metal sheeting with perforated holes, and cut them to fit the grove I routed in the frames. We then went to fabric store and bought black fabric to put behind that. Then I cut some rails to hold it all together. We used European hinges and VOILA ! Cabinet doors that hide speakers, components and allow sound to come out and remote control signal to go in. Needless to say we were very proud of ourselves, and we saved a trip back to IKEA. Oh yeah and we painted them all white to match cabinets.

~ Justin Drury, Lexington Kentucky

EXPEDIT Half Shelf from Wine Rack

2012-05-23T15:34:00.000-04:00

Photo: IKEA

Materials: EXPEDIT Bookcase, HUTTEN 9-bottle wine rack

Description: I have a 4x4 Expedit bookshelf which I also use for the storage of my cups and plates. Originally, each of the cups/dinner plates/glasses etc. had their own pod but I realised it was an inefficient way to store them.

I decided I needed shelves.

I didn't want something that would permanently screw into my bookshelf, in case I changed my mind later or moved house and had room for my cups and plates elsewhere.

I discovered that the HUTTEN 9-bottle wine rack is the perfect width (33cm) to fit inside on of the pods of the EXPEDIT bookshelf.

1cm needs to be cut of the top/bottom of the wine rack for it to make it 33cm tall so it slides perfectly into the EXPEDIT pod.

Adjust the shelves by drilling new holes to the desired heights (or don't if it works as is).

Slide the hacked wine rack into your EXPEDIT pod.

I also used two small pieces of MDF to stop my glasses from falling through the wine rack gaps, but this is optional (and thick cardboard would also work).

I painted mine using a tub of BEHANDLA black glazing paint.

See more of the wine-rack turned Expedit shelves.

~ Ashleigh, Australia