16 feet of country-style wall unit for less than $290

Materials: 7x Gorm, 2x Orgel, 5x Observator cross-brace, white wood stain, additional screws,

Description: Back when we moved into our new apartment, we realized we had spent pretty much all of our budget on the kitchen, the couch and various wardrobes.

Still we somehow had to find a way to store our books, DVDs, games, plus the TV and quite a few entertainment gadgets. The problem: we had to cover almost 5 meters / 16 feet of wall - and we didn't want the result to look (too) cheap.

The solution: GORM. The idea was to create a wooden, somewhat roughly whitened construction with a country-style rear wall behind the TV to give it a unique touch.

1.) I bought 7 Gorm shelving units plus some additional shorter Gorm shelves (which apparently aren't produced anymore, but you don't need them). Around 220$.

2.) Bought white wood stain and a pack of screws. 15$.

3.) Bought 5x Observator. 25$.

3.) Bought two Orgel wall lamps - they're not sold in the US but any type will do. Around 25 $.

4.) Glazed all the Gorm parts white, making sure to let the wood grain shine through for that slightly unfinished country look.

5.) I assembled two of the Gorm shelving units from left to right, connecting them to build a proper wall unit.

6.) Using appropriate screws and Gorm's predrilled screw holes, I simply attached three Gorm shelves to the back of the construction...

7.) ...before grabbing two of the vertical Gorm planks and sawing them off, leaving them with the height of 8 screw holes. They would become the front of the integrated TV / entertainment unit.

8.) Then I simply went on and built the rest of the wall...

9.) ...finally breaking the Observator cross-braces into four parts - and using each part as a bookend by again using Gorm's predrilled screw holes (see more pictures below for details).

The front:

Taking advantage of Gorm's predrilled screw holes to attach the "back wall":

Using Observator as a bookend:

All in all building this was easy, didn't take long, didn't cost much and looks just fine! 

Trofast changing table

No need to buy an expensive changing table. Just top a Trofast shelving unit with a changing table pad, just like how Beth and Shelli did theirs.

This is from Beth, who cut a piece of plywood 1" larger than the changing table pad. She wrapped the plywood with teal fleece and her husband secured the plywood to the Trofast with a couple of L brackets.

She says, "It ended up costing a bit more than a regular changing table but we'll be using it a lot longer. I like that they also sell shelves for the Trofast so that we can turn parts of this into a bookcase if we need to."

See more of her Trofast changing table here.

Shelli's pretty much the same but uses 4 Trofast units, a piece of plywood, fabric, a Trofast wall unit, a scrap piece of lumber and a changing pad.

Source : www.ikeahackers.net

Albert mobile clothes rack

A mobile wardrobe. How about that? Liz goes nomading with an Albert rack, which kind of looks like a Gorm, yet not quite.

"I hacked the Albert rack, or whatever this type of thing is called in English. My Ikea-hack is incredibly simple. It involves hacking two Albert racks/shelves into one closet. The reason behind my hack is my lifestyle, which is somewhat of an urban nomad. My whole life needs to fit into the back of a car or two – in the last picture of my room you see about half of the stuff I own (in volume). My furniture needs to take up as little space as possible and be easy to assemble and disassemble. I suppose I could get one of those telescope racks and hang all of my clothing in it, but I’m more of a folding rather than a hanging type and plus, I’m just really a sucker for wood. So off to Ikea I was (one could actually build this from scratch but it turns out raw materials cost more than these racks). There I found Albert racks, which take up next to no space when completely disassembled. Purrrfect.



The top shelf of the rack consists of 3 boards. I took the middle board and sawed it in two along the length axis. For this, I picked a board with as little dark spots as possible to ensure maximum construction strength. This (half) board became the bar on which to hang all the clothing that needs to hang. I decided to sandpaper it “sometime later”, but normally that would have to be done as well. Then, I left out 3 boards from the second from the top shelf (but left the side boards for structural integrity). I assembled the shelf in accordance with the Ikea manual from there on, and then, I assembled another (entirely in accordance with the manual) and put the two racks together with screws in 8 places.



As you can see on the pictures, I also added some simple hooks attached by screws on one of the sides in order to hang jewelry and belts from them. An automatic screwdriver is going to be your best friend for this project by the way, unless you really dig blisters. The careful reader will realize that this assembly method left me with three and a half boards which went unused. I used them elsewhere, but one could make an extra shelf in the closet out of those if one wanted to. Say, to hold Kasett (or any other kind of) boxes for the socks and the underwear. Mine are actually in the drawer beside the closet, so I didn’t need it. In the pictures, you can see the resulting top shelf of the closet viewed from below and from above, the closet when it’s empty, and how I use the space. The width of the Albert rack was enough to hang my hanging-required clothing when all of it is clean (in the pictures, half of my button-down shirts were in the laundry). Originally, I wanted to fill the bottom shelf with heavy boxes to keep the closet from tumbling over (I’m renting so drilling walls isn’t a very good idea), but it turns out the whole construction is stable even when top-heavy, so now I can put something else there, like boxes with shoes. Nomad lifestyle or not, I have fifteen pair or so anyway and stuffing them under the bed isn’t very feng-shui. Not to mention, my sport sneakers are basically a chemical weapon and shouldn’t be anywhere near sleeping people."

Source : http://www.ikeahackers.net

Little desk and armchair

Materials: Rast

Description:
I took my idea from "Rast Sensory Table", so I thank its creator.

I bought two RAST nightstand for 9,99 €(one) and hacked them.
I screwed four shorter wooden board in a little armchair, and the longer ones in a little desk!

I also screwed a pink PS VALLO on the right side, very cheap and agreeble look, it contains papersheets, drawing pens, pencils etc.

Funny, cheap and usable!

Source : http://www.ikeahackers.net

DVD Rack

Materials: 8 Lerberg CD/DVD wall shelf, hand saw for metals, self-tapping screws and metal plates with holes for screws

Description: Cut the Lerberg with the hand saw for metals and then use the metal plates and the self-tapping screws on the back of it to build the letters. Mount on wall using the supports for Lerberg provided in the package.

Source: http://www.ikeahackers.net

Need more prep space for your kitchen?

Anne figures out a smart solution for more prep space in her tiny kitchen. It may look small but it packs quite a few compartments - for recycling and even a kitty litter.

She says, "The kitchen in my rental is tiny. The space that was left after refinishing the kitchen required that I keep into account a wall ledge, baseboard heating, weak wall paneling on top of old plaster walls, and a one-inch sloping of the floor. My most important focus was to find additional space to hide away my cats litter box, and place recycling bins. Additional counter tops and storage would come in handy, of course.

I opted for Pronomen butcher block counter top, mounted on a single Vika Furusundtable leg, held in place by the traditional Capita cabinet legs. This constellation allowed me to mount the opposite side of the countertop onto the wall ledge without adding additional height, which would have been the case with a traditional kitchen cabinet. The Capita legs are easily adjusted too - again, pretty helpful in the unevenly sloped floor.

The Vika Furusund cabinet or table leg offers the necessary space for my twoRationell recycling bins, as well as convenient access from the side for additional storage. I rounded it all off by hanging a left-over Ikea curtain (sorry forgot the name) on a tension rod between the wall and the table leg to provide access for my cat to her litter box. Overall, this prep space has worked out well, though one day I will have to take the time and paint it to match the rest of the kitchen."

Source:http://www.ikeahackers.net

Smart underbed storage

smart underbed storage

an impressive hack from bryan stuart, who tells me he loves hacking ikea.

"i made a storage bed made from an ikea dalselv bed frame. i cut the legs off the bed frame, attached some hinges and handles to what was left, built a box out of mdf, 2x2's, pine trim and voila, a great storage solution."

making the storage bed base

adding hinges

the bed frame sits perfectly on the storage box

open sesame!

and the secret storage place again safetly concealed 

Source : http://www.ikeahackers.net

Gorm bed hack

Markus and Carmen hack a bed out of the Gorm shelving units. Looks sturdy enough. With loads of underbed storage.

Source : http://www.ikeahackers.net

IKEA table makeover

IKEA table makeover

Materials: Ikea table

Description: Just posted this DIY project about an IKEA table makeover using simple decals and spray paint. See more of the DIY project on Curbly. 

Ikea Albert morning/make-up table

Ikea Albert morning/make-up table

Materials: Albert racks; tea box

Description: Hey guys, remember this? Welcome back to "fun with Albert".

Essentially, this hack takes 1 full Albert rack (set sideways) and a few of the horizontal boards extra (that are left over if you do the clothes rack Albert hack that the link above points to). All there really is to it, is screwing the extra boards onto the rack. You need to pre-drill the holes, because the wood will otherwise burst.

That said, after actually doing this I realised I might've been better off doing this with the Gorm 78x55 model.

The width of the Albert is just a bit too low for a table (just over 60 centimetres), where as the Gorm is 10 centimetres wider and the table height should be just right (70 centimetres is also the standard of most Ikea table legs). Also, you can probably manage with just one (entire) Gorm for that hack, or get an additional set of shelvesfor it.

In the middle, I inserted a tea box with a glass lid from a different store. It didn't "exactly fit" - it exactly didn't fit. I loosened a few screws to get the extra 2 millimetres of space I needed to insert the box. The lid can be opened and you can keep all kinds of odds and bits in there.

Source : http://www.ikeahackers.net

Ikea Albert morning/make-up table

36 Materials: Albert racks; tea boxDescription: Hey guys, remember this? Welcome back to "fun with Albert". Essentially, this hack takes 1 full Albert rack (set sideways) and a few of the horizontal boards extra (that are left over if you do the clothes rack Albert hack that the link above points to). All there really is to it, is screwing the extra boards onto the rack. You need to pre-drill the holes, because the wood will otherwise burst. That said, after actually doing this I realised I might've been better off doing this with the Gorm 78x55 model.The width of the Albert is just a bit too low for a table (just over 60 centimetres), where as the Gorm is 10 centimetres wider and the table height should be just right (70 centimetres is also the standard of most Ikea table legs). Also, you can probably manage with just one (entire) Gorm for that hack, or get an additional set of shelves for it. In the middle, I inserted a tea box with a glass lid from a different store. It didn't "exactly fit" - it exactly didn't fit. I loosened a few screws to get the extra 2 millimetres of space I needed to insert the box. The lid can be opened and you can keep all kinds of odds and bits in there.

Bookshelf/bench

There are plenty of other sites that are thick with IKEA hacks as well. The excellent Apartment Therapy, no surprise, has plenty of posts on the subject, including how to easily reupholster a PAONG chair; using the LOGGA coat rack for "vertical shoe storage" (especially nice for the front hallway of shoe-optional apartments); and a great trick for adding some color and style to a BILLY bookcase. And the folks at Instructables.com have more than a few good IKEA hacks as well, though often of the power-tool-needing variety. Still: we love the GORM shelving unit as a bookshelf/bench, and the LANSA handle combined with GRUNDTAL kitchen hooks to make a simple coat rack. 

Source : http://www.glenwoodnyc.com

267 Materials: RAST nightstand, GRUNDTAL towel rail, RIGEL hook, ATTEST knobs, ATTEST handles, LINDSDAL knobs, CAPITA legs Description: I used two RAST nightstands with multiple other Ikea items to make a child's play kitchen set - a stove/oven with a sink, and a separate refrigerator. See Becky's blog for detailed list of materialPlay Kitchen S

267 Materials: RAST nightstand, GRUNDTAL towel rail, RIGEL hook, ATTEST knobs, ATTEST handles, LINDSDAL knobs, CAPITA legs Description: I used two RAST nightstands with multiple other Ikea items to make a child's play kitchen set - a stove/oven with a sink, and a separate refrigerator. See Becky's blog for detailed list of materials and instructions. and instructiPlay Kitchen Set

IKEA Hackers: The 40 Euro Wardrobe

IKEA Hackers: The 40 Euro Wardrobe: Materials: Gorm shelf, Grundtal rail, Frosta stool, some additional short screws Description: We needed a temporary solution in a new fla...