A take off on another take-off, does that make me a double copy cat?

I saw an Eames Inspired Shelving unit on Ikea Hackers some time ago, and was inspired myself to make something simular to put in my Studio closet to hold art supplies, gifts, etc. I didn't use the APA box in mine, nor put a piece of MDF Birch veneered plywood on the back, but i think I got the same effect. I used 2 craft crates, from Michael's (also available at JoAnn's) instead of the APA boxes. I simply figured where they should go, drilled whatever holes I need and screwed the Hyllis legs onto the boxes. I really like the unit. It makes my closet in the Studio look sharp and organized, until your eye veers over to the overstacked work table, which proves I am not neat and organized!

Finally - Drawers in my Kitchen

You may have read on occasion my frustration with my kitchen (or lack of) drawers. Well I finally did something about it. I purchased 2 IKEA Akurum 12" drawer cabinets with adel fronts.
I installed them per directions, except instead of Capita legs, I used 11" Ekby Bjarnum shelf supports (I needed to clear a baseboard heater). For the top I reused an EKBY MOSSBY 14" stainless steel shelf (No longer available) I was using in the same place for wall storage, minus the Bjarnum supports. Since the shelf was about and 1 1/2" too short I made it longer with a piece of 1" Square dowling I found at Lowes and cut down into two 14" pieces and screwed onto the the sides- which I actually like the looks of. I attached the old shelf to the top and I have a stainless steel countertop on my new drawer unit! Now to add the handles and I will have drawers -Finally
I only party down with the best at:

An Ikea Garden

Photo: Ikeahacker

I am always looking out for great garden ideas. Here is one from IkeaHacker. It seems the Cheap Veggie Gardner isn't the only one who thinks the topsy turvy planter costs too much. "Ninjarita", in Minneapolis, Minnesota, likes to make use of Ikea in her garden. She makes inexpensive Topsy Turvey type planters, and uses Ikea wastebaskets and storage containers for planters. Take a peak of her Ikea inspired garden. There are instructions there as well. Really cool especially if you find what you need in the Ikea As Is section. There you are buying used and keeping it from the waste stream.

WHICH IKEA HACK IS MY BEST WORK?

Poll time- I want to know which of these four Ikea Hacks you like best. I have done many but these are my four faves,

1- Mom's Sideboard

2- My China Cabinet

3- Coffee table/ottomans


4- My Vessel Sink and Vanity

poll closes on March 17th, 2010

Mom's Sideboard and Cabinet

This is a repost of an earlier post.

The cabinet was easy to hack out- And yes I made the pot holder next to it

Mom needed a sideboard in her when she moved in to her apartment- but it couldn't be too deep and need to clear a 2 foot long baseboard heater.

I made my mom a sideboard and cabinet using IVAR cabinets, a 1X12X6 foot pine board and some mackis office storage units-

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30032387
I mounted the mackis units in a group of three , reversed the drawers and put knobs on them. I also mounted a shelf below for added stability, yet high enough t clear the small baseboard heater safely. I used wooden drawer knobs from home depot for the feet

This blog post is linked to: trash to treasure tuesdays at "Reinvented blog";
Diy Day at Soft Place to Land

and 2nd Time around on "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words blog"

New Look for Ready Made

I had hoped it would be just a bad rumor. Apartment Therapy had a preview of Ready Made - all re vamped. I just love Ready Made Magazine- one of my all time fave's. I got the mail yesterday and there was my mag- This month's edition was a nice surprise- not only did they re-vamp the look of the magazine, they sent it without a plastic cover! Just a simple mailing label on the front cover was all they needed! I know, in this digital age I shouldn't be getting any magazines or catalogs. But I love this mag! I keep them forever. And of course, my favorite section- The MacGyver section were the editors come up with an idea for reusing something had not changed at all- People still making tables from hangers. Lamps from records. You get the idea! And the idea's I get from the mag save a lot more trash from the waste stream than Throwing away a magazine! But don't worry I have a surprise to show on Tuesday on how I keep my magazines in order. The natural Eco way! (how's that for a tease?)

4R's Superheros = Some Trees Are More Green Than Others

Let's start the year off right with a

I hope every one had a safe and celebratory New Year. I just had to post this pic I found on Ikea Hacker. It appears that a gal named Rose gave her sister, "StarvingArtistGirl" an Ikea desk, and they decided to make Christmas Tree out of the box. Looks like they reused the Styrofoam as well! And they made ornaments as well. Nice looking tree! Congratulations Girls- This is one of the greenest Christmas trees I have ever seen. KUDOS and congratulations.

"The 4R award goes to individuals who do something great for the planet by
reducing, re-using, recycling or repairing, thus keeping items out of the waste
stream. Not a meme, the recipient is allowed to post the fancy logo on the
website, they don't have to print anything, pass it on or divulge any secrets of
their lives. Just accept the award and know in their hearts they are a "4-R
Superhero"

Buiy Hand Challenge- Easy to make Cell Phone Cradles

I was perusing Ikea Hacker and found this one there- A Bamboo Blackberry Cradle. It is made from a bamboo soap dish (The Molger) some rubber feet, and a piece of velcro. Simple to make (I couldn't find rubber feet so I used cork instead). While nobody here has a blackberry phone it works well for I-Phone (The Molger is a bit smaller than the actual I-phone, but still doable) regular cell phones and mp3 Players/IPods as well. Makes a great little stocking stuffer. I made 4 of them in a matter of minutes.

MY-Kea Lanterns

Ikea's Solig lanterns

This is a Recycled post from my DIY blog- I thought I would share it since I am recycling/re-using #5PP in making these Lanterns! Technically I would suppose you could call it an Ikea Hack, but since nothing from Ikea was used in making them- I call it a MY-Kea Hack!

I was in Ikea yesterday- they had their summer stuff out- I walked by some neat little battery powered lanterns- The Solig Lantern , which looked like my mom's old tupperware tumblers with a light in them. Well when I got home from work, I got my creative freak on. I made two versions- 1 in the lantern holders I previously got from Ikea as-is, 1 without. For the lantern I used a Crystal Light container. These are a problem for me- I cant drink regular OJ in the morning (due to the diabetes) and I love OJ so I have to drink this powdered "Tang" rip-off unless I juice my own. But what to do with the packaging? It is #5 Poly Propylene, the only place I know that recycles it is Whole Foods of which there is not one near me, nor is there a Whole Foods in the state of Washington that is involved with the Gimme 5 program or i can send them in to Recycline- Both part of their Gimme 5 program-I looked at the tubes of #5PP and thought those look just like the solig lanterns. So I took a battery powered tea light put one in, put the lid back on and POW- a Solig lantern! I love the muted look the tea light gives. For the ones with no fancy lantern holder I will take some hefty wire (probably an old coat hanger) and make a hanger for them- just drill through the top, add a loop made from a hanger and done! Note the one in the holder loses it's #5PP Lid- I will take that and make a fridge magnet photo frame. I get a neat lantern for the porch, get a re-use on the #5PP Containers and didn't have to buy a thing- I have the tea lights (available at Michael's Crafts and JoAnn's- I got a pack of 28 at costco with 56 extra batteries for like $8)I Certainly have the wire hangers (one of my favorate things to make tools and such out of)! So the way I look at it I got my "Solig Lanterns" for nothing !
"My-Kea's" Lanterns

IKEA BATHROOM HACK

One of the things I started this blog for was Ikea Hacking. Inspired was I by the great Ikea Hacker blogsite, I thought I was the only person out there who would peruse the Ikea as-is bin and the store for ideas on “Hacking” Ikea furniture. For those who are wondering what an Ikea hacker or furniture hacker is, I define it as a person who enjoys making changes to a piece of furniture to change it’s use or function to their own desire or need (Original meaning of Hacker- someone who makes furniture with an axe)
Anyway it has been a while since I put up a hack on this blog. So without fanfare, May I announce
MY IKEA BATHROOM HACK
As I always say, my “master” bathroom must have been an afterthought when previous owners put this part of the house on in the 90’s- It is tiny- more of a Powder room than a bath- measures 6’ long by about 30” wide, has a huge window and no shower or bath- (soon to be remedied) Anyway a normal vanity took too much room, and there was no storage at all in the bathroom. So I needed to redo this little afterthought.
SOLVING THE VANITY PROBLEM
I have always liked the look of Vessel sinks, but did not like the cost, but I hacked one here from a BLANDA BLANK serving bowl. My buddy at work, Bert, used a knock out to make the hole- 1 ¼ inch, then I mounted it with an 1 ¼ tailpiece kit from Lowes, My counter top is a MOSSBY stainless steel shelf cut down from 46 7/8 " to 24”. Rounding it out is BJÄRNUM shelf supports and an IVAR cabinet(this size may be discontinued 16x12x32- I could not find it on the ikea website)for the vanity-
STORAGE:

On the wall, over the commode, I put an Ivar glass door cabinet, which I think is discontinued, I found at the annual employees days “garage sale” at Ikea Seattle, mounted on a LEKSVIK shelf and BJÄRNUM supports, all painted black (I know the leksvik comes in black, but I had this one out in the garage- besides I bought it at the as-is department – it had a huge dent- which is covered by the Ivar cabinet- a little paint and I have a black leksvik shelf)

I also used the BYGEL kitchen storage series , (cutlery rack, wire basket) hung from a BYGEL kitchen rail for small storage on the wall for my razor, toothbrush, etc-

-RE-USE PROJECT - DUCKY UMBRELLA STAND

I cannot take full credit for this Ikea Hack. I got the idea from Family Fun.com. They say to use a small white clear wastebasket, and I thought of the Fniss Clear wastepaper basket I have a few in the garage.I was going to use them as planters. A fun project, it only took a couple of hours. The nice thing about the fniss is you don't need to use the marbles per the directions. They are already designed to be stacked.

Makes a nice umbrella stand, then in the summer use it around the pool for toys. Or use it in the bathroom for tub toys.Or put ice and your favorite canned beverage in it and use to serve at your next BBQ!

It is super easy to make - Take two Fniss wastepaper baskets, take one 12"X18" sheet of crafting foam, orange, put one of the wastepaper basket on the crafting foam or I imagine you could use felt, trace around the bottom of the basket to make a circle and draw two webbed feet. Cut out the feet and the circle put double sided tape on the circle the instructions call for making three holes and attaching with brass paper fasteners and using duct tape to seal the holes with. Put the other waste basket inside the first one. And there you have your Ducky Umbrella Stand! - I used the double backed foam tape in four spots around the foam circle- attach to the wastepaper basket. The advantage to the double backed foam tape is since you didn't poke a hole in the first basket you wouldn't need two baskets!

MORE HACKS

Well I guess I better upload a few more hacks.

Here is a coffee bar I made from what I believe was a flark bookcase. I needed a place to store my coffee and tea mugs, pots etc. I simply added doors and a sliding shelf (so I could access the coffee pot to pour water in it). Note the fancy drawer pulls on the upper doors

My Kitchen Center- is a wardrobe, don't know th name that I reconfigured to house appliances since I am the Appliance KING- I found that the interioir width was the same as GORM Shelves, so I installed them, put a small shelf I made from GORM extension posts and I have a great place for my gismos

SOME OF MY IKEA HACKS

What a day yesterday- my birthday! My mom invited all my family to come over and look at the new addition I put on my house! WoW! I also thought a great oppurtunity to post some of my hacks:

First the Dry bar I promised- very simple hack- I just put two Billy shelves together with two Jarpen Shelves conected with "L" brackets

An old hack- I took a bookshelf- can't think of the name offhand and built it in to the wall- to show off my china and such.

two Rast bed tables I took and upholstered the tops- make up a nice coffee table

I made the DVD holders by taking three LERBERG dvd holders and connecting them. This set I renoved one of the Lerberg squares to clear the wall heater

Another view of both dvd units

MORE HACKS HERE and Here