and so we've come to the end...

... of 2007. and that can only mean one thing ... it's the time to vote for the ikea hack of the year! woo!

i must admit that i've had a really hard time this year choosing only 10 finalists, since i have a lot more to pick from than last year. so, after a very delightful walk down the last 12 months, i present to you - not 10 - but 20 of my favourite hacks of 2007.

kai's sleek stolmen desk
simple, clean lines. makes good use of the stolmen poles to suspend the desk.

zach's tabletop guitar
by far the most bizzare hack i've received to date. a guitar made out of ikea dining table wood. some reviewers say zach's guitars sound pretty darn good too.

jerker desk cable management
a smart solution that hides everything under the jerker. as a neat freak, i love how every component has its place.

bamboo dish clock
once a dish. now a good looking clock.

splatgirl's stylish bathroom hacks
splatgirl's bathroom is hack heaven. lots of clever hacks, beautifully done.

malmese twins tv unit
neat, compact tv solution from malm bedside tables. the floating effect really works for me.

sink bowl hack
bowl sinks cost a bomb - this one is on a budget and looks just as good.

sectional sleeper from footstools
looks like a sofa but it's put together from daybeds and footstools. flip the footstools and they become storage too.

bookcase secret door passageway
how can i possibly say no to secret doorways?

tertial chandelier
lamp or mutant spider? love the weirdness.

lazymonster's grundtal laptop stand
a paper towel holder hack that makes your mac look like a masterpiece.

big capacity laundry bin
useful and good looking. what more can i ask for in a laundry bin?

minimalist desk
drool worthy desk that slides in to reveal a keyboard. ooh la la.

modern baby crib
a simple touch changed a jail cell to a totally cool crib.

sara's roll away cat litter box
2 snack boxes makes one amazing cat litter.

sofa table from salvaged legs
for a low sofa table, this works big time. bamboo wood combined with imfors legs.

pronomen bath tub surround
the pronomen countertop is fast becoming one of my favourite 'raw' materials. it works beautifully in this bathroom.

buffalo bill wardrobe room divider
the jury is still out on this. is this a just a gorgeous paint job or a great hack?

bedside beauty table
i love vintage posters and the noresund bedside table is the perfect showcase.

turtle terrarium from tv unit
far out! never thought i would be watching turtles instead of tv on this media unit.

which hack will you vote as the ikea hack of 2007? get clicky clicky.

update: voting is now closed for this poll.
marcus's turtle terrarium takes top spot with 16% votes (15 Jan 2008)!



you may also want to revisit last year's top 10 and winner.

cheers and happy new year!

2007 from the rear view mirror

2007 is the first full year for ikeahacker and what a ride it has been. some good, some misses. like many bloggers, i did come to a point where i wondered where to take this blog and whether i should even be continuing with it. but here i am at the end of 2007 and feeling pretty upbeat about 2008. i know i wouldn't have made it to 490 posts (including one last post today on 2007's top hacks) without your readership, hacks and comments. thanks, all of you.

i also want to thank other larger communities like the instructables ikeahacks group, ikeafans and liferemix, for inviting ikeahacker to join their fold. blogging can be lonely and it was wonderful finding kindred spirits.

a special thanks to bemz for sponsoring our contest. i learnt a lot running that contest and will definitely cook up an exciting one for 2008.

another good thing is how ikeahacking is gaining popularity and press coverage. getting some ink on the new york times, german paper, spiegel and many others were some of the best moments of 2007. but big boys aside, it is really you who read ikeahacker, blogged about it, told your friends and linked to it that made all the difference. thank you thank you thank you.

i will be taking tomorrow off. will be back on the 2nd with a fabulous hack to kick off 2008. you too, have a wonderful start to your new year.

jules, signing out.

a new bathroom for a new year

melissa is a visual merchandiser at ikea, east palo alto and does a great job with her bathroom remodel.

"this is how i took my parents' outdated 60's mint and cantaloupe bathroom into the present and made it relaxing, all on a budget.

before

i decided to use kitchen cabinets because of a number of reasons including the fact that there are so many more door styles and cabinet layouts plus my family is tall so the added height so we didn't have to bend over so far to wash our faces in the sink.

a few extra touches to make the akurum cabinets work perfectly: cut about 2" off the back half of the sink area cabinets to have a shallower, bathroom cabinet depth; cut a hole out of the right, bottom side of the tall cabinet and put it on hinges so the motor to the spa tub could be accessed if needed. the tall cabinet was the perfect solution to the lack of towel storage elsewhere in the house.

after

we made it look built-in by building a sheet rocked frame all the way around it. the large drawers were also perfect for a bathroom laundry basket since my brother could never seem to get them back to his room. the korrekt handles were perfect too so that i wouldn't be jabbing myself in the leg if i needed to lean closer to the mirror and the burken jars were the perfect size to hold my Q-Tips and cottonballs."

stencil your slipcovers for a fresh new look

when you want a fancy slipcover but can't afford a bemz, why not try stenciling it yourself? villain did just that.

villain writes, "i just moved into a loft in boston and refurbished my old klippan sofa along with a tullsta chair. inspired by bemz slipcovers (way too expensive for a couple of grad students, sadly!), i went to work using a stencil and jacquard fabric paint.

i actually just used the $20 cream slipcover from ikea! as for the stencils, i got them at joann.com (lame i know, but stencils can be hard to find!) and used a large stencil brush with jacquard fabric paint from dickblick.

i put the slipcover on the sofa and painted in a circular motion, from the outside to the inside. i varied the amount of paint to create images that were either more substantial or more shadowy. the fabric paint should be heat set, so i ironed the slipcover on the reverse and then scotchguarded the dickens out of it just to be safe.

the chair is not really 'iron-able' (save the cushions) so it got a heavy scotchguard treatment too. pretty simple, really. i also sewed a few throw/floor pillows, and now everything is starting to come together!"

see more on villain's blog.

a kickass litterbox cabinet

deanna made a litterbox cabinet for about $80. best thing is, no one needs to know that it is a litterbox.


you'll need:
1 akurum base cabinet with 2 arlig doors
a pair of shelves
4 tryggve shelves

"this is a really easy cabinet that requires no cutting tools (except a box cutter!)

i assembled the cabinet like normal except i cut the bottom third of the backboard off (use a box cutter and one of the shelves as a guide). i then pre-drilled some holes and then screwed the tryggve shelves in place. they lie flush with the front and sides, and overhang a good 6" off the back. this hides the fact that the cabinet is 6" from the wall.

i've seen many people cut holes in the side of the cabinet, but i don't have tools to do that. plus, if the entrance to the cabinet was on the side, the litter would still get tracked on the carpet. with the entrance at the back, any litter tracked on the carpet is behind the cabinet.

so far it works great. even with only half of the backing and cheap shelves for the top, the unit is very solid and stable. i am going to stain the wood and possibly paint a design on the melamine. right now i have a half of a bamboo roll-up blind serving as a place mat."

make an ivar trellis

a quick post before i head down south for a few days of r&r with family. also wanted to take the chance to wish you merry christmas and happy holidays. i hope you have a wonderful time filled with peace and joy.

***

this one is from anna who used some pieces from the ivar shelving system to make a trellis for her balcony. bamboo sticks tied to the ivar units complete the set-up.

anna says, "it worked out really nice once the flowers grew and climbed up the trellis. and now it provides shade from the sun and makes for a cozy spot... i am so very happy with my hack!"

glamorized isig christmas ornaments

one more holiday hack before the big day hits us.

grace glams up the ikea isig ball ornaments with some glue and glitter. she also does the same with vintage ornaments.

see more christmas ornaments.

ikea gorm art

in september, there was an art exhibition in germany that used ikea in its creations. matthias, one of the artists, sent me some of his sculptures made from gorm shelves.

he tells me, "an art exhibition together with about 20 local artists gave me the opportunity to show these temporary sculptures in the garden of rumpenheim castle, germany. the sculptures are named "Wrong Assembly" which made a lot of the visitors smile. they are made from gorm shelves, posts, height expansion posts and from observatör cross-braces."

a simple mod on the lack tv unit

jonas tipped me on this media set-up, modified from the lack tv unit, on minhembio. both sides of the tv unit are removed and replaced by metal legs.

see more on minhembio (warning! the site has lots of pics so it takes a long time to load and the lack hack is way, way at the bottom)

sylvie's delightful green bathroom

slyvie from france does a wonderful makeover for her bathroom. i love the green tiles.

"here is our bathroom makeover, using pronomen countertop which i tainted dark to make it look like exotic wood (but much cheaper!) and varnished.

here are a few 'before' pictures of the bathroom.

and some 'after'.

we used some tiles made by my boyfriend's grandfather here in sèvres, capitale de la porcelaine! we kept the bath but changed the sink, and put in a matching shelf under the window. we measured everything to fit the length of two pronomen, and the whole makeover was a real bargain."

m2jl's ikea hacks

marie of m2jl studio sends me two lovely hacks.

"for lighting, we used inexpensive regolit light from ikea, some wool and some glue to create lamps inspired by the beautiful MOOOI’s Random lights." just make sure you don't wrap the wool around the shade too tightly to retain its shape.

the other is this personalized snille chair using some tape, a scalpel and spray paint.

see more of marie's random lights and personalized snille chair.

a doctor's front desk

janet is doctor. she's also pretty handy. with the help of her boyfriend, they custom-made this front desk workspace from ikea pieces.

she writes, "i needed a large front desk for my office staff and had neither the time nor the patience to have one built by a carpenter.

i used one expedit bookcase, two small effektiv file cabinets, two reclaimed effektiv tabletops (dressing for the base), as well as two cast-off maple drafting tabletops i found on craigslist. additional effektiv file cabs are seen in the photos as well as a large pax wardrobe that houses my server and supplies.

although it is not well visualized in the photos, i underlit the hanging edge with rope lighting. much of my office is ikea and ikea hacked, from therapy bay to the exam rooms."

see more of dr janet's front desk flickr set

brighten your room with holiday lighting hacks

another holiday hack to get you in the spirit.

zen bliss writes, "here are what i've come up with lately in a flurry of lighting upgrades for the winter days.

knappa klover floor lamp + isig paper napkin overlaid on each piece before assembly (with wooden dowel legs to bring the profile down). it's very large so i'll likely hang this. the glow is very nice.

the orgel room divider lamp works just as well placed on its side. it also makes a nice topper on an expedit bookcase and adds more privacy. a few gestalta set the mood.

zen bliss' previous hack: play kitchen for under $200

dennis the menace returns in an ikea stool

i grew up with dandy and beano. which is why i am so lovin this hack.

carole says, "i bought alleby (can't find the link on ikea site) plain pine stools and personalized them with comics.

i stuck the comics on with PVA glue before assembling the five parts. then i coated the whole stool in PVA before varnishing it with two coats of high gloss and lastly, stuck on little felt
feet. at the end there is no trace of the original pine. the fun part is choosing which bit of the comic to use!

i have also covered stools in Financial Times, Viz, Ordnance survey maps and even painted designs on them. sold them for a time in a funky shop in stroud but, sadly, the populace was not ready for such a place and it folded!"

a canoe canopy

this really made me go ... awww. i love it.

basil writes, "the thingies to attach the kura canopy to the bed fit just as well to the sides of my parents' canoe. it makes a nice shade when we're out at sea."

make your own kitchen island with breakfast counter

ah ... a cooking person's dream - a kitchen island with a breakfast bar! here's one from brian of caramelcook, made from the varde oven unit and countertops.

brian writes, "i wanted a bar overhang, so i bought two of the 69" lengths of the counter, cut them down a bit, joined them, and voila, a bar overhang on the back (with franklin chairs, the taller of the two models, which fit perfectly.)

also, i deliberately chose the oven unit so that i could put sliding trash and recycling bins in that space (plus it has the steel shelving which looks cooler than the particle board the other varde units have.)

view more of brian's kitchen island on flickr. also see brian's other hack, an ikea wall mirror from mirror tiles.

***

the good folks at Unplggd (formerly know as ApartmentTherapy HomeTech) wanted a peek into my home work area for their column "behind the blog". go here if you want to see from whence i blog.

much thanks, kelly.

calling for canadian hackers!

jenny from CBC Television wants to do a segment on ikeahacking. so, if you're canadian, this is your chance for 15 minutes of fame. just drop her an email if you're interested.

"We're looking for CANADIAN people who have done something interesting to a room in their house or a really cool home decor project in their home, and want to show it off. This is for a Canadian-wide talk show about home design and decor on the CBC. The projects or rooms should be interesting, innovative and TV-worthy, and something that the person who created it really wants to boast about. If you've taken a piece of Ikea furniture (or an entire room full!) and really transformed it into something interesting and beautiful, if you've somehow created a room that looks high-end but really it's a clever use of all Ikea furniture, if you've crafted items and made them your own (etc, etc) then we want to hear from you! Interested people should send a quick blurb about their project/room/home along with photos, if possible. Please do not send an email if you're not Canadian, we can only feature people across Canada. Send your submissions to tryanskj [at] cbc [dot] ca." - jenny

how to raise the dining standards for your dog

i am sure mark's dog is barking its approval of this dog bowl stand.

mark writes, "i have always heard that it is important to raise the food and water bowls up higher off the ground for dog breeds that are medium to large in size. my wife and i looked around at quite a few places and almost everything we found either looks like it's from a hospital or is entirely too expensive. the most important thing for us is that it had to be inexpensive and look good in our mostly contemporary styled house.

here are all the tools that i needed as well as a description to go with it.

starting piece:

• ikea benjamin stool (approx $19.99)

tools:

• power scroll saw. (i bought mine for $20.00 at lowes. it isn't something i use much so i didn't buy an extremely nice one.)
• wood blades for the saw above.
• 18"- 24" level or straight edge.
• measuring tape (unless the above straight edge is a ruler)
• pencil to mark lines for cuts.
• "C" clamps or quick clamps to hold guide in place.
• 5" random orbital palm sander. (i splurged and bought the top of the line Craftsman Professional version because i use a sander quite a bit around the house)

how to:
1. to start with, i measured the top of the stool to make sure that it could hold the dog bowls comfortably. i found that the top was perfect in width, but too deep front to back. i noted the measurement and proceeded to the next step.

2. i then watched the dog eat with the bowls on the ground and estimated a good height to raise the bowls. i noted the measurement and proceeded to the next step.

3. i then took the straight edge and drew lines up the side of the stool on either side of the cut out that was already on the side of the stool. that set the front to back depth of the new stand. those lines transferred to the top surface, and created my cut lines for the top.

4. i then measured the distance, on my saw, between the blade and the outside of the guard that surrounded the blade. this is important because i clamped the straight edge to the stool to help give me straight cuts. if the straight edge was to be clamped directly on the lines drawn above, the saw would cut a certain distance inside of that line creating too small of a product.

an original benjamin stool with the dog bowl stand cut from it

5. once everything was clamped, i began to cut out the final shape. the clamps and straight edge had to be moved several times to help cut different portions of the product.

6. once it was all cut out, i went around the edges with the palm sander to clean the edges and to help smooth out the corners. i started with 60 grit paper, and eventually went up to 220 grit.

7. after the sanding was finished, i wiped off the entire product with a damp towel to get rid of residual saw dust.

8. the final step was to put rubber feet on the bottom, to help prevent the unit from sliding and damaging our wooden floors.

as you can see in the pictures, the dog loves the final result. it only took me about an hour and a half to do, however i had been thinking about how to approach it for a while. also, the bowls are ceramic dinner bowls and are from target."

***

chloe's version (updated jan 30, 2008)

she says, "i wanted to raise my dogs' bowls off the ground, both for their digestion and so that i'd stopped kicking them! and i also really wanted a windowsill for my plants as none of my windows have them, so we put this together.

it's just your basic ivar (12" x 49" sides, 33" x 12" shelf) shelving with three holes cut in the bottom shelf, two food, one water bowl. we then stuck vinyl floor tiles (left over from another project) onto the shelves for waterproofing and just because we thought they looked good. we had to cut the shelving unit down to the right height for our windows and sneak in a couple of 'L' brackets at the back for some extra strength. it works really well, the dogs don't chase their bowls around the kitchen any more and i am gradually getting some plants going."

Designer's version (update 1 Jan 2009)

Ikea Items Used:

1 - Benjamin Stool

Other Items Used:

1 - 8" stainless steal doggie dish *$5

1 - package adhesive backed EPDM rubber weather seal *$3 to keep the dish from 'clanking' against the stool (attached under the rim of the dish where it meets the stool)

Hack tools:

1 - empty pizza box

1 - staedtler compass 

1 - rotozip with hole zip attachment and wood cutting bit

1 - drill with drill bit

He says, "I have read that it is better for dogs to eat with their heads up instead of down. Seeing as how I have a large breed dog i needed something to bring his food dish up quite a bit. There are lots of products on the market for this but they are all ugly or cost way too much for what they are. So my solution is this $28 (cost of stool, stainless dish, and rubber seal) Ikea Benjamin stool with a hole cut out for the doggie dish. It's stylish, functional, easy to clean, and very simple to make/hack. A quick template, some measuring (always double check), and cutting/sanding and you got yourself a dog dish stand that will fit into any modern or contemporary home!"

Related doggie hacks:
- Elevated dog bowl feeder
- Tasteful dog crate
- Kitchen bench and dog bed

are you game for this chair?

i'm loving this ikea terje folding chair from paul.

paul says, "i cut out the cross pieces on the seat and the back and replaced them with hockey sticks. i also have done it with bike tires and tennis balls/hockey pucks/golf balls but i don't have any photos of those."

omar pot rack

rob makes use of a shelf from the omar shelf unit and turns it into a pot rack. he says, "i simply took some eyebolts and found the studs in my ceiling, some eye hooks and fender washers to cover the holes on the omar unit, and some chain and clips to hook it into the ceiling. i suppose one could use molly bolts to hook in the ceiling, but i felt safer using eyebolts directly into the studs since my cookware is extremely heavy."

a galant coffee table

hey, hey, the first hack from tel aviv.

alessis hacks a coffee table from a galant table top and sultan legs. the leg joints are reinforced for stability.

visit alessis' blog.

an indoor greenhouse and other ideas for living with greens

i called my sister in new york yesterday and she tells me that it is snowing. burrr. as much as i love white fluffy snow, i like green better. so that's what today's post is all about - some hacks, some are just simple repurposing of ikea items - to help you bring in a little green.

an indoor greenhouse

peter thompson and linda sinkovicthis hack two detolf glass shelf units to create some indoor plant space.

they write, "we needed space for a lot of indoor plants, and we needed to protect them from being nibbled on by our dog or cats. rather than build something from scratch that might not look so good, i bought two detolf glass shelves and added some fans on top.

the fans are necessary to keep the air flowing through (keeps bugs and mildew to a minimum). the fans are standard 120mm computer fans that run on 12v. to power them, i bought a power supply from radio shack and hooked it up to the fans (be sure to get the polarity right - fans won't run if you have the +12 on the wrong side)."

lamp shade planter

noe's melodi pendant lamp, found in the as-is section for a buck, is repurposed into a planter. anchor the base with a few rocks, fill it with potting soil and you're set!


gaje plant stand

ted and sharon combined an ikea salad bowl and a gaje speaker stand to create a plant stand. just drill three holes into the bottom of the bowl to line up with the three holes in the speaker stand.


asker hanging plant holder

marc uses the ikea asker utensil holder as a potted plant holder. he says, "the bigger sizes have a hole at the bottom that allow drainage. these ended up being perfect as a nice partial cover up for our urban backyard's rusty fence."


fniss wastepaper basket plant pot

this is from andrea of heavypetal (love the blog name!), modifying a fniss wastepaper basket into planters.

here's how andrea did it: "i carefully drilled three holes in each bottom using a 5mm (1/4") drill bit (the plastic is thin so you have to apply gentle pressure with the drill or the bottom may crack). i filled each one with a mixture of coco earth (to retain water) and sea soil, a gorgeous dark soil that practically matches the black of the containers."

table with plant centerpiece

rob turns in this interesting table (vika byske & fintorp legs). a hole is cut into the middle of the table top to fit a bjuron planter. recessed halfway, the planter is fixed to the table top with gorilla glue and finishing staples.

see more of rob's table with plant centerpiece.

what are your favourite gifts from ikea?

was browsing ikea's winter collection and feeling a little warm-fuzzy-chestnut-roasting-rudolph-red-nosey, so i thought i'll pick out a few i like and get the ball rolling on a gift-ideas-exchange of sorts.

so what are your favourite things to give (and receive) from the big yellow and blue box? click on the comment link and share your gift ideas.

click to flip the online holiday brochure.

($1 s a fortune continues. with every soft toy you buy at ikea from now till dec 24, $1 goes to unicef's save the children education fund. )

hacking a turtle terrarium

marcus hacked an old benno tv unit into a terrarium for his turtle.

he says, "all the wood used is from benno: i cut the shelves into narrow boards that i mounted in the front and back to get a 'basin' for the sand. i cut some holes into the side walls for ventilation. then i plated the corners with 0.7mm steel sheets, because the turtle really likes to 'dig' in there. finally, i painted the whole interior with 3 layers of yacht lacquer (2-component paint that forms a very hard sort of plastic) to make it water- and scratch-proof.

see more of marcus' turtle terrarium.