Ikea leftover's garbage can with auto open

Materials: Bolmen Garbage Can, Blanken Corner Wall Shelf, Deka Curtain Wire w/ Clips, Ikea Knob from Dresser, Grundtal Rail Ends & Rationell Variera plastic rail guide.

Description: So when we moved to our new home I encountered a problem that I couldn't find a garbage can that would fit under my sink, there wasn't an auto open can small enough that could clear the pipes and such.

I bought the Bolmen garbage can as a temporary measure until I found something better. But one day, with a flash of brilliance, I combined it with host of other items I had and made exactly what I wanted.

The Grundtal Rail ends supply bottom support for the Blanken corner wall shelf to mount to with zip ties I had left over from some Ikea cord tubing I had bought.

The can itself is held in place using a Rationell Variera rail guide that was an extra we got in a package, the groove of the can fits nicely into the groove of the guide.

Lastly I used some spare Deka curtain wire minus the clips that was used for an art installation and fixed one end to the counter the other to the lid with just enough slack so when the door is opened the lid opens up.

I used a knob from an old Ikea dresser we had to attach to the other end of the Deka on the underside of the lid to provide a bit of weight to assist the lid return when the door closes.

Lastly I attached the can to the corner wallshelf with some screws, because sometimes when near empty the can would sometimes pop out and fall over.

Sounds like a lot eh? It was actually pretty easy.

~ mcquarris

Elegant Engan catbox

Materials: Engan 2 drawer 2 door, catbox, motion sensitive light

Description: I followed the basic instructions but skipped the part about the drawers instead opting to use one of the side panels from a drawer to join the two drawer fronts together. Once attached using the 2 provided L bracket that were supplied + 1 other larger one I had bought at Ikea as well I mounted the drawer fronts to the unit.

With all parts together I put the back on but only nailed the top part down to the middle then used a jig saw to trim off the bottom half, then jigged out the cat door oh so very carefully.

The entry hole is protected around the edges with Ikea cable tube held on with the remaining nails from the backing. The bottom where the box is sitting on is one of the drawer bottoms.

Last steps were to add in a motion sensitive light and I added 2 more L brackets with another drawer side to act as a brace so the box won't shift when in use. The concern was the cat could potentially trap himself in side.

~ mcquarris

My PERFEKT Wine Cabinet

Materials: PERFEKT Storage System

Description: Vino anyone? I love wine, but often had no place to store several bottles (My kitchen is about 90 sq ft). I used a portion of the Perfekt storage system to create a cute little wine cabinet in my kitchen. I removed the drywall and portions of 2 X 4s in the foyer to create a niche for the shelving system. I added supports on either side for a tight fit, then added molding on the outer edges for a finished look. Now I can store up to 10 bottles at a time!

~ Kim B, Jacksonville, FL

Billy Morebo for the toilet

Materials: Doors Billy Morebo, Ikea textile, glue gun, scissors

Description: During renovation of our toilet we decided not to use standard sanitary door and purchased two doors Billy Morebo from Ikea.We decorated them with Ikea textile and added several pictures with the same textile on walls.

More pictures of result and process see on our site prohandmade.ru. Enjoy!

~ Ekaterina, Moscow, Russia

Dudero � made into a real dude!

Materials: DUDERO, black paper, a fake mustache, white chalk, scissors and a knife.

Description: We bought the DUDERO � but we found it too plain and boring. So after pasting on a fake mustache, which made it look like Freddy Mercury, we decided to make the lamp into a pirate. See the result!

~ Rowan Zajkowski, Raamsdonksveer, The Netherlands

Inverse Regolit

Materials: Regolit, Januari

Description: I was always a big fan of the simplicity of the Regolit lamp, so I've designed a very basic and clear lamp. It's a combination of the pendant lamp Regolit and the table lamp base Januari fixed with cable clips. The result is this smart Bauhaus inspired lamp.

~ Daniel, Stuttgart, Germany

Kitchen island on wheels

Materials: STENSTORP kitchen island NOK 3.250,-, 4 wheels ca. NOK 1200,-, drill, hammer

Description: A couple of years ago I bought a STENSTORP kitchen island. Because we have little space, I wanted to have put wheels on it for more flexibility. We did the makeover this winter and it works so well!

My sister is a handy woman and did most of the work. I took pictures, and chopped of the legs, actually sawed them!

The item has shelves on one side (now called backside). On the reverse side there is an open space so you can use it as a bar, with stools (now called front side). The two parts are divided by a wall, which serves as the back of the shelves.

First we took the top of the kitchen island.

Then we sawed of the horizontal planks that are holding the front side legs. Then we shortened all legs.

We took the legs from the front side and fasten it to the vertical plank that is holding the wall.

Then we took horizontal planks and fasten it under the legs, and fasten the wheels in them.

In the end we put the top back on!!!

Voila! And good luck!

~ hildeovedia, Oslo, Norway

Hiding computer nook cables and equipment

Materials: Kassett

Description: I cut the handle opening to a larger size to accommodate the cords and cables and allow for more ventilation.

Place everything in the box, close lid.

Here is a picture of the before mess and the after.

After

See more of Mel's quick clutter buster.

~ Mel, Mississauga, Ontario

How to change an old "ODDA" into fine art piece

Materials: ODDA bed side table, paint, silver polish...

Description: After having seen some nice designs on classical furniture, I tried to do the same on an old Ikea bed side table I found next to the bin! After a little sanding and an undercoat, I traced the drawing, then painted details and finished with a silver polish and tinted varnish... Et voila!!!

~ M�lanieblue, Nice, France

See more of Melanie's painted Odda bedside table.

Hacking my template

Firstly I want to thank you for your feedback and help when I asked for it. In many ways, your comments gave me a clearer view of how to improve Ikeahacker as well as chart a direction for it. Thank you, thank you! I feel re-inspired.

In response to that (I wouldn't want you to think that I wasn't listening!) I have made a few tweaks to the current site. Mind you, this is not the big redesign I was talking about (which I am now seriously considering Wordpress. Any thoughts?). I don't want to do too much on this template since I won't be using it in the redesign. But I do want to make sure that your experience on this site, while I work on the new design for the next coupla months, is a lot more useful and friendly. So here goes:

Many of you asked for:
1. Better navigation
- I've added the "older" and "newer" posts links at the bottom of the page. Hope that takes away the frustration of browsing the archives.
- Related posts complete with thumbnails are now under each post.  

2. Better search
- Under the existing categories section, I've added a drop down menu of all available Labels.
- I've also begun adding the Ikea names of the items hacked into the Labels. I do still forget some times. So do bear with me while I get the hang of it.

3. Less clutter
- I've increased the size of the left content area, as some of you mentioned, to give it space to breathe. This lets me include bigger photos too.
- Removed the Recent Comments (which many didn't find useful), moved the Friends Link List to a dedicated page. Tidied up things in general.
- Used images for the Top Hacks instead of text. I kinda like this alot myself! :)

Little tweaks. But it's an improvement, don't you think?

Convert 2 Vikare beds into a bunk

Materials: Vikare children's bed

Description: After the twins grew out of their baby beds I swapped the beds for two Vikare beds. It was not a comfortable solution as the room is very small. So I decided to build a bunk of the two beds.

I took away the shanks and replaced them for four wooden beams. Then simply drilled a few holes in the beams and put larger bolts and nuts in. For steps, I placed a Trofast cabinet/steps next to the bed, which is not in the picture..

It is a charming little bunk, because it is not 2 meters long as a usual bunk is. And as the kids grow taller, the beds are still convertible into longer beds!

Unfortunately the Vikare beds are not for sale anymore (in the Netherlands).

~ Barbara Kramer, the Netherlands

Customizing Expedit storage boxes

Materials: EXPEDIT shelves + DRONA box

Description: This is just a small hack but was useful for our newly painted room - sage green.

In the room we have a single 4 box Expedit shelf in a very small space. I had bought Drona boxes to go with the shelves but they come in limited colours which looked awful with our green room so I just grabbed some fabric (happens to be Ikea fabric) and fixed my small but irksome problem.



Simply take fabric that works with your room/space/colours and measure a square just slightly bigger than the front of the Drona box. (1/2 inch should do)

Fold down the edges and iron a crisp fold (ensure you have made it narrow enough to tuck under the handle/flap of the Drona, but wide enough to cover the front of the box.

I used a glue gun and just glued all around the edges of the fabric and stuck it down.

I started on the top/flap end and put the glue on the box, under the flap and then slid the fabric under the flap (using a spatula or cake knife to get it under smoothly and press the fabric onto the glue.

It's a small thing but the room looks so much better having something that looks coordinated with the room. Everyone surprised to learn its all Ikea.

~ Meredith, Luxembourg

LED-Pimped Vika Lauri

Materials: Vika Lauri, Dioder

Description:
- Setup your Vika Lauri table
- affix a string of white or multi-color Dioder LEDs to the inside, metal lip with the provided sticky tape
- conceal wires along the same inside edge and mount control box also using sticky tape

~ Kevin Freitas, Tacoma, WA, USA

See more of Kevin's colour changing computer table.

Quick Tassa Natt sconce hack

Materials: Tassa Natt, Screw driver, Pencil, Ruler (optional for tracing or making designs), Scissors, Sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" white paper (regular printer paper is perfect), Markers (permanent for teens or adults), (washable for kids), Candelabra style, 25 watt bulb (get a pack for cheap while you're at Ikea).

Description: I am submitting my Ikea Tassa Natt hack. Take one Tassa Natt sconce lamp (found in the children's lighting department) remove the ugly paper dancing frog cover from the lamp. Make your own new drawing using permanent markers and printer paper and you've got yourself a new lamp.

~ Doris

See the tutorial on Doris' blog here.

Lack cross-shelf

Materials: Lack shelves, Dioder multicolor LED light strips, angle brackets, circular saw, drill, screwdriver, paint, caulk

Description: We wanted a shelf or table unit to fill a narrow vertical space adjacent to the bed. My wife conceived the fusion of two Lack shelves in an uneven cross, mounted off the wall to make the shelf appear to float. We used two Lack shelves, a 43" and a 78", made two hemi-lateral cuts in order to fit the pieces together, and mounted the horizontal shelf using the standard IKEA Lack bracket, though keeping it off the wall by 2".

The vertical shelf wasn't going to support any significant weight, so we ditched the standard bracket and used a simple angle bracket at either end to hold it in place. The shelf brackets were primed and painted to match the wall color to give the effect of the floating shelf. The seam where the two shelves meet was finished with painter's caulk. Finally, two sets of Dioder LED lights were mounted on the back, giving the floating shelf a cool glow. A few lazy nights to plan and two half-days on the weekend to put together, one of our favorite new additions.

~ Matt Tremblay, San Diego

Tullsta's new legs

Materials: Tullsta, old chair base

Description: The back legs on the Tullsta chair quickly began to weaken and threatened to break if someone sat down too quickly.  We had an old rocking chair from the 70's; orange, worn and ugly. But I was very lucky because it had an excellent base which was easily mounted to the bottom of the Tullsta with eight lag bolts.  Then, it was just a question of moving the spider further back to achieve perfect balance.

~ Colin

Gorm Propagation Station

Materials: GORM shelving, shop lights, heat mats, hooks, duct tape, power squid

Description: This is our propagator for starting seedlings in the basement.

We chose GORM shelves that make a total width of just over 4', since standard shop lights are 4' wide. After assembling the shelves, we added some screw in cup hooks to hang the shop lights from. The lights can be raised as the plants grow.

We put heat mats on one of the shelves since some plants like to be warm. The power for heat mats and lights is fed through a power squid which is taped under the middle shelf to keep it under control. We also put some plastic sheeting on the shelves to reduce the chance of water leaking through.

~ Edward and Cheryl, Boston, Massachusetts, USA