Billy Built-in Bookshelves

Materials: 3 Billy bookcases, 3 Billy height extension units

Description: We started with three standard Billy bookcases (11" deep) and three height extension units from Ikea. We wanted to make a wall of bookshelves that had a built-in look to transform our room into a library.

First, we constructed the Billys according to the Ikea directions. We painted the cardboard backing light green. After assembling the bookcases and securing the height extension units, we added trim to customize the bookshelves.

We used 3 1/2" baseboard to cover the feet of the bookcases and crown molding on the top of the bookcases. We added lattice trim between bookcases to conceal where the sides of two bookcases meet. The trim was attached with a fast setting epoxy and allowed to dry overnight. The trim was painted Dove White by Valspar which is a close match the Ikea white laminate.

With that, we were able to create a wall of bookshelves which has a custom look for an inexpensive price!

See more of the built-in Billy bookcases.

~ Meredith

Industrial lamp from Ikea Blanda Matt

Materials: Blanda Matt

Description: Helene transformed a salad bowl into a lamp.

See more of the salad bowl lamp.

~ Helene Bergland, Norge

Romantic Lack

Materials: Lack (EUR 4,99), Stromby frame (51x51 �" EUR 8,99), Dofta Pot-pourri (EUR 0,99)

Description: Used an old Lack table and a Stromby frame. To keep the frame in place I used 4 screws. This way you can change the look of your Lack every time. Inside the frame I used 3 bags of Dofta Pot-pourri.

~ Joana Ferreira, P�voa de Varzim, Portugal

MacBook Pro vertical stand

Materials: BRADA laptop support, Keyhole saw, file

Description: I was looking for a solution for a vertical stand so my MacBook would run cooler while using my external monitor and keyboard/mouse. I cut the stand to half of its original width but if you want to use it as a normal laptop stand, you could just cut this slot in the center.

I measured a good height for the power cable to not be too bent (bottom of MacBook 1 inch above the bottom), and drew a slot the width of the MacBook (again, about an inch). Measure an inch high on the non-curved side and that's where the slot should end. Cut out the slot using the keyhole saw and file down any rough edges.

Voila! For $2.50, it's a great solution for keeping the computer noticeably cooler while using an external monitor in closed-lid mode, and if you want to run dual monitors, open the Macbook and place on the stand as normal!

~ Jordan Loeck, Menomonie, WI

Expedit kitchen storage hack

Materials: Expedit bookcase (Ikea), Expedit door insert (Ikea), Expedit drawer insert (Ikea), Annamoa fabric (Ikea), Solid orange fabric (Ikea), iron-on hemming tape (Ikea), Velcro, scissors, sewing thread and needle, iron, floor shoe trim (Lowe's), nails and hammer, hand saw, knobs (optional)

Description: We moved into a new place and it turned out our kitchen storage space was much smaller than what we were used to. I like to have half of Trader Joe's inventory immediately accessible in my kitchen, so we needed something like a pantry.


1) We got an Expedit bookcase and put it in the living room with its back facing the kitchen counter wall, and filled it with stuff as a first step

2) Then we bought a door and a drawer insert for two of the openings and I covered the rest with fabric. I made the middle one centered on the mountain because my husband likes mountaineering. I was planning to use a third solid color (yellow) but I think it is a little bit more serious and elegant and living-room-y with the orange only. I also cut some microscopic orange fabric circles and glued them onto the small knobs to match the rest. That didn't work so well, the fabric circles came apart and those knobs are just too small to be comfortable.

3) This is how the pantry looks after almost 2 years. I got some colorful knobs from Anthropologie (spent a total of 5 hrs trying to decide on separate days) and now I don't like them anymore, they are just too big.

4) This is how I made the fabric covers: folded the fabric over to make it two-ply and used the iron-on hemming tape from to "stitch" it in the middle.

5) I folded the bottom end and made a pocket to insert a thin piece of wood to keep the fabric cover straight. The piece was cut from a "floor shoe trim", 5/8" wide, made of some very soft pine wood.

6) For the solid orange covers I used three pieces of Velcro (one at each end and one in the middle) to attach the cover to the inside top of the bookcase. This doesn't look that good: you can see the gap between the cover and the bookcase and it is not very straight. But well, it is detachable and you can keep your fabric covers clean if you are so inclined (apparently I am not, never detached those covers since I made them :-)

7) This a better way of attaching the covers, but it is not detachable and it takes more work: I had to empty the whole bookcase, put it top down on the floor and nail the thin piece of wood (I can't hammer something up).

~ Ani, Sunnyvale, CA

Expedit cat litter box

Materials: Expedit and Patrull

Description: My cats litter boxe is not very aesthetic, I wanted to hide it somewhere. Also I hate to see cat litter scattered around. So I thought putting litter box inside something would resolve my problems.
Here is my solution.

Take an Expedit 2x4 (701.030.85)
Assemble top 4 shelves. Use one remaining shelf as a door.
Use one pack of Patrull kid locks to clasp door.
Look at the pics and you will get the idea.

No more cat litters around my room :)

~ Ilker Kopan, Istanbul

Roomy shoe storage

Materials: Expedit, Enje

Description: 2 girls sharing a flat = many shoes

So many that finding a cheap, good looking and roomy storage solution was difficult.

I then came up with this very simple hack:

- get an EXPEDIT shelf (4x4 in our case)
- build it
- get an ENJE roller blind (140cm)
- fix the ENJE blind on the top of the EXPEDIT
- put all your shoes inside
- close the blind

~ Gabrielle, Switzerland

Customized hallway solutions

Materials: Sideboard: 2 Faktum base cabinets width 30cm, Abstrakt doors high-gloss white, 2 Varde knobs, 8 Capita Legs, piece of worktop from the building center, cabinet cover panels high-gloss white

Description: When we moved into a new flat, I was looking for a sideboard for the hallway, but nothing fitted with the the heater. So we built our own sideboard out of 2 Faktum kitchen base cabinets underneath to hide all the clutter like wireless LAN sender and phone base station. We did cut-outs in the back boards of the cabinets and added power distribution units on each side, to have fewer cords between the cabinets. On top we assembled a color-matching worktop from the building center. This worktop got a little cut-out for the telephone cord, done with a drill. Cabinets have been covered with the cover panels.

There was a little alcove in the hallway, ideal place for shoes and coats. But I didn't like the available shoe cabinets. I had some kitchen cabinets left over from my old Ikea kitchen. So we took two of them, drilled them to the wall, cover them with the cover panels on every side and added new doors. For a clean look I used the push opener instead of handles. So all the shoes found a new place then.

~ Sevi, Germany

Beautiful Storm

Materials: Storm lamp, Nylon thread, hot glue

Description: The paper lamp shade of one of our Storm lamps was lacerated, so I decided to make something more appealing out of the storm lamp.

I bought a sheet of Japanese paper and a nylon thread. I tore the lamp apart and re-used the metal components for a real transformation into something beautiful, there is really nothing you need to buy to do it except Japanese paper.

First, I used the top and base metal rings and screwed the base back (base ring needs some hot glue for stability). Then I criss-crossed the nylon thread to give the lamp shade more stability also. Finally I wrapped the Japanese paper around and cut the access away with an inch overlap which I hot-glued.

I left the metal spring around the shaft intact for a nicer look. It even has the original energy saving light bulb.

What do you think?

~ Nomax

Apple mirror

Materials: Malma mirror, jigsaw, sand and spray paint

Description: First draw the apple logo on the frame.
Then cut with jigsaw.
Then sand it.
And finally paint with spray paint.

See more of the Apple mirror.

~ aramissenil, Zaragoza ( Spain )

Vintage bedroom dresser

Materials: Ikea Aneboda Dresser

Description: I removed the chunky white wooden handles.
Then I replaced these with some vintage black handles.
For the clear or polypropylene sections I purchased some fun wrapping paper.
I measured the wrapping paper and cut them out to fit the clear sections of the dresser.

Then using all purpose glue I stuck the paper over the clear sections and smoothed.

See more of the vintage dresser.

~ Tracey Meyer, Gold Coast, Australia

Adjustable Desktop Microphone Boom on a budget

Materials: Black Fors� work lamp

Description: I needed an adjustable stand for my microphone, but didn't want to fork out the incredible amount of money for an official boom which can be mounted on a desk.

After realising that all these overpriced stands look like extendable work lamps, I decided to have a quick look in Ikea and to my surprise, I struck gold.

I picked Black Fors� work lamp up for a modest �16.99, went home and cut the existing power cables out and removed the light fixing to the end, then attached the anti-shock mount, using a couple of bits of plastic and some washers to pad it out, as the gap was quite large.

The cables were cabled-tied to the arms to keep everything neat and tidy.

There you have a completely adjustable and compact podcast setup that you can take with you on travels, or just to use at home and still keep all your desk space.

~ Alex F, United Kingdom

Lerberg Shelf Art!

Materials: Lerberg CD/DVD Shelf

Description: I didn't want to spend $100 on artwork that I'll change a year from now, so.... I decided to use fabric art! It's perfect.

To make: cut four pieces of cardboard to fit in shelf. Make sure it's cut large enough to cover opening, but not too large to interfere with the next piece. Wrap and use packing tape to tape the fabric on each piece. Then, use duct tape to tape on the shelf! Hang! Enjoy!

~ Beth, Fort Myers, FL

L�bbo lamp shade up-grade

Materials: L�bbo lamp shade

Description: Original L�bbo lamp-shade was more about shading then lighting. So I have cut it into three pieces, make small holes and hang these pieces under each other. It gives more light now and it look cool in my son�s room.

~ Natalia, Slovakia

Auto On Vika Vanity

Materials: Black Vika Viene table top, Vika Legs, Mirrors, LEDs, Reed Switch

Description: After seeing the previous Vika Vanity on here I knew I had to make one for my girl friend as she did not have a place to get ready in the mornings :(

I bought a black Vika Veine table top, attached the legs, placed (2) 12x12 mirror tiles from Home Depot ($10 for a 6 pack) with velcro and ran the LED strip.

The LED strips have adhesive on the back so it worked out great, very simple. I then wired in a Reed Switch so that when the top is opened the LEDs come on automatically.

The Wifey spruced it up with some matching fabric in red with sparkles as well as all her makeup.

The side unit has all her bottles, nail stuff and irons and I believe I saw our kitchen sink somewhere in there as well.

She's in love :)

~ James, California

Dear Ingo-inspired chandelier hacked from 8 Tertial Worklamps

Materials: 8 X Tertial Work Lamps, 20mm thick board cut into a disc, threaded rods X 3

Description: Always loved the look of Dear Ingo chandelier but could never bear to spend that kind of money so I got creative and voila!

1) Get a piece of 20mm thick timber board cut into a disc and have it stained dark

2) Clamp on 8 numbers of Tertial Work Lamps in equal distance around the disc and have all the wires connected so that it they turn on together (I had a handy electrician friend to help with this part of the work)


3) Drill 3 holes around the centre of the disc and secure the 3 threaded rods

4) Have the whole chandelier secured to the ceiling with the 3 threaded rods

5) Connect the wires and throw the switch

6) Position all the work lamps as desired

7) Invite some friends over and enjoy the accolades!

Note: would have looked better if the Tertials were spray-painted but I couldn't find the energy to do that.

See more of the Tertial lamps.

~ Max T., Singapore