Indirect Lighting for MANDAL headboard using LEGO

Materials: MANDAL, DIODER, LEGO bricks

Description: I used the MANDAL headboard to add some shelves to my desk, where I can display my LEGO models. They needed some highlighting so I started adding DIODER led strips on the top and bottom of the shelves.

But DIODER doesn't look too good , so I wanted to hide it, creating some indirect lighting. I built frames using LEGO that you can slide onto the shelf. These frames hide the DIODER. By adjusting the distance between DIODER and the frame, you can control the brightness and the reach of the light beam.

You can use LEGO in many different ways to hide lights on any kind of shelf. Have fun creating your own version of this hack!

Check out the project-page on Snapguide for detailed instructions!

Check out How to Add Indirect Lighting to Any Shelf Using LEGO+LED by Martin Storbeck on Snapguide.

Or go directly to the snapguide via this link.

~ Martin Storbeck, Stuttgart, Germany

Built In Ikea Hemnes Hack

Materials: Hemnes and Besta systems

Description: 1.First built up stands for the bookcases to sit on top.
2.Then place bookcase on top and anchored to the wall.
3. Placed extensions on top of bookshelves.
4. Placed Hemnes TV Table in middle and Hemnes Bridge anchored to wall.
5. To finish added flat base across the bottom then base board. Between the extension and bookcase added a base board. Top finished with crown molding. Added some quarter round on sides in the middle where TV sits and inside of the bridge.

~ Sherri B

Old World Library

Materials: Billy Bookcase

Description: We have quite an extensive book collection and didn't want boring bookcases. We also didn't have a ton of money.

Base board heater prevented putting anything directly on the floor in front of the wall. We screwed a board to the back wall (same as is done with the lower Ikea kitchen cabinets). We then bought metal flanges and pipe from the hardware store and set a board across from the wall to the flanges. Set the bookcases on the board and secured.

I built the cover boxes with trim boards and painted to match. Carpet and chairs were from obtained locally online. Easy peasy. And we don't think it looks bad either.

~ Robert Fontaine

LERBERG as bookshelf extension

Materials: LERBERG DVD rack

Description: I am always trying to fit more books into our place. Now we don't have any more wall or floor space, but books keep accumulating...

So I came up with - not a real hack, since I didn't alter anything - but a new use for the LERBERG DVD rack.

Screwed to the side of a (BILLY) bookshelf, I get a little extension, that doesn't use much space, is minimalistic but can house a pile of paperbacks :-)

Now I am dreaming of a real hack: Connect two LERBERGs back to back (on a board) and fasten the whole thing somehow onto a SNUDDA Lazy Susan... But for that I have to find 40x40 cm floorspace.

See more of the bookcase extension.

~ Susanne, Antequera

2x2 + 2x4 + 4x4 = My re-structured Expedit

Materials: 3 Expedits (a 2x2, a 2x4 and a 4x4), wood drill with stopper, some extra 6mm-dowels, Japanese saw, wood glue, 4 metal brackets, 2 perforated metal plates, 2 clamps

Description: I always liked the "thick-outer-thin-inner-shelves"-structure of the Expedit but wasn't too fond of the regularity of it ... and neither the fact that everybody immediately recognized the Expedit as such.

I found inspring hacks here like the "Expedit reshuffled" and the "Expedit to the ceiling" and I thought, I'd like some combination plus some modifications the best. So I bought 3 Expedit shelves, a 2x4, a 4x4 and a small 2x2.

I used the smallest just to get 4 extra case boards: 2 as delivered and 2 extra by sawing up the long middle case board into another 2, using a Japanese saw and two clamps. I used one of the delivered case boards to guide the saw a bit and get smooth edges and the same length of my cut pieces.

Then I assembled the 2x4 Expedit quite as intended, just adding a horizontal extra case board by drilling some extra holes and using some shortened dowels.

The 4x4 was assembled, also adding some extra horizontal case boards and shifting some of the vertical ones into different positions to loosen up the oh too cubical structure. The bottom panel was left away in order to have just one thick middle case board.

I attached small white brackets where I thought that the "outwards directed" forces on the shelves could be higher than intended and tolerated by the original Expedit, but I don't think this is truly necessary.

For the drilling I used a wood drill equipped with a little stopper to avoid accidental holes running through rather than just into the board.
The thin inner shelves are pretty massive but do take care when drilling into the thick but mainly hollow outer pieces. Those only contain massive parts where the screws and dowels belong in the original design.

Then I used 12 of the extra dowels from the 2x2 to fix the "bottomless" 4x4 on top of the 2x4. Since the massive parts of outer boards are only about 1cm thick (and then hollow again) the dowels needed to be glued into one piece and allowed to harden there. (Else they would have be pushed into the hollow gap instead of sliding into their "counter-holes".)

Since I'm a petite woman working alone, putting the pieces together worked best with both shelves lying on the ground and inching them closer and closer with 2 clamps. When the shelves were positioned properly, I fixed them with 2 perforated metal plates...just in case the dowels break or whatever.

Afterwards I "simply" lifted the whole thing from the ground (2,20m high and about 100kg ... get help from a friend as I should have done! ;) ) and pushed it into its space, assembling and adding four Expedit-doors into the whole thing.

One last note, the Expedit pieces are laminated and thus sensitive to sharp edges or anything else which could scratch them. I'm lucky since I built on a soft carpet and hence could push and shove the whole thing into whatever position. Else I highly recommend a large blanket or similar!

~ Katrin, Berlin, Germany

Romantic book shelves

Materials: Liksidig napkin holder

Description: I was creating a small nursery corner and used the Liksidig napkin holder as a bookshelf.

See more of the napkin holder bookshelf.

~ Soffia, Iceland

High times for Billy

Materials: BILLY x 10

Description: I wanted to construct a floor to ceiling bookshelf with some nifty details and considered building it from MDF boards. Being am a fan of the most efficient way of doing things and also load painting details I choose to make it from 10 BILLY units, 8 wide and 2 narrow. Although this meant carrying 400kg around it was much quicker, easier and cheaper than using board material.

As I wanted to get a clean frame and avoid the "double" sides you normally get from putting two bookcases together I needed to;

1. Drill all the holes for the wooden plugs few mm deeper in the shelves so that they penetrate the vertical parts slightly less and a plug from each side will fit.

2. Drill clean through the vertical parts of the shelf to get holes on both sides

3. Using a circular saw remove the back of each vertical section to allow the back to fit on both sides of each section.

4. Start by building section 2 and 4 as the easiest way of fitting the shelves on these was by screwing them in place together with the wooden plugs.

5. Complete with section 1, 3, 5 adding some support behind the backs of each section to keep it sturdy and provide support for the half shelves and the cut-out made for the TV.

6. Billy section 6 through 10, the upper level, was constructed similarly but each vertical section was cut at the bottom leaving a "seamless" impression between the two sections.

7. To get the upper and lower sections to fit together I made a drilling template and fitted three wooden plugs in each section.

8. Getting the upper level in place took a small building scaffolding that I rented for the two weeks it took to complete the build (with two 6 month twin boys things take longer than expected).

9. Since the wall is intruding on the last section some creative carpeting fixed the angle against the wall.

10. All backs were fitted and four outlets connected to a variable breaker for lighting was installed together with speaker wires, few HDMI cables and power outlets for whatever current and future needs will be.

During the whole process the shelf was standing 2 meters into the room to reach both sides during the build. After VERY carefully pushing it back to the wall it was fixed solid to the wall using 10 cm plugs.
Once in place we scrambled books and stuff to get the look I was after. Very happy with the result and the setup.

~ Adam Lev�n, Gothenburg, Sweden

From as-is boards and glass into shoe shelving

Materials: kitchen door boards and glasses from Ikea As Is section, Ekby Stodis bracket red. Picture wire cable and round eye hook,

Description: I want to make a shoe shelving unit for guests when they walk into the front door. I got the two red kitchen door board and two pieces of glass from the Ikea As Is section. I secure the red kitchen board to the wall by using Ekby Stodis bracket. The glasses are suspended by picture wire cable and round eye hooks. I had to use the L bracket on to of the red board to support it because it is too heavy.

~ Hanna Lu, San Francisco Bay Area

Varde wall shelf cut down

Materials: VARDE

Description: I like the VARDE wall shelf. Unfortunately the high one was too high. So I cut it off in the middle and assembled the two parts with one board in the middle.

~ Gudrun, Germany

Lack kitchen shelving unit/Island

Materials: 2 Lack Coffee tables (31x45); 4 metal brackets

Description: 1. Completely assemble one of the Lack tables.

2. Put the respective table legs on the second table, but not the lower shelf or shelf brackets. (You could put the shelf on the second table as well, I just chose not to because of the shelf height I wanted).

3. Stack the partially assembled table on top of the fully assembled one (or vice-versa, depending on your shelving needs).

4. Align the metal brackets (purchased separately at hardware store) along the area where the legs/top of the tables meet. Mark the holes to be drilled with a marker/pencil.

5. Drill holes; Be careful! about drilling into the legs, as they feel hollow and you may drill deep enough to lose any tension the screw needs to stay in place.

6. Replace bracket and screw in screws; you may need someone to hold the table legs in place as you secure them.

~ Clare T.

"Bonde" with glass shelves

Materials: Bonde

Description: When we wanted to buy glass shelves to the bookcase, this you could not buy!

We contacted the local glazier and asked them to do two pieces of glass, the size of the shelf that we had with us.

The bolt that the glass plate is located on, belonging to any other piece of furniture from IKEA. I got it from the customer service where you can get / buy spare parts.

~ Gustav K�llner, Sweden

"LACK" of Knowledge

Materials: Ikea Lack Wall Shelves

Description: 1. Bought several Lack wall shelves of 110cm and 30cm, a mixture of white and birch colours.

2. We configured them in a mostly random manner which after a few iterations started to resemble a tree and so it's now our tree of (LACK of) knowledge!

3. Depending on the size of your wall, this tree can definitely grow with your accumulation of books. Each Lack piece can be individually replaced as well so no need to replace an entire bookshelf if one area is damaged.

~ Kenneth and Huiwen, Singapore

Ivar library and storage

Materials: IVAR shelving units

Description: We wanted to build a library in the short part of our L-shaped living room. We decided to build storage space in the lower part (for which we used the IVAR units that are 50 cm deep) and build bookshelves on top that (30 cm deep).

The lower shelves were covered with sliding doors, for which a railing system was installed, and this part was covered with large MDF counter tops. On top we built the bookshelves which were attached to the wall. Because of the electric circuit board in the corner we built a cabinet there.

~ Geert, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Hack them with contact paper

Materials: Enetri shelving unit, Micke desk

Description: Some link love today. I stumbled upon these beautiful yet simple hacks by Jonathan of Happy Mundane [via Apartment Therapy] that had me wishing I bought reams and reams of contact paper the last time I was Home Depot.

Jonathan covers the classic Enetri with contact paper with walnut wood grain and painted the silver frames a darker shade. I've always thought the Enetri had good bones but some how it never struck me as a stunner. But now, just giving it the right shades makes it a head turner. Don't you think?


The genius of contact paper is that you can start a stick-a-thon. Jonathan goes on and faux grains his Micke desk. The beauty is knowing when to stop. The desk would have been a tacky mess if totally covered in walnut contact paper. But just a touch and it turns from meh to marvellous.

See more of the contact paper makeovers on Happy Mundane [via Apartment Therapy].

~ Jules

2 shelves out of 1 (when mounted in a corner)

Materials: FABIAN, saw, sander, screws

Description: Get 1 FABIAN shelf. Saw the shelf in half. Sand the cut edges to mimic the bevel on the other edges. Mount 1 end of the shelf on the wall using the provided hardware. Screw into the other end from inside the cabinets.

For the shelf that my toaster is on, I was able to mount the shelf a few inches away from the wall to accommodate the depth of the toaster. The toaster is lighter than it looks and the 3 screws on the cabinet side make it well sturdy enough.

~ Cory, Los Angeles

Tiny MALM Shelf

Materials: MALM Nightstand

Description: Like many other IKEA enthusiasts, I have the MALM bed setup. I originally had 2 nightstands connected to my bed. Over time I felt like my bedroom was too cramped so I removed one nightstand. The leftover nightstand serves no utility without its bed attachment so I figured I'd try to make some use of it. My MALM nightstands are white but I'm sure this hack will look fine in any color.

Step 1) Detach the shelf by removing the 2 long screws behind the nightstand.

Step 2) Find the 2 screw grabbers located on the smaller piece of the shelf. Carefully drill 2 holes through that piece. Use the screw grabbers as a guide to make the holes equidistant from each other.

Step 3) Apply white (or any color) masking tape to cover the bare wood that's visible once you detach the shelf.

Step 4) Hold the shelf against the wall where you want to put it. I recommend finding a beam to support the shelf's weight. Make sure your shelf is level and pencil in 2 marks through the holes.

Step 5) Assuming your shelf will be supported by the wall, screw in 2 flat screws. You can even cover your screws with something that matches the paint of the shelf. I glued 2 paper circles to conceal the screws.

Step 6) Put something cool on your new shelf!

~ Wass Hammoud, Dearborn, MI

The Stacker Bedside Table Hack

Materials: 1 Corras Bedside Table

Description: 2005.... The year I purchased this Ikea Corras bedside table. After purchasing new side tables a few years ago... this was moved into a closet. Last weekend, I decided it was time to throw it out....

My husband wheeled it outside and left it on the back porch till trash day.

Two days later...I was sitting on the porch looking at the table when it happened. I had a vision! To repurpose my Ikea Corras bedside table into a wall shelf unit. I never thought I'd have "the gift" to hack Ikea!

I located my very handy husband James and asked, "Will you slice this in half for me?

With my vision and his skills.. we started by removing the casters, then James measured and pencil marked the center lines equally all the way around the table. He used a circular saw to slice it in half. He then measured, marked and sliced the adjustable shelf.

He screwed the top half (from the inside using 1 3/4 inch screws) to the bottom half joining the two halves together. He screw small strips of strapping metal on the backs of each corner on both halves to reinforce them. He put four 3 inch L brackets on the wall and screwed the unit in place.

Corras bedside table (Original) measurements: 15d x 20w x 20h

Corras Stacker (Hack) measurements:
7 1/2d x 20w x 40h

I'm very proud of my (our) first Ikea hack ;)

~ Merritt & James

Ekby Shelves - Now in 3D!

Materials: 4 odd bits of IKEA Ekby St�tlig shelves (pieces from 28cmx119cm), Circular saw, Biscuit jointer+8 biscuits, White glue, Clamps

Description: After having put up some IKEA Ekby St�tlig shelves in my bathroom I found myself with some shelf leftovers...I felt it would be a shame to throw the nice bits of solid birch wood...

So I came up with the hack idea to hack the (flat) Ekby shelves to a 3D cube - a solid, versatile piece which goes pretty much anywhere in the house - Use it as a side table, a stool, a shelf, or anything that's needed at your place!

Here are the instructions:

1. Get some clean cuts with a little help from a circular saw. The aims is to get all 4 sides form a nice cube (hence, top and bottom should be the same length, as should the side pieces)...

2. Use a genius tool called a Biscuit Jointer, ideal for angled 90� joints. The jointer has a rotating blade that cuts curved slots into the material. It's essential that mating edges are planed straight for a tight joint.

3. The biscuits will expand when in contact with fluids. This quality makes it ideal for jointing. Add some white water-based glue (intended for wood) on both mating sides of the biscuit.

4. Lastly, clamp it up! The cube will be ready for action after 20 minutes or so.

5. Ta-daa! The finished 3D version of the Ekby Shelf! - Enjoy!

The best part of the "Ekby-in-3D"-hack is that you can derive pretty much any solid cubical structure from it - So go cubistic and hack away!

See more of the 3D Ekby.

~ Filippa Malmegard, Stockholm, Sweden