How-to: Extend Tall Akurum Cabinet Base Unit for Floor to Ceiling Kitchen Cabinet

Materials: Akurum Base Cabinet, Akurum 80" Tall Cabinet, Rationell Deep Drawer and Fronts, Tablesaw, Drill

Description: One of the biggest questions regarding the Ikea Akurum tall cabinets are how to fit them into a floor to ceiling installation. The 88" cabinet either needs tall legs to take it to the ceiling (leaving a gap at the floor) or leaves a gap at the ceiling that won't line up with the other upper cabinets. My approach to this problem was to actually downsize to an 80" tall cabinet, and build a base unit to bring it all the way up to the ceiling.

The measurements below are based on a 96" ceiling, a 3/4" gap at the ceiling for deco strip, and adjustable legs to take care of any irregularities.

Old book table

Materials: Old french book, PVA and clear varnish

Description: This was originally the UTBY Bar table, brown-black, stainless steel. After having this table for 3 years, the wood veneer came off in places. The table started to look terrible. So I made a table cover from an old French book. I'm really pleased with the results, this photo was taken 3 months after, even though it is regularly used, wear has been minimal.

If you want to make something similar all you need to do is get an old book, some PVA and clear vanish. Around 6 layers of vanish will need to be applied after the glue has dried to protect the table. The material costs for a cheap second hand book, PVA and vanish was less than £10.

If you want to see more of my furniture improvements and are other art work check out www.whereispete.co.uk and click the page Artwork.

~ WhereisPete, Brick lane, London

Besta Bed

Materials: Besta cabinets

Description: We have a small bedroom but wanted a large bed, we bought 3 Besta double width low cabinets and 1 single.

The single taller cabinets used as bedside cabinets. We removed the shelves and replaced with large baskets, this was cheaper than buying the Besta drawers and drawer fronts.

Solsta footstool becomes coffee table

Materials: Solsta footstools

Description: Some time ago, I bought 3 SOLSTA footstools. I wanted to use them as a small couch, but unfortunately they where way too small and unstable to sit on.

I didn't had a coffee table yet, so I decided to make a coffee table from the 3 footstools.

It's a very simple hack: You only need to remove the cover and the foam.

As you can see in the pictures, I also unscrewed the top off 1 footstool, so I can easily reach to the things underneath it.

(the black 'plugs' belong to an IKEA MANDAL wardrobe. (discontinued))

I hope you like my first IKEA hack. :)

~ Elena, The Netherlands

Disgrundtaled Speaker Mounts

Materials: Grundtal toilet roll holder, wooden coasters, Drill with various drill bits, Hack saw (not required if you've got a rotary tool), Files, Rotary tool with cut-off wheels (not required, but VERY highly recommended), Sandpaper

Description: This is a set of speaker mounts made from Grundtal toilet paper holders. They were inspired by these.

I was originally going to make them out of wood, but after buying a ton of Grundtal kitchen stuff on a visit to Ikea and being impressed by the nice stainless finish, I decided to try and find some stainless steel items that could be modified into the basic shapes I was looking for.

After a bit of searching, I discovered the Grundtal toilet tissue holder and it fit the bill just right. The tube was the right diameter and there was just enough length of bar to accommodate my speakers.

TRIQDEM Canopy Bed

Materials: STORA Loft bed, 4 "L" joint brackets and careful assembly

Description: I thought about doing this a while back when I first saw the simple STORA loft bed because it had no desk on the bottom and was really obvious that it could work. I priced modern canopy beds that I liked (Usually one's with solid wood, square and sturdy) and found the average price to be around $700, though they did go up to $1,600. Not to mention I live in a 600sf studio in Downtown and I do love my FULL size bed, and most beds I found were Queen. So finally this week I bought a STORA loft bed on craigslist for $60!(Full with no accessories other than the ladder) and went to work. I did not take photos as I went but I will explain. Here's what I did:

1: Read the instructions carefully. I've learned that they are in an exact order so nothing ends up backwards and so you don't have to retrace steps.

2: I assembled the headboard and footboard and left out the "top boards" which were intended to be the guard railings. I used only the middle board supporting the mattress support and 2 side rails.

3: I then connected the headboard and footboard using the wood bean provided. I put together the mattress support with slats on its own and then placed it UPSIDE DOWN so that at this point, the headboard, and footboard were ALL being assembled upside down and the mattress support face up on top.

Seeing Red: Lack-Akurum Cash Wrap Station

Materials: (2) Lack Wall Shelf, (2) Akurum Base Cabinet and (1) Akurum Wall Corner Cabinet

Description: We needed a cash-wrap station with room for supplies but with a small footprint. Since we use a mobile payment system on a tablet computer there is no need for a register to clutter our space. Our Lack-Akurum hack suits our needs and gets quite a few compliments.

Two Lack wall shelves were mounted back-to-back on a 2"x2" strip of wood to create a countertop. The mounting brackets on each side were slightly offset to accommodate the screws. The countertop was then attached to the Akurum base cabinet from below. With the addition of a second base cabinet and a corner cabinet there is plenty of room for storing shopping bags and materials.

Kura transformation

Materials: Ikea Kura, wood

Description: My eldest son was sleeping in a Kura bed, my youngest son in a small bed that had become too small.

Problem: the room was too small for two beds and was full of toys scattered on the floor. So I decided to transform the Kura bed in a bunk bed for two, with several drawers and with a lineup that would allow to go up comfortably on the floor for sleeping or playing. The banks are high enough to be safe not only for sleeping but also to play (a small child can stand).

SULTANRecLADE Headboard

Materials: Sultan Lade bed base(Art.#: 600.797.88), Sultan Lade bed base(Art.# 758.446.09)

Description: Was recently making my daughter's MALM bed and spotted the bed slats. Wow! What fine pieces of pine, already cut to size and sanded smooth...hmmm...what can I fashion with those?!

Reclaimed pieced wood furniture seems to be all the rage these days. I have been admiring several pieces from different popular retail stores that I have tasked my husband to copy. (His specialty is "Rustic." :)

However; this baby is mine! Well, ok, he helped with the nail gun. And glue. He is a big fan of wood glue. In fact he tests all of his pieces by standing on them and bouncing. And he is a big guy! (6'3", 200 rocks) He claims that wood glue is the secret to a strong piece. :P

Step 1:
Remove fabric and staples from bed slats.

Step 2:
Finish slats desired color(s). I chose to use colors that would look good in my Mom's house, as I made this for her.

Step 3:
Arrange bed slats in desired configuration.

Step 4:
Glue and nail pieces together.

Step 5:
Add top trim(I used a 65" pine board stained to match.

Step 6:
Attach headboard to additional wood as supports attached to metal bed frame or attach to wall.

Final Notes:

I used 20 of the queen slats on the front, 8 on the left, 8 on the right, and 2 on each edge front facing. I used 10 of the twin slats, 2 in the middle of the headboard and 2 down each side as trim. There are also 2 on each side in between the supports and larger front pieces. (See diagram) There are 3 wood supports in the back that the ends of each of piece are glued and nailed to. I nailed from the front because I did not have the right size nail to come in from the back but if I had it to do over I would get off my lazy bad word and go to the local hardware store.

All and all a very simple project as wood pieces are perfect size for queen headboard as they are from a queen bed frame. I had to do very few cuts and they were all simple and straight. The time consuming part for me was the finish work. I used several different stain and paint techniques in order to achieve the end result. However, if I were to use a consistent finish on each piece I estimate the entire project would take less than a weekend if you include drying time.

~ Novey

How to Hide a Soffit In Akurum Upper Cabinet

Materials: Jig Saw, 1 3/8" Forstner Bit, Drill, Patience

Description: My wife and I are in the middle of a DIY kitchen renovation. We ripped our soffits out and discovered one little issue, we had a pipe running through one of the soffits. Our solution? Build the soffit into the 39" cabinet.

Knappa Loves Melodi

Materials: Knappa, Melodi, Wire Cutters

Description: Install the Knappa lamp as a ceiling by "borrowing" parts from the $9.99 Melodi light fixture!

See more of the Knappa Melodi pendant light install.

~ R Carrara, Toronto

Hacker help: Ikea Besta with lock?

Galant

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Ikea Besta with Galant style combination lock

Description: Hello all, I am looking to purchasing a unit to use as a filing cabinet for my home office.

I need to put in a lock, the Galant system looks great, but the price tag is triple of Besta.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or previous hacks where they implemented the combination lock (Galant syle) into Besta cabinets?

Thanks!

~ Maria

BESTA Entertainment Center with bamboo backing

Materials: BESTA Book case X2 BESTA tv Bench, bamboo flooring, drill, hole saw, toggle bolts, wood screws, tough as nails glue.

Description: 1. Draw out plan.
2. Get shelves put together.
3. Mount shelves.
4. Cut and glue bamboo flooring.
5. Dust and enjoy.

~ Anthony Asprogiannis

Laiva bookcase turned fancy

Materials: Laiva bookcase, 2 boards 9.5x65", piece of plywood 28x24", 2x 26" of crown molding

Description: I bought the Laiva bookcase very cheaply ($20 on craigslist), but wanted a more expensive look.

By adding a board to each side of the bookcase, plywood backing, and crown molding trim to the top and bottom, it now looks great!

To add the boards to the sides, I drilled 3-4 small holes along the inside of the bookshelf, on each side of the board and screwed them together. You can do this from the outside, but then the screw would show. Also it's better to have the screw ending in the board you place (real wood), rather than the Ikea wood-like material.

For the plywood (to cover the back of the bookcase), same thing; screwed in smaller holes along each side of it, and put small nails in to attach it. There is still 3-4" of empty space in the back with a 24x28" plywood piece attached, but the 24x28" plywood board is only $5 at the store and if you put books/DVDs on the shelf, it will cover the space as long as it's on the bottom.

Lastly, I attached crown molding which was about $2.60/ft at Home Depot ($10 total). I painted it black BEFORE attaching to the bookcase. I screwed in small holes on either side, and nailed it together with small nails. I also hot-glued the top, with a wedge of cardboard, to give it a tilted angle. This isn't necessary but looks pretty.

Enjoy!

~ K. Betcher, Michigan

Plain Jane Vika Furuskog Tops into Fab Industrial Desks

Materials: VikaFuruskog Tabletops

Description: Our son is going to study Audio Engineering in September, he needed some new desks, we decided to build him 2 Industrial style desks.

We required desk tops for these pieces, desk tops that could be cut, distressed and finished in our choice of stain.

Enter, VikaFuruskog Tabletops! The size was perfect to fit on top of our steel skeletons.

The table tops were too thin to be considered Industrial looking, we added pine skirting vertically all around the table edges.

One of the desks needed to have a tilting top, these desk tops are solid pine and cut like a dream. We achieved the tilt with drafting table hinges.