Materials: Wxpedit, Dampa, Bigarra, Ikea plants
Description:
1) Assemble 4x4 EXPEDIT with only one vertical row of shelves on the left and without the bottom.
2) Before adding the right vertical panel put in two screws that stand out half an inch to hold the DAMPA curtain rod.
3) Cut the rod to the right size, put it in place, add the right panel.
4) Add three EXPEDIT inserts with doors on the left.
5) Add the plants in BIGARRA pots on top.
Assembling it is faster than assembling the whole Expedit.
This wardrobe is great to create a semi-transparent division between entrance and living room.
~ imaia, Vancouver
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A. Student's version
Updated 30 August 2012Materials: Expedit shelving unit (white 5x5), Hugad curtain rod (black, 210 - 385cm), x2 long bolts with nuts, x5 Drono box (black)
Description: I was planning on doing something similar to this but decided it was too small for all of my clothes so I upped it to the 5x5 version. I went with the cheapest options (white shelving unit and Drona boxes) which are probably what I would've gone with aesthetically anyway.
The instructions in the previous post pretty much covers it so I'll just refer you to that but there are a few things I did differently:
1. It's worth mentioning the wooden pegs used to hold the inner shelving units together. The pegs going into the outer frame are fine as they are but the other ones (picture 2) need to be shortened to prevent them from protruding into the rail space. Easily done with a few minutes of sawing before hammering them in.
2. I drilled a hole through the two sides of the outer frame and used thick 3" bolts with nuts to hold the rail in rather than a decorated screw. Thought it'd be more secure, which I think it is.
3. I also used the bottom section for stability. I think it looks better anyway. Bit confused as to why they didn't use it in the other post tbh..
Two things I'd do differently if I did this again:
1. Perhaps use a stronger curtain rail. Because of the length, this one does bend slightly in the middle. Not a problem and barely noticeable but depends if you're really bothered about maintaining immaculate straight lines.
2. Use wood glue on every wooden peg you hammer in. I've had no problems yet but the upper shelving may end up losing integrity years down the line. Belt and braces etc.
Easy peasy.
~ A. Student, Studentville
hi imaia :-)
ReplyDeletereally like your hack!
i was also thinking of building a wardrobe like yours.
i'm just curious if the expedit is stable without the bottom and the other parts?
did you have any problems to mount the rod since the expedit parts are not solid wood?
would appreciate your answers :-)
have a good time,
alex (austria)
This is very useful to those who don't have an entry way coat closet. Very good hack!
ReplyDeleteSure looks great! Time to do something with all the spare parts! ;)
ReplyDeleteBut is it really stable?
Those pots are beautiful but they look quite heavy, and I've always been told never to put heavy things high up or the whole bookcase/kitchen cupboard shelf/Expedit might come crashing down on you.
I'm sure you would know quite easily if it wasn't though but I still can't help being curious, too. :)
That looks really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI also voice the concern over stability.. For sustainability's sake, I would've assembled the bottom part of the 4x4 Expedit, just so there's an even amount of weight distributed on all four sides.
I am also going to chime in with worry over the instability of this otherwise awesomely clever hack. The dead load of a bunch of coats pulling on that bar (attached only by two screws?!) will eventually send the rod and its contents down on the ground, probably scratching that awesome wood floor in the process. The other option is that the screws shear through downwards over time through the honeycomb door material since those sides are not solid. The entire shelving system originally works via tension and compression and is very tightly fitted. What you are doing now by not incorporating the bottom piece is that you no longer have the tension operating, and only compression from the deadweight coming from the top. Without cross bracing or sheer wall (which I believe is sort of what you're trying to accomplish with the partial shelving on the left), you have a huge risk of collapse with any sort of strong lateral motion.
ReplyDeleteI recommend stabilizing with some sort of cross bracing and placing the whole thing on the bottom piece that came with the Expedit just for the sake of stability.
Otherwise, just keep those plants up top (for stability) and don't overload your clothes rod.
thanks for all your comments.
ReplyDeleteStability ... yes, I was thinking of screwing it to the floor. Adding the bottom would stabilize the left-right movement, but since it stands between the wall and column, I am not too concerned about it. The drawers help with stabilization a bit too.
I am sorry, my description about the screws for the rod is a bit too minimal. I screwed them from the outside throw the whole thickness of the material. I chose screws with nuts with nice looking heads and used washers so that I could tightened them well.
I actually built this in April 2010 and it is still up ;-), but ... yes, not kids-save!
As for the left-overs ... a coffee table maybe?
This is my first hack posted, in the meantime I had to build plant lights from GRUNDTAL led spotlights ...
I just love this. I want this. I'm gonna get this.
ReplyDeleteSell the spare shelves on-line!
ReplyDeleteFor the pole you might prefer to use electrical conduit. It is light weight and will not bend.
ReplyDelete