When iMac goes to work

Materials: 1 LACK Wall shelf unit, 1 LACK Wall shelf, 2 CAPITA Bracket, 1 DALFRED Bar Stool

Description: First of all it's necessary an iMac 27"!
If you are looking for a workstation comfortable and elegant, suitable for a small space, this is the solution for you.

You only need a Lack series, especially a wall shelf unit, a wall shelf and brackets.

I choose black version but there are many more..

I worked on the ground to assemble shelfs and brackets. Then I put in vertical and fix to the wall.

At last, I placed very carefully the iMac, mouse, keyboard, hd and I sat on the stool.

It's done!

PS. Ikea garants 3kg for shelf, so I prefer to fix 2 staff under the iMac's shelf.

~ Piritea, Italy

Personalized Kura Bed fit for a Princess with Playhouse Underneath

Materials: Kura Bed, wooden letters, wood cutouts, bunk bed curtain, paint, canopy, SMILA BLOMMA wall lamp

Description: We wanted our 4 year old daughter to have a bed with stairs leading to a loft to sleep and space underneath to use as a playhouse.

We bought a Kura bed, painted it 3 different colors. The trim is painted light pink, the smaller panel in front is fuchsia and the longer end panel is purple with pink slates. We added a princess canopy on top. We attached cutouts on the front panel and added wooden letters to the front panel with the words princess and her name. We made the bottom a playhouse by attaching a bunk bed curtain with working windows, curtains, and doors on the bottom of the bed using double-faced adhesive velcro and placing a pink SMILA BLOMMA wall lamp for her to use when she reads her books is hanging out in her "house" as she calls it.

See more at of the Kura bed with Playhouse.

~ Adrian and Leslie-Ann, Northern Virginia

Mandal Nightstand Hack

Materials: Expedit shelving unit, saw.

Description: If you have ever purchased the IKEA Mandal bed with its really cool storage drawers, you know that they only offer the Mandal wall-mounted headboard combined with the adjustable shelves as a possible nightstand. I prefer a nightstand where I can discretely hide things away.

Step 1) Get the single (1x5) Expedit shelving unit and cut it in half. The cut will be ugly and the inside of the Expedit is cardboard, but this will not be seen in the final result. If this really bothers you, you can purchase wooden veneer tape at a hardware store to cover the bottom cut.

Step 2) Mount each half of your Expedit shelving to each side of the wall next to your Mandal bed. Make sure to use proper wall-mounting brackets that will be screwed into the wall studs or that use drywall anchors. In this case, I also used the Expedit drawers and anchored them to the wall as well.

You can use any of the Expedit accessories that IKEA sells to give your nightstands the storage options you require.

~ Nicholas, Montreal, Canada

Eye candy: The white kitchen

Minimal hacking but wanted to share Edina's gorgeous white kitchen. Love it. ~ Jules

Materials: LIDINGÖ furniture

Description: The lower cabinets furniture Lindingo run, they were nut-colored sheet. To be a little different so we took them to other handles. We put wallpaper on the wall and glass, stainless steel, took over the stove. The hood and upper shelves of the corner shelf, the whole upper part we have prepared and equipped for it. Became a large and beautiful countryside but modern kitchen.

~ Edina Kukla/Kisflanc, Budapest

Shoe cupboard

Materials: Faktum, Rationell, Abstrakt

Description: Where to do go with all my shoes? We used the empty space underneath the stairs to build a shoe cupboard from kitchen elements, and added a shelf and doors on the top to make space for boots. It holds three pairs of shoes per drawer.

~ Anne Vogt, Zurich, Switzerland

Billy Built-in with a top

Materials: Half Height Billy Bookcases

Description: I love built-ins, I can't afford built-ins so I made my own out of 5 Billy bookcases.
Step 1) Assemble bookcases! Easier said then done.
Step 2) Screw bookcases together, pulling the middle section out 3-4 inches. Creating some interest!

Step 3) Cut MDF into three sections, glue and nail to top
Step 4) Attach chair rail or crown molding to the face (a chair rail is much easier to work with than crown)

Step 5) Fill seams and gaps. Once dry sand
Step 6) Paint, we chose Martha Stewart's Talc color to match the white Billy bookcases, not an exact match but pretty darn close.

See more of the Billy built-in with a top.

~ Ashli c/o Maillardville Manor, Vancouver, BC

Stolmen Entertainment Unit for a flat panel TV

Materials: Stolmen system modified with tv mounting bracket, bolts, screws.

Description: I modified a Stolmen system to accommodate a flat panel TV wall mounting system, one that would normally be used to mount a flat panel TV to a wall, using one of the larger (46") shelves as a panel on which to mount the TV. My goal was to create a stabile support for a flat panel TV while preserving the aesthetics of the Ikea Stolmen system. My theory of Ikea hacking is that the final product should not look overly "hacked" to the casual observer.

New Upholstered Headboard with Nailhead Trim

Materials: Hopen Bed, Plywood, Batting, Fabric, NailHead Trim

Description: We wanted to make an upholstered headboard for our Hopen Bed.

First step, after measuring the size of headboard that you want, lay out 3 layers of batting on the floor and cut the measurement leaving about 4 inches on each side to fold over. Staple all the way around pulling as tight as you can.

Butcher Block Countertop Kitchen shelving

Materials: NUMERAR countertop, 3/8" threaded rod with assorted hdwre, 1/2 copper tubing lacquered, 1x1 wood stapping cut to length

Description: NUMERAR counter top was ripped in half lengthwise to make above counter kitchen shelving. Threaded rod supporting the outer edge is concealed by copper pipe which has been lacquered to prevent oxidation. Hardware supporting each successive shelf is counter sunk for finished appearance. Threaded rod extends through ceiling and 2x4's laid across joists in attic. Against the wall, are 1x1 wood straps screwed to wall studs. Shelves are affixed to wood straps using the mini "L" brackets that come with the NUMERAR countertops.

~ Sandra Tarbox and Kurt Lazaroff, USA

Pottery Barn inspired desk transformation

Materials: Effective Desk and wood file cabinets

Description: I was inspired by a desk set at Pottery Barn that I couldn't afford. I used my old (red/brown) Effective Desk and bought two solid oak file cabinets off craigslist for $75.

before

- I painted the Desk Top and the cabinets Benjamin Moore's Timid White
- I removed the Ikea legs and hardware from the desk and braced the back corner with some braces I fashioned from metal plates and $2 banister inserts from Home Depot. It is solid!
- The Desk Top just rests on the cabinets at either end.

I love how it turned out.

See more of the Effektiv desk transformation.

~ Nicole, BC, Canada

Klimt Lack

Materials: Lack side table

Description: My Lack table was too green for my room,so I decided to add it a little color- painted the top and the sides white in two layers, put a Klimt picture from an old calendar,and secured it with a 4 mm glass. The best thing is that the picture is not glued,so i can change it any time I want.

~ Pera Peric, Kragujevac,Serbia

Ribba with the Dynamic Painting

Materials: RIBBA 50x50, Thinkpad T42, Thick white paper and some pieces of wood.

Description: I used the frame called RIBBA with the size 50x50 cm. There are two models either black or white frame. I selected the black frame for this.


Then as you can see, the inlay have a rectangular cutout and that of course does not fit the laptop screen. To fix this I bought a very heavy paper-sheet (1000g) It's like cardboard, but it's white and stiff 50x70 cm sheet.

The I had an old laptop that I don't use anymore. The battery is completely broken so it can only run if the AC-adapter is always connected. It's an old Thinkpad T42.


Now, we have all the parts lets do it!

And we have an IKEA hack of 2010 winner!

Big congratulations and a round of applause to thedesignguy for winning the IKEA Hack of 2010!

His hack the Pax sliding door room divider was a clear favourite from the start. At some point, G.V.M's Bedroom dress boys almost overtook it but at the last lap, the Pax sliding door room divider pulled away to win big, with over 28% votes. The dressboys garnered 19% votes, with the Ultimate twin highchair at 16%. For me, every hack in the Top 10 list is way excellent and you did awesome.

This year, I am also super happy that we crossed the 5 thousand votes mark, hitting a grand total of 5,283 votes, up from last year's 4059. Thank you, thank you, everyone who picked your favourite and made your choice known.  

As a small token from me, thedesignguy wins two of Jonathan Adler's latest books, Happy Chic Accessorizing and Happy Chic Colours.

See the IKEA Hack of the Year poll results.

Bedroom Side Table

Materials: Two, white, wooden Ikea storage bins, dark stain, hinges, screws, glass knobs (optional), and contact paper (optional).

Description: We have a relatively small apartment and we are always looking for ways to store our "stuff". There was an unused space in our bedroom and two wooden Ikea bins taking up space in our closet and viola, our Ikea hack was born. I planned to make a side table out of the bins. It would turn out to be a lot cheaper than buying a brand new one and more my style anyway.

First, I took apart the bins and removed the back wooden panel. I replaced it with a large piece of cardboard, which I covered with Magic Cover contact paper. Then, I put the bins back together. I stacked them, one on top of the other and nailed them together. Then I painted the panel I removed with a dark stain I had lying around the house. After it dried, I used some left over hinges to screw the panels onto the front as doors. I also made use of two magnet hinges I had to keep the front doors closed. To finish it off, I affixed two glass knobs to the front.

Because I didn't use a drill, it took me more time than I thought totaling five hours. I would urge all others to use a small drill to pre-drill the holes for the screws, but you can also do this with some screws and a screw driver like I did.

See more of the bedroom side table.

~ Janina R. Williams, Chicago