How-to: Make custom cabinets for IKEA kitchen doors and drawers

Materials: Drill, Drilling jigs, Rulers and and standard drawer rails and door hinges

Description: Anyone needing to make a custom cabinet using IKEA kitchen drawers and doors needs to know about the 5mm sized, 32mm spaced mounting holes and where to put them.

A pictorial summary and how-to is linked here.

~ Erich

Built-in Billy Bookshelves for under $250

Materials: 3 billy bookshelves, crown molding, lattice, quarter round, base molding, calk, paint, screw drivers, drill, finishing nails (optionl: chalk pro reel set, shims)

Description: Step 1: Clear out the closet if needed and remove doors. We had to remove the poorly installed wood shelves. (It was fun to rip them down!)

Step 2: Put those Billy Bookshelves together. I put all 3 together by myself in under 90 minutes. You will need both a Phillips and flat head screwdriver for assembly.

Step 3: Wedge the shelves in your closet space. A friend is helpful for this maneuver. We were incredibly lucky with measurements. We had about three inches to spare with the bookshelves in the closet. We also had to account for a dip in the floor. We used shims (scrap wood) to keep the shelves level.

Illuminated built-in wardrobe

Materials: BRODER System, PAX LYNGDAL sliding doors, strips of wood, 10m of RGB LED strips

Description: When we moved to our new flat we had a some drywalls which were ment to be used as a built-in wardrobe. As I didn't want to use some curtains covering some shelves, we decided to build an awesome wardrobe in this space with the BRODER system and the PAX LYNGDAL slyding doors.

First, we built up the BRODER rack. Therefore we used the wall mounted version for the left side of the ledge. There, we used the used the front brackets and applied the small wooden shelves to it. At the edge and the remaining space we used the height extension posts as well as the metal shelves and two clothes rail on the center brackets. At the end, we had two 120 cm broad sections and two 80 cm sections.

Vika + Micke = Workstation

Materials: Vika Amon, Micke Desk, Snille Chair, Spontan Boards

Description: #1 & #2 son quickly outgrown the activity table they have been using as a desk - as you can see from the "before", #1's PC dominates 1/2 the table.

My wife and I use a hacked Galant workstation (will post it here soon), and I was hoping something similar for the kids, but the size of the space, and frankly cost, was a factor.

I spent far too much time with the catalog and the website trying to find something to fit to no avail. For some reason I saw Vika, but not Micke.

We wandered over to our local Ikea this weekend, and were pleasantly surprised to find the Micke desks + a Vika Amon table would fit the space perfectly! (Plus, it was "free lunch" weekend, so that was a nice added bonus.)

IKEA EXPEDIT BOOKCASE - industrial chic makeover

Materials: EXPEDIT

Description: An old black EXPEDIT got a new industrial chic look

1. Sand down the bookcase
2. Apply primer. I used a water based one, let it dry overnight.
3. Apply 3 coats of paint.
4. To style, add stamps, patina gel, wood wax, labels.

See more of the industrial Expedit.

~ maya, Israel

Ribba + Oppdal

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Ribba LED picture light, Oppdal bedframe

Description: At first I cut off the lower back Part of the Ribba LED picture light (photo below, upper left picture). I also cut off the part between the drill holes of it, so that I can put the cables in between (photo below, upper right pic).

Next I removed the front part of the headstand of the bed and drilled the Ribbas in. When put together there is only a small gap between the large front and the upper part, so one could also cut a groove into it to make everything flush.

Other items on the picture:
Ribba, Oppdal, Fejka, Rutbo, Aläng
Gäspa, MYSA VETE 240x220,2x Gosa Pinje, 2x Gosa Raps

~ Ralf B, Cologne Germany

BILLY gets a bar

Materials: BILLY

Description: Please join BILLY and I for a drink

I love to invite friends over for game night. While playing we love to eat and drink good together. That is why I decided to turn my BILLY bookcase into at BILLY bar cabinet.

I took the smart and easy way out andI turned to Parts of Sweden where you find a complete package for the BILLY bar cabinet.

How to:

I went online and ordered the complete package, a mirror and some green furniture foil. First I put the foil on the back of the BILLY. This way my BILLY is the star of my family room and it loves to be in the centre of attention!

Before you get started with the bar cabinet read the brief instructions thoroughly. The paper with the manual also includes a smart template showing where to drill. It works perfectly.

How to: Secure the Vika Glasholm glass board

Materials: Vika Glasholm board

Description: My brother in law was looking for a white board for his home office. He wanted an easy to clean one so he decided he preferred glass and got the vika glasholm board. Once at home he realized it was really heavy and couldn't find a good way to hang it. At the end he screw this six round door stoppers to the wall and assembled it.

Sorry, but he was already working on something when I took the photo so I blurred his writings.

~ Ana, Bilbao

Half a loft bed

Materials: 3 x MALM with 3 drawer; 4 x Expedit 2x2

Description: Unfortunately, the bedroom in our new apartment is a bit small. To gain more storage space, we have set up our bed to MALM dressers and Expedit shelves.

First of all drawers and shelves are built according to instructions, and positioned as desired:

All pieces were connected via screws so that they can no longer move as single items.

There are differences in height between Malm and Expedit. With some boards we have cleared these:

The mattresses and bed is finished with a solid wood frame, so they can not slip off accidentally.

~ Thorsten, Cologne; Germany

Sun clock

Materials: Ikea Pugg wall clock and Ikea Torka dried bouquet and Bison montagekit transparent adhesive

Description: 1. Nuy a $20 Ikea Pugg wall clock and two packs of $5 Ikea Torka dried bouquets.

2. Divide the bouquets each piece into 3 or 4, it is up to you whether you want the arms longer or shorter.

Pimp your MOPPE: Lightbox2

Materials: MOPPE

Description: My old MOPPE has quadratic drawers what makes it especially good to build lightboxes from it.

Step-by-step manual

1. You need a bulb-holder. (Be careful, don't take too strong bulbs, not more than 25 watt. I assume no liability.) Depending on the radius of your bulb-holder you have to modify the grip hole (with the help of a reciprocating saw, or a coping saw).

2. Saw slits into the bottom of the drawers. It helps to drill first one hole in each corner, so you can place your saw blade in the right position. Next: Polish the slits with a sandpaper.

Pimp your MOPPE: Corpuslight

Materials: MOPPE

Description: My old MOPPEs corpus is especially good to build a standard lamp from it.

Step-by-step manual

1. First print a stencil for the light-holes.

2. Then drill out the holes. Take a drill with a small diameter.

3. Now you have to choose your favorite color for your Corpuslight. I overcoated the inside with white varnish (don't forget to tape the edges) and the outside with wood-colored (wenge) varnish.

Tranby spoon starburst mirror

Materials: Tranby mirror, glue gun, glue, plastic spoons, knife, sanding paper, paint, paint brushes

Description: I've seen it few months ago on some DIY website and I loved it. On Sunday morning I decided to make one for myself, so I sent my boyfriend to the shop to get plastic spoons. He was a bit surprised but its not the first time.

First I had to cut handles of all spoons leaving about 5mm so it's easy to glue. I started from outside row (didn't measure as much, just when I had about 10cm left I made sure I was putting them the way to cover all), progressing second, third and fourth row exactly the same way.

NUMERAR + AKURUM + DIY = Chic Wine Bar

Materials: Akurum Oak Butcher Block Counter Tops, Numerar Base Cabinets, Rationell Drawer Fronts

Description: For our IKEA Hack we used several standard kitchen elements and a significant modification to one to transform an underutilized section of our house's kitchen into a chic wine bar and storage area.

Since our house is an 1885 Victorian Row House, we didn't feel the standard IKEA butcher block counters really "went" with the home's style. To remedy this, we used our router to put a more decorative edge on the butcher block.

We assembled the cabinets, placed our wine fridge between two Akurum base cabinets, and placed the counter top on the cabinets.

MARIUS Mongolian Lamb Stool

Materials: MARIUS stool

Description: Lastly I noticed those beautiful Mongolian lamb stools in many stunning interiors! The problem is, as you can imagine, the price of these beauties!!!

As I'm actually working on a girl bedroom project I absolutely wanted to include one of these Mongolian stools for the luxury touch they add and for their incredible softness ...!

So I decided to make my own Mongolian lamb stool thanks to Ikea and their Marius stool. The great thing is the very small price of this stool and the easy way to customize it :)

If you want to have the whole "how to" step by step you can check out the post on my blog.

You'll find the entire DIY including all the pictures step by step here.

~ Nadia, Paris, FRANCE

Easy Expedit Kitchen Island

Materials: Expedit Cabinet, Expedit Castors, Grundtal Rail, Lamplig Chopping Board, Grundtal S-Hook

Description: We needed a Kitchen Island for a moderately sized kitchen, but could not find one that we liked. Taking inspiration from IkeaHackers, we decided to set about making our own. Using all Ikea products the whole project cost less than £120 pounds and I think has created an Island worth at least twice that when looking around at what is available.

First I built the Expedit cabinet, we went for the four version, I then fitted the Expedit doors in two opposing corners.

Then attached the Expedit locking castors.

Next added the Grundtal Rails to either end of the unit, for storage.

Assembled the Pjas baskets.

Finally with the help of contact adhesive the 2 Lamplig chopping boards where then stuck to the unit to give a overhang on 3 sides.

~ Karl Pearson, Newton-Le-Willows, UK

Vertical garden for small plants or herbs

Materials: Ordning Cutlery stand and Dignitet Curtain rail

Description: Wanted some plants to hang vertically in front of the glass panel on the door in the kitchen.

So I used 5 (you could always use more) cutlery stands and two curtain wire mounts from Ikea to create the vertical garden in the kitchen. You can put normal plants in it or even herbs.

I wove the stainless steel wire of the curtain wire through the outside holes on the cutlery stand and it is very secure once tightened.

You can Jumbo size this idea and make it longer and bigger.

~ Doug, Singapore

[A.C-DC Project] Arcad Compil DreamCast

Materials: Ramvik

Description: Who has not ever dreamed to have an arcade machine at home?
Dream of all men.

When I was ten, in video game rooms, it was necessary to pay 5francs (almost 1$) to play and I didn't have a lot of pocket money.

Now, I decided to build my own arcade machine, with a Dreamcast (SEGA). On this, you can play Neogeo games (Puzzle bubble, Metal Slug, King of Fighter, etc, etc...), Super Nintendo games (DonkeyKong, Tetris, Mario, PacMan)

Step one: Cut the table with worked, moderate and thought measures, To be able to incorporate TV, the joysticks and electronic (speakers & co).

I have disassembled the television, to remove the hull.

EXPEDIT Storage Bed

Materials: EXPEDIT Shelving unit, 4 Plywood, 4X4, 5' Hinge, Black King size sheets

Description: As we live in a condo we really needed more storage space so after visiting this site (thanks a lot for the inspiration) I decided to build my own bed, for a Queen size mattress using 3 Expedit Shelving units and the other materials previously listed.

Sadly I only have pictures of the finished product.

The whole thing is pretty simple:

Cut the 4 by 4 (you need 5 legs) to the exact width of the Shelving units. Those legs will be between the plywood INSIDE the space between the shelving units. One in the middle and one in each corner. So the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it will both be on the legs and the shelving units.

You need a total of 4 plywood panels, 2 for the upper panel and 2 for the lower one that rests on the floor.

The upper plywood is in 2 piece linked with a hinge so we can remove the mattress, open one side of the bed and access all that space between the shelving units.

Both upper and lower plywood are simply wrapped in a Black king size sheet and we used wood tacks to fix it.

It really give a great result and a LOT of storage space for everything we don't use too often like camping stuff. You can put baskets in the shelving units for everything you use more often.

~ Alex, Quebec province

Lego Activity Table

Materials: Vika Amon table top, Trofast storage boxes, EKBY JÄRPEN EKBY TÖRE desk top shelf

Description: After we moved our office from the largest bedroom in the house to a small office space we no longer had room for our two desks, so we choose to build an activity table for our son using one of them.

We decided to use Ikea Trofast storage boxes under the table for storage thinking it would be easy to buy runners for them. Although plastic runners were available a few years ago Ikea no longer sells them. Because of this I ended up having to build my own runners out of timber to get the boxes installed and sliding under the table top.

Sheet Metal Sunburst Mirror

Materials: IKEA FIGGJO, sheet metal, scissors, and super glue.

Description: About a month ago, I had acquired the IKEA FIGGJO mirror (their version of the modern starburst) but I had no idea what to do with it. I wasn't crazy about the black frames and I was a bit perplexed by the frameless center mirror.

I decided I wanted to make it into a more classic sunburst mirror using gold metal. Instructions below.

Air balloon ceiling light for less than 10,00 Euro

Materials: Regolit, white rattan basket, ribbons, glue gun

Description: Three years ago while decorating my son's bedroom I desperately searched for an air balloon ceiling light. Everything I found was too expensive for my budget and so I decided to make one myself using Regolit (lattern), a white rattan basket (also bought from IKEA)and lots of ribbons.

Sassy LACK Hack Ottoman

Materials: (for one ottoman) LACK side table, 1 yard fabric, 21 5/8" X 21 5/8" foam, nail head trim, a hammer and a heavy duty staple gun

Description: Mission: Convert 2 LACK side tables into 2 sassy ottoman stools.

I needed some low profile seating to go in front of my fire place. This was my solution.

This make over was extremely simple.

I cut the foam from with a turkey carving knife.

Then, lay the fabric face down, then stack the foam and table top on top.

How to make a fun fur Jules Office Chair

Materials: Fun Fur, Foam, Jules IKEA Chair

Description: This is an improved version of the current fur covered chair on IKEA Hacker.

It also improves the comfort of the chair to add some foam.

Step by step photo instructions are included in the guide.

~ Joanne Carry

LAMPAN chandelier

Materials: 6 LAMPAN table lamps; 1 HEMMA cord set; 12 tyraps (cable ties); wire connector; soldering iron

Description: Cut the cords of all LAMPAN lamps about 20 cm short. Melt 4 holes in each lamp base evenly. Connect each of the first five lamp bases to three others using the tyraps. Connect all lamp cords and the HEMMA cordset using wire connectors. Connect the last lamp base to the rest with tyraps and your LAMPAN chandelier is ready.

~ Chiel Vans, Delft, Netherlands

Please also see this link for the Lampan Lamp originally hacked by Daan.

Mini Galant and Media Stand

Materials: Galant Conference table, Galant tabletop extension half round with frame (2) and Galant A-frame legs (4)

Description: I had a Galant conference table with the half round ends. I just moved into a new space and didn't need such a big table for dining but needed a small table. So I took the two half round ends and secured them together. I used the frames that came with them and turned them so the little extension pieces slid in and provided support for the center. I purchased 4 A-frame Galant legs and secured them and Viola! a new round table for two!


I took the table and converted it to a media stand. So I got two pieces of furniture for the price of a set of 4 legs.

~ Lisa Wilcox, United States

Turntable and Record Storage Hack

Materials: Expedit Shelf, Dioder light strip, furniture legs, Fabric, Screw Gun, Double sided tape

Description: I had the hardest time finding anything affordable that would fit my stereo components and store records as well. This is what I did to achieve what I needed.

Step 1. Make shelves wide enough to accommodate a stereo receiver and turntable. I had to move the 2 vertical supports over about 8 inches. To do this you must drill new holes for the dowel supports. Just measure over and drill. I believe I used a 3/8 bit.

Lagra stage-like lights

Materials: Lagra 3x, drill, wall fittings (closed hook), Kvart wall cover (optional)

Description: I needed a light for our staircase and was planning to do something like this but from Lagra (coz it's cheaper).

But it looked like a lot of work and had to be really well done for it to look nice. So instead I bought three Lagra lamps, used the bar from one of them and mounted the three lights on the bar (cut the wires and connected them).

Granas Chairs turned in to a Bench

Materials: 3 Granas Chairs

Description: Hi I'm Ashli from Mini Manor Blog.

We needed a bench, it had to have a back, and I new that I wanted something with an industrial look!

I love the combination of metal and wood. I was searching Craigslist for benches when I came across some Ikea Granas Chairs, they had great clean lines, and the cross backs made me very happy ;).

Sparkle-up!

Materials: IKEA candelabra

Description: Here is an easy way to embellish a standard IKEA candelabra - suspend colorful, fused-glass pieces with wire from the frame.

This was a very simple project that was done by our school kids for the annual auction - isn'€™t it great?! (I can say that because I didn't actually do it) :)

Karlstad Sofa Gets Retro Update

Materials: Sofa, Karlstad cushion, tapered screw in legs, upholsterer's twine, upholsterer's needle, 32 buttons

Description: First, we replaced the Ikea sofa legs with ready made, screw-in replacement legs from Uncle Bob's workshop. We, then had an upholsterer use an extra Karlstad throw pillow as fabric to cover 32 buttons. He also sold us an upholsterer's needle.

After deciding where I wanted the buttons to be on each side of the two back sofa cushions (8 on each side per cushion) with a tape measure and light pencil mark, I began tufting using this tutorial.




This method makes only two holes in the cushion fabric per button pair. Twine is threaded through one button, then folded in half and both ends are threaded through the needle. The needle is pressed straight through the cushion from one pencil mark to the corresponding mark on the other side. Another button is then threaded on one end of twine. Then, both ends are brought together to tie a slide knot that allowed me to adjust the space between the buttons. This requires at least 20 inches of twine per button pair for gripping.

Don't be afraid to really pull the buttons close together. After drawing them together with the slide knot, I tied a couple of extra knots and left the twine ends hanging until I had finished the entire pillow and was sure the tufts were all uniform. The ends were then snipped and tucked under the buttons.

See more of the tufted Karlstad.

~ Michelle Carter, Texas

 

Besta tv stand with seating option

Materials: 2 besta cabinets and a big slab of oak

Description: We wanted a multi purpose cabinet that would fit our small living. The room is narrow and has a weird corner so we decided that a piece of furniture the same width as the corner would look best. For that reason a floating or at least raised cabinet was also a wish. Second it would be helpful if it was possible to sit upon so we would have extra seating when we entertain guests. And third we have an 8 month old son so sturdy to withstand bashing with toys was required.




Ikea Besta didn't exactly meet all those criteria, but with the addition of an oak countertop it did. We orderded a slab of rustic oak cut to size. It's slightly wider than the Besta cabinets are deep as to fit the corner. This also makes it possible to hide cables behind the cabinets. When it arrived we just adjoined the two pieces of wood together (glue and dowel connection) and with wall achors attached it to the wall. We assembled the Ikea cabinets, put them in place, temporarely used glue clamps to get them at the right location and then screwed them to the bottom of the oak.

~ Marsha, The Netherlands