Lillangen bathroom remodel

Materials: Lillangen, Bjorken,

Description:

before

In my bathroom remodel, I used the Lillangen sink base and cut a sink top from birch plywood. I also used a Lillangen wall cabinet and turned it vertically and attached it below my countertop next to my sink base.

Both cabinets got ring pulls and a coat of turquoise paint on their fronts. I also used the Bjorken medicine cabinet, hanging it horizontally,and creating a solid front for it and painting and adding pulls to match the sink base.

You can see more about my hacks and bathroom renovation here on my blog.

~ christie

Electrified rat

Materials: Ikea GOSIG RÅTTA

Description:
It's a small Ikea hack - an electric extension cord hidden into an Ikea rat.

See more of the Ikea rat extension cord.

~ Luc

CAUTION: POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARD

Mismatched kitchen doors

Materials: Faktum

Description: The video below explains what I did.

~ Pascal Anson

An Ikea Kura bed felt playhouse

Materials: Kura bunk bed, felt

Description:
I recently finished a felt playhouse for my daughter as the bottom of her bed is being used for toy storage.

Read more about the Kura felt playhouse.

~ Anna

IKEA vases for a translucent rounded bathroom wall

Materials: Rektangel vase

Description: The REKTANGEL vases are used as glassblocks in the design of a distinctive loft located on the first floor of a historic warehouse and monument on the Brouwersgracht in the center of Amsterdam. The apartment is designed by Marloes van Heteren of SOLUZ and Remco Wilcke of CUBE architecten.

In the architecture a contrast has been sought between preserving the historic beams and floors, and minimalistic new additions. The new additions such as kitchen and bathroom would be clearly identifiable as such in terms of materiality and form. Letting in daylight and transparency was also very important in the design of the open floor plan.

The bathroom is the central element in the house situated at the intersection of public and private. The rounded translucent bathroom-wall consists of nearly 1,000 very special glass blocks; IKEA rektangel vases. The vases are painted white inside and arranged together with strong transparent glue. The use of two different sizes creates a very nice pattern. During the day the sunlight gets in the bathroom an at night the bathroom wall acts as a subtle light-object in the apartment.

See more of the Rektangel glass wall.

~ Marloes van Heteren (SOLUZ architecture, design and advice), Amsterdam

Billy-Benno Corner Bookshelves

Materials: Billy Bookshelves, Benno DVD Tower

Description: Billy has corner bookshelves combo. However it doesn't fit in my root neatly.

So what I did is to use Benno DVD tower as corner shelf. Billy corner hardware can be used as is.

I also put on height extension. However, Benno DVD tower doesn't have height extension. I have to use 15 3/4" Billy height extension and cut narrower. Benno tower is also shallower then Billy. So I have to use the left over of back board to fill up the rear bottom half of the narrowed Billy (now Benno) height extension.

It looks great and fit in my room perfectly.

~ Henry, USA

Bathroom makeover

Materials: Billy, Billy Morebo, LILLANGEN, Capita, ANNO STRA

Description:
We have a very small bathroom (barely 4,5 square meters) and where sick of looking at the old plastic-and-glass thing that held our towels. So we went out to Ikea to get some ideas.

First we introduced a new carpet matching the tiling. Than we looked for a replacement for the ugly glass rack. The space is really tight and has the connectors for a washing machine in the middle, we needed some way around that.

We settled for a 40x106cm Billy shelf with a Billy Morebo door to keep out the dust.

We found two Lillangen top opening wall cabinets that would fit neatly over the door, so we bought them as well.

We have a big rattan clothes basket and wanted to make the door look in the kind of same look. The Anno Stra curtain was the closest thing we could find, so we fitted it inside the Morebo door.

To get some more space that would be accessible from the bathtub we mounted 4 Capita legs up the Billy shelf and glued a glass plate from the old rack on top.

So here are the results. We are really happy this turned out, our small bath has suddenly a lot of space.

~ Tarwin, Munich, Germany

Cat safe planter

Materials: Rationell Variera, Kardemumma, wire, plants

Description: Why only use your Rationell Variera for plastic bags in the kitchen? I hang it on my wall in the living room. Now my cats can't reach the plants in it. I also put one of my speakers it.

For the upper plant I made a sort of a rack out of wire so it don't flatten the one below.

The pots for the plants I've used are the smallest Kardemumma, they exactly fits.

~ Marinka

Akurum deep drawer file cabinet

Materials: deep kitchen drawer (any width)

Description: This really just involves adding another support arm to a deep kitchen drawer, that intern holds the ikea drawer dividers high enough to accomodate standard files. This works great considering the deep drawers have a 100 lb. weight limit. The soft closers can be (recommended) used as well. I used wood 2x2's and kerffed them to the original drawer back.

To do again I would probably paint the wood primer gray to mimic the drawer insides. A simple screw through the end of the second support arm holds it to the 2x2. New holes are required (same size as original) for the drawer front end of the support arm.

~ Don Van Dijk, Palm Springs CA

Expedit square into a stereo cabinet

Materials: Expedit, saw, extra white board

Description: I am one of those rare people that still has on old Television and an Old type of stereo. I have small house and search a long time for the perfect TV cabinet.

Than I came up with the idea to redesign the EXPEDIT square cabinet.

I shortened the side panels with 1/4 and filled the hollow space with a piece of wood (4.4cm thick). This I glued tight and after that it was strong enough I drilled in holes to placed the top board again.

From a spare piece of white board I made to carriers to enable the top board to be supported. The TV is now standing on these carriers. Between the carriers is enough space for the DVD player or HDrecorder.

The standard boards I moved a bit (drill holes) such that my stereo fits in the middle and the speakers on the side.

Very simple, took me half a day (including the drying of the glue).

~ Lietje, NEDERLAND

Rack for your Pc/Hi-fi system

Materials: 1/2 Ikea Lack (small), 2 Ikea Lack (medium), 1 box Ikea Capita (16cm, 4 pcs), glue

Description:
Mount Lack one over the other (start with medium Lack). Use little shelves as base, and the other using capita legs as in photo.

You can also use a small Lack under the shelf on the floor to enforce it. (but it's not necessary if you don't plan to use it with heavy items).

Use glue or similar between legs and the respective base (and so for capita legs)
if you need more space, you can add another lack (medium or small, depends on your needs).

~ Enrico, Italy

Hultet-framed Clock

Materials: 18" Hultet dish, Discontinued Ikea clock, drill, wire, dowels

Description: I needed a nice clock for my bamboo-themed bathroom, but nothing seemed quite grand enough. My boyfriend happened to have an old round wall clock he had purchased from Ikea a few years ago (I forget the name of it now, it has since been discontinued). As fate would have it, I had also recently purchased a few bamboo Hultet dishes to hang in the bathroom as decoration. I got the idea to frame the too-small clock with one of the 18" dishes...but how to do this while still being able to access the battery on the back of the clock?

1. Figure out where to drill your holes based on where the hanger is on the back of the clock and where it aligns with your dish.

2. Flip the dish over and drill two holes from the back. The two holes should be an inch or two higher than the location of the clock hanger.

3. Using a malleable wire (like frame-hanging wire)string it through the clock hanger. Thread the two ends of the wire through the two holes you just drilled.

4. Using a small dowel or stick (I just used a leftover Ikea dowel), tie the wire to the dowel and used it to tighten the wire until the clock hangs in the center of the dish.

5. Once you have the clock in place, figure out where the top of the clock is and lean the dish upright against a sturdy surface, oriented with the clock upright.

6. Slowly and carefully drill another small hole in the "lip" of the back of the dish.

7. Thread a loop of wire through this hole. This is for hanging it on a nail in the wall. Secure the wire with another dowel or stick.

To replace the battery, simply unwind the wire holding the clock to access the back.

~ Stephanie S, Berkeley, CA

Beethoven Grono Lamp

Materials: Grono lamp, sheet music, double-sided tape

Description: I love the shape (and price) of the Grono lamps, but they're extremely white and harsh! To soften them up for my living room, I stuck double-sided tape on the bottom, top, and middle of all four sides of the lamp. Then I centered a sheet of music on the front of the lamp, pressed it around the sides, and attached another sheet for the parts that weren't covered yet. I taped all edges down with single-sided tape. (Caution: the matte kind is not completely transparent when you turn your lamp on, so use the glossy transparent kind!)

See more of the Beethoven Grono Lamp.

~ Bee, Seattle, WA

Expedit Paper Trays

Materials: Screws/ extra Expedit shelves

Description: I was looking at paper trays because im always getting the printer/copy paper mixed up. I looked online for cheap plastic ones thinking they would be $1 a piece but the cheapest i could find was $3-4 so I decided to make my own which I think looks better anyway.

1) in one of the open cubical I drilled 2 screws on each side at every 3.5".

2) I rested the extra shelf on top of the screws.

Whalla

~ Thomas Hart, USA

Lack Wall of Shoe Shelves and Storage

Materials: Lack shelving units, Tjusig shoe racks, Malm dresser, Grono table lamps, Legitim chopping boards, and hardware store "L" brackets

Description: As my collection of Adidas Originals shoes grew, I was looking for an efficient and stylish way to organize and display them. Eventually 10 Tsujig shoe racks, 5 Lack shelves, and my Malm dresser combined to form this mighty wall display.

The Lack shelves frame the whole thing, and were sized perfectly for this application. On the left, two vertical Lack shelves support one horizontal one, with the Malm dresser in the center. On the right, one Lack shelf lies horizontally as a base for the Tsujig racks, and another vertical Lack goes up the right side. Together they form the shape of an backwards letter "S" on it's side, if that makes sense. From left to right they go up, across the top, down, across the bottom, and back up.

The shoe shelves inside the Lack shelving units are made by first spacing "L" brackets inside the Lacks, and then inserting the Legitim chopping boards which are the perfect size. I'd originally planned to cut wooden inserts, but those cutting boards are exactly the right size and work great.

On the right side I have the Tsujig shoe racks, two across and five tall, and everything is held together with brackets (on the non-visible side) for strength and security. Toss a couple Grono table lamps into the cubbies for some illumination, and you're good to go. The end result is a wall of shelving that looks good and matches the same black-brown finish of the rest of my Malm bedroom set. It easily holds my books, lamps, Timbers MLS fan gear...and 97 pairs of Adidas Originals. Once past 100 pair, I guess I'll have to start on another wall. :-)

~ Randy Mueller, Ridgefield, WA USA

Game Controller Management System

Materials: SIGNUM (500.351.15)

Description: A relatively simple hack. I was frustrated with the area above my radiator being useless, and due to an awesome sale, I got two SIGNUMS for about 12 dollars CAD total.

I ended up using only one of them, and I was looking at other uses for it. Then I realized that I was storing most of the stuff for my Xbox 360 in a cardboard box, and tried to see if the controller would fit the rack. It fit perfectly.

So I just mounted the posts to an old shelf, and installed the SIGNUM opposite to how it normally would be. Had it been under my table, it would have been upside down.

The result? I have a pretty cool rack for my controllers and whatnot.

~ Leslie, Canada

Ralph Lauren Home: Part Deux

One of the other Ralph Lauren Home rooms in the ladies mansion was devoted to a more modern, masculine and metropolitan design aesthetic.  That is the reason why I chose to post the photos separately.  It reminds me of Ralph's own Manhattan apartment and his car collection with very sleek lines and shiny surfaces.  It also makes me wish I had a room big enough for the chic Cube Bed.   Obviously, this complete look isn't for everyone but there is no reason why you couldn't add a few of these pieces into your current decor.  Enjoy!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic