Stolmen curtain pole

Materials: 1 Stolmen post, 2 Stolmen end fittings, assorted bangles, split rings (keyrings), eyelet screws, curtain hooks, screws

Description: Despite scouring the shops and internet, I couldn't find a curtain pole to fit snugly into the niche of our large window without needing cumbersome and ugly central fittings. The extendable Stolmen post offered the perfect solution.

As the Stolmen post has a diameter larger than most curtain rings, my husband came up with the idea of using bangles instead. We made these into curtain rings with an assortment of eyelet screws (for the larger ones) and split rings (for the smaller ones). 

We used Stolmen end fittings on one end to stop the bangles sliding past the change in diameter where the Stolmen post extends (in case they get stuck):

Although this stops the curtain being pulled all the way back, we lose only a small amount of light due to the size of the windows.

We extended the Stolmen post into the window frame and screwed it in place for extra stability.

The result, a neat and colourful alternative to the usual suspects!

~ Shel, London

Dishy jewelry plate

Here's a pretty little thing from Karen.

"I wanted to share this hack because it's so easy to do and inexpensive as well. I have tons of jewelry and was looking for a simple, pretty way to organize them. This really easy hack consists of a white porcelain 365+ series Drom side plate ($3.99) and the Neglinge candle holder (just 49 cents!). I used clear caulk to glue the two peices together (just a couple drops on the edges of the candle holder is sufficient), and now I have a small jewelry stand that I can hang earrings off of and place jewelry on. This hack can of course be done with any ikea plate (there were so many cool ones I had a hard time choosing...I'll definitely be making more of these with larger plates considering all the jewelry I have) and any Ikea item that can be utilized as a stand."

Stolmen bike stand mod for carpet flooring

This smart idea from Andrew lets you build the Stolmen bike stand on carpet flooring. Sturdy enough to hold two bikes in mid air.

"This Ikea-hack is mainly an extension of a design already featured, that adapts said design to more applications. The Stolmen Bike Stand seemed like such a great idea, I wanted to make a similar one for my apartment. The basic design is the same, with one significant change: an adapter to use the Stolmen post on carpet.

Normally, the Stolmen posts are only good for wood floors, as the post is held by compression between the floor and ceiling. Using the standard base on carpet, the carpet compresses over time causing the pole to become loose and eventually fall (a well documented issue). The version I made eliminates this problem by replacing the bottom connection with a different design.

Items used:
 - 4" diameter, 1" thick aluminum round (from Alro metals supply store)
 - "Speaker Cabinet 3/8" Toe Spike Set" from PartsExpress (p/n 240-725)

Instructions:
1. Drill a 1/2 inch diameter hole, 1/2" deep, into the center of one side of the aluminum round.
2. On the other side of the aluminum round, drill and tap four holes for 1/4-20 thread pattern
3. Install speaker spikes in threaded holes.
4. Use base instead of standard Stolmen base, placing the extendable metal nob from the post into the 1/2" diameter hole.

This design works because, as you tighten the post (using standard Ikea assembly methods), the speaker spikes drive through the carpet base and into the wood subfloor. This gives them a solid, non-giving, surface and allows the pole to be tightened properly and not fall over."

Related hack:
- Bike extension for pizza delivery

Ung Drill Chalk Board

Kathleen chalk board with the Ung Drill frame.

"I painted the frame with a simple white acrylic paint. Quickly covered the black for intended imperfection.

Used a spray paint primer for glass, then a couple coats of chalk board spray paint.

(the empty frame even looks kind of cool on the wall).

Assembled!



Note: The glass is not cut into a perfect oval shape. Make sure the side you are painting fits into the frame right side out!"

Laptop stand for working in bed

Here's a little contraption from Andrew, that's just right if you like working on your laptop while sitting on the floor.

"I wanted something that would hold my laptop while I was sitting on the floor or lying on my bed, without having it lie directly on me (when I was lying down the weight caused some discomfort for my stomach, and while sitting down the position strained my back.)

So I bought the Ikea Magasin dish rack for $5 and modified it into a little table with about 12 bolts and some sawing and drilling. It worked out quite well."

Here's how it looks in action

and folded up.

Lykta and Bubinga: What?

Dave shares what he calls, his first artistic Ikea hack. They turned out pretty classy, don't you think?

"I found a Centrera Lykta Lantern in the scratch and dent room on my inaugural trip to the Ikea that opened in Charlotte, NC earlier this year. It is a candle lantern with an aluminum base and glass globe. The glass globe on the scratch and dent Lykta had seen better days but I was most interested in the aluminum base which had a lot of possibilities.

I am a woodturner and always on the lookout for round fittings and pieces to incorporate into my turnings. I turned a bowl out of Bubinga wood to sit inside of the lip of the Lykta. The piece is 5" in diameter and 3.25" high."

Easy soap stand

Lydia comes up with an elegant soap stand for her tub.

"I wanted to pass along something I just completed - while I'm using it as tub decor, you can easily take the idea to make cake stands out of any plate and candlestick with a wide enough top. I started with the shorter Skimmer candlestick and a Smarta pie plate from Ikea. I painted both purple and glued together with Gorilla Glue. Added some lavender soaps and bath accessories and voila!"

See more of Lydia's soap stand.

Bamboo blackberry cradle

Just plonking your Blackberry on your dresser nestled in a trail of cords? No way for Hrishikesh. This has to be the zen of Blackberry charging. It's a simple tweak but a solution a Blackberry user may find useful.

Hrishikesh says, "I’ve always been annoyed by my phone charger. I keep the cord out of sight behind a dresser, but when the phone is unplugged, the cord ends up on the ground and I have to fumble around for it. I also don’t love how the phone looks when it just hangs out atop my dresser — it looks kind of unconsidered and messy. I wanted to make a little spot to keep it, but I don’t have anything in the way of woodworking skills. I did discover, though, that an Ikea Molger soap dish fits my Blackberry perfectly and goes well with my teak dresser. I added rubber grip feet to the bottom of the soap dish so it doesn’t slide around the dresser top (otherwise the cord can pull it). Then I added cut small strips of Velcro and affixed them to the end of the charger and the top of the dish, for when I’m using the phone. That’s it! I’m so happy to have found a very inexpensive solution that was easy to make and looks good with my stuff, and so I wanted to share."

Signum cable manager to handbag rack

Jana found another use for the Signum cable manager. So if you've got one of those lying around too, here's a great tip on what to do with it.

"Two years ago I bought a new desk and also a Signum cable manager horizontal. After setting the desk up I realised that I don't need the cable manager and so it was gathering dust in a corner. One day my mom visited, saw this, saw my handbags lying around and suggested using the cable manager as hook. So we simply applied it directly to the wall of my closet with some screws and voilá you have immediately 30 hooks on the upper side. If you are really desperate you can attach small S-hooks to the bottom side and you are with 60 hooks on a space of 1 meter. It's not overly stylish but it's simple and my handbags have a place to go."

Besta Vanity/Makeup Armoire

Scott's hairstylist girlfriend gets her own "make-up" booth. I love how it closes up into some super hidden away thing, keeping a cache of sprays, mousse and combs away from prying eyes. They should have this on Shear Genius.

Let's hear it from Scott. "Recently, my girlfriend decided to move in. As a hairstylist, her only stipulation was that she get a special area to prepare. Major issues: I live in an open concept loft with contemporary interior finishings. Open concept means a mess in one corner makes the whole house a mess. So, we needed something that looked modern while being able to close the doors and hide the mess. After a lengthy search of different designer options, nothing suitable was found and anything close was incredibly expensive ($3000+). A random trip to Ikea landed me in the living room section and the office area (because it's near the windows and natural light) was changed forever."

Vanity Components/Costs (Canadian $):
-1 x Besta 120x40x128cm frame =$135
-2 x Besta Norum Doors =$190.00
-2 x 736mm Lansa Handles = $25.00
-1 x Inreda Pull-out frame = $39.99
-1 x Inreda Shelf-insert = $12.99
-3 x Inreda Plastic Tray = $50.97
-1 x Inreda Box = $25.99
-2 x Inreda Bookcase Lights = $39.98
-1 x Inreda Cabinet Lighting = $49.99
-1 x Frack Pull-out Mirror = $14.99
-1 x Kolja Mirror = $24.99
-1 x Power Bar = $8.00

Total: $617.89 (approx. US$565.90)

Note: The stool isn't Ikea, it's a Pawn Stool from Gus*. Great Canadian Designers!"

Super simple girly hack

Maja makes a girly hack for all kinds of knick knacks.

Here's what she did:
1. Buy one Lillholmen toothbrush holder.
2. Nag boyfriend for half a week until he remembers to borrow a drill from work.
3. Drill tiny holes in said Lillholmen.



4. Apply jewelry.

And there you have it. An earring/ring stand!

See more of Maja's earring stand.

Malma mirror mirror on the wall

Bj from London did a simple but beautiful hack on the Malma mirrors. 

"Just ten Malma mirrors, some emulsion and a idea for a pattern. Uber cheap. But love the effect. I used Photoshop to create my pattern and work out the layout, but free hand is just as good. 10 Malma mirrors painted white with leftover interior emulsion. I left a 2 cm gap between the frames and using a pencil drew in the pattern I wanted allowing for the gap. Again a tiny amount of left over grey emulsion from a spring decorating freshen-up filled in the pattern and done. I love the impact of the them mounted together and all for under £10!"



Other Malma hacks:
- Malma magic
- Art up your Malma mirror 
- Hanna's craft mirror
- Wall mirror art
- A frame up

Light up with a Rektangel candle

Kelly saves a broken Yankee Candle and turns it into something that she actually like better than the original. Thanks to a 6" Rektangel vase.

Since it's already cracked, she broke the rest of the Yankee Candle glass container. Then the candle is trimmed to fit the rectangular vase. Put the trimmings into the vase and microwave till almost melted. Push the trimmed candle into the melted wax and let the liquid fill in all the gaps. And there you have it!



See her instructions on her blog.

Ikea blue shopping bag into messenger bag

My local Ikea has just started to turn green. (Yeah, we're slow.) So no more free plastic bags. Everyone is encouraged to buy one of the blue Frakta bags and bring them along whenever they shop. I think it's great and I love my blue Frakta bags. Sturdy. Roomy. You can sling it or carry it. I keep one in the car to haul groceries and whatever I buy. I have another at home for laundry and bring recyclables to the centre.

But the Frakta is more than just a plastic bag replacement. Sara has made it into a really cool messenger bag. I want one!

She says, "I made a small messenger bag out of one of the large blue Ikea bags last night. Apart from an Ikea bag, it is also made of a couple of buckled straps from a bike rack, an old inner tube (for the rubber on the base of the bag and the piping around the opening) and reflective strips from an old hi-viz jacket. Oh, and lots of swearing from getting pins in my fingers!

See Sara's messenger bag photos.

You may also like:
- Ikea laptop bag
- Blue diaper bag and changing pad

One for fat candles

Clive makes a few modifications to the Skimmer candlestick to allow it to hold large stubby candles.

He says, "I've just hacked an Ikea Skimmer candlestick, to complement an existing candle stick I'd made from scratch (the tall one).

Skimmer hacked for spike-style candles

Stage 1, with the top bezel sprayed black, and with a screw fixed in upside down to act as a spike to hold the candle in place. I've fixed the screw in by pouring some molten lead in there!

Stage 2, with this arrangement sprayed black to match - in this format it can be used to hold a simple spike-style candle

Stage 3, with an enlarged drip tray in place (made from an old tin lid sprayed black). This is simply screwed into place via a drilled centre hole. In this format it can hold a larger, stubbier candle."

Ikea strainer Wi-Fi antenna

Worth catches more than you think possible with an Ikea strainer.

He says, "It's certainly nothing new as it's been done before, but I'm still kinda proud of it. It involves the Idealisk strainer.

I bought one at the Ikea here in Moscow where I'm studying abroad for the summer. I made a Wi-Fi booster antenna with a USB Wi-Fi adapter.


See more of Worth's parabolic strainer Wi-Fi booster.

Hang with these hackeas

Hook up dresses
Andi gets some Bygel rails and hooks. "I used them in my daughters room to hang up dress-up clothes so they are in easy reach for them but organized for me!" Clamping them tight is all you need to do.

See more of her dress-up hangers.

Hook up with colours

Robert changed a seemingly "useless" product into a row of colourful hooks. He says, "I made a nice Ikea hack and just hope they release it themselves because the original product is totally useless as it is now (in my opinion). At the Ikea-family dept (in Amsterdam) they sell 5 wonderful colored hooks (Njuta, not found on their site) on a ring(?) and I just used that hooks and some curtain rail stuff to make a nice hall rack!"

Coat hanger

Laura found a great way to hang up her coats. She says, "I needed something to hang coats and jackets near the door in the non-existent hallway of my super small new home. The problem was that I can't make holes on that wall because there is a sliding door and on the other wall there are electric panel and other stuff that I
can't cover. In addition there isn't enough depth to place a piece of furniture that stands up on its own without being fixed to the wall. The last problem is the lack of money.

So I drilled two holes above the structure of the door and put a Komplement multi-use hanger on two hooks. I used a set of Bygel S-hook to hang stuff and placed a piece of Lenda fabric behind, just to make it more colorful.

It needs improvement, expecially on the 'hooks' side, but it works really well, I like it and it is incredibly cheap.

Hang up the bottles
Rob finds a way to hang up bottles. He says, "I simply super glued a metal washer to the cap of a prescription bottle, and yes it must be super glue - all others I tried failed (Elmer's Glue All, any white craft glue, Hot glue gun) But the super glue worked.

Then I take a Ikea Asker magnetic knife holder. And hang them up, with the little bottles filled with staples, paperclips, small nuts and bolts - you name it."