claire's quick chair cover up

while browsing flickr i came across this snazzy chair by claire of poopscape. she not only does good with this hack, her site is chock-a-block with crafty stuff and cheeky inspiration. go check it out.

and here's how claire's chair got some chic.

"for the past two years i've been sitting on a molded plastic student chair at work because the school where I teach doesn't supply teachers with decent furniture until you make a gigantic stink about it. i went ahead and bought an ikea bonny swivel chair that was on sale and then proceeded to do my crafty thing all over it.

the reupholstery job i did was pretty easy - perhaps a little too easy and i'm still waiting for it to come apart, but so far so good. i'm sure there's a way to take the chair apart and do the job properly, but i didn't want to screw up my new chair. the way i ended up reupholstering it is pretty much reversible if i decide to remove it later on.

i used some reproduction barkcloth remnants i had left over from another project. since the cushions are somewhat flatish, it was easy to lay the fabric on them and measure that way. i cut the fabric several inches too big on all sides and tucked it into the plastic lip of the chair base using a screwdriver - i love it when i can multipurpose my tools! the plastic lip kept the fabric in place pretty well, but i squished some hot glue in a few places between the fabric and the plastic base to help anchor it. i tested my crappy reupholstering job by getting my 3 year old to bounce around on it. sound as a pound."

another chair hack:
> hate the fabric colour? just paint it!

tags: ikea, bonny swivel chair, reupholstery, claire chauvin poopscape

how to make your own swedish meatballs

well, this isn't a hack but i was a tad hungry. so here you go - the recipe for meatballs with cream sauce

how to make your own meatballs:
ingredients:

• 250gm minced beef
• 250gm minced pork
• 1 egg
• 200-300ml cream and water (or milk and water)
• 2.5 tbsp. finely-chopped onion
• 50ml unsweetened rusk flour
• 2 cold boiled potatoes
• 4-5 tbsps butter, margarine or oil
• salt and pepper

instructions:

1. heat the onion till golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.
2. mash the potatoes and moisten the rusk flour in a little water.
3. mix all the ingredients until there is consistency and flavour generously with salt, white pepper and (optional) a little finely crushed allspice.
4. use a pair of spoons to shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured chopping board.
5. fry them slowly in plenty of butter.

how to make the cream sauce:
ingredients:

• 100ml cream
• 200ml beef stock
• chinese soya sauce
• 1 tbsp white flour
• salt, white pepper

instructions:

1. swirl the boiling water or beef stock in a pan.
2. add cream and thicken with white flour if preferred.
3. season well with salt and pepper.
4. serve the meatballs with the sauce, freshly boiled potatoes, uncooked lingonberry jam and salad.

yummy!

but if you're like me, a total klutz in the kitchen, these pre-made swedish meatballs are good to go.

link. recipe taken from ikea's real swedish food book

feline physique: get an ikea stolmen cat gym

more pet decor. seems like ikea should create a new furnishing category for our animal friends. julie tipped me (thanks julie!) on this cat gym put together from parts of the ikea stolmen storage system.

i like the way it blends into the living room and gives the cats a seat in family get-togethers. the instructions are not in english (danish? finnish?) but the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. link.

other ikea pet hacks:
> look! it's a cat pod
> hide the cat box with ikea gulliver table

tags: ikea, cat gym, stolmen, niksa.net

no pooper cat litter

well, i've never had a cat, being a dog person and all. but after viewing these great ideas from apartment therapy's pet decor contest, kitties are purring closer to heart. here's another entry that uses ikea furniture to cleverly hide the catbox.


dana's entry says: "since the bathroom is so tiny, the only place for the catbox was the kitchen - ugh. my solution is to be hyper-vigilant about changing it, and keeping it hidden with a fancy non-catbox-cover cover. the table is a little kids' play table from ikea (the gulliver); it fits the dimensions of the enclosed catbox perfectly. i topped it off with a window shade from cost plus, a plant, some candles, and of course, some cat-related art. the candles do double duty to make the place oh-so-romantic and enchanting and to hide any residual cat odors left over from my previously mentioned hyper-vigilant cleaning. i've had people over for dinner who didn't notice it until it was pointed out. the perfect crime!" we agree, dana.

other ikea pet decor hack:
> cat scratching pole cum cubby hole

tags: ikea, gulliver children's table, pet decor, catbox, apartment therapy

look! it's a cat pod

apartment therapy's pet decor contest concludes and this entry - darlyn's smart scratching pole cum cubby hole for cats - gets a bronze! congrats, darlyn.

darlyn says: "i've had the ikea ps gullholmen chair for 3 years, and the cats immediately adopted it. the back has an opening which makes the interior the perfect 'cat pod.' they also, unfortunately love the material it is made of and after a while the chair turned into one big scratching post..." link.

other contests:
> kieren's flatpack rearranged in the british council's annual student design competition.
> driller thriller in design*sponge-fred flare's spring spruce up contest.

tags: ikea, ps gullholmen, chair, cat scratching pole, apartment therapy

ikea hack of the month - july

as cliche as it sounds, it is true that times flies when you are having fun. another month of ikea hacking has passed and it's time to vote the best for July.

my picks are:

1. the cheap yet chic stair lighting because i love its ingenuity and uber cool looks.
   
2. the i-was-once-a-teddy bear cam creature because it is cuter than its original form.
   
3. timtom's romantic palanquin bed because, well, which girl doesn't like romantic beds?
   
4. and, the last minute contender, the i-am-all-dressed-up-billy because i so want to do the same to mine.

click the buttons to give your nod.



previous hack of the month:
> june

easy lamp makeover with post-its

want an instant makeover for your ikea uplighter? here's a quick and cheap dress up trick from make flickr photo pool member neonarcade [via make]. "i dressed up my old ikea lamp with some leftover post-it notes," he writes, "just make sure you use a cool bulb, like a flourescent." link.



i like the ethereal glow, retro chic and of course, the quick but dramatic fix. nice work, neonarcade.

other ideas for lamps:
> make your own ikea dna lamp
> ikea fado pendant lamp at half the price
> cheap yet chic stair lighting

tags: ikea, lamp, lighting, post-it, makezine