IKEA salad bowl sink


Materials: Blanda Blank

Description: When my husband and I remodeled our bathroom a few years ago, we wanted to make the most of a small space and stay within our tiny budget. He found an old drinking fountain assembly at a salvage shop, and thought we could retrofit it to accommodate a larger bowl of some sort. Voila, the 14" IKEA Blanda Blank serving bowl.


He drilled out the bottom of the bowl, mounted it to the drinking fountain wall bracket, added some necessary plumbing and we were in business. After four years it's still as good as new!

~ Pernille

***

Happy New Year and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a part of Ikea Hacker. It's been a great year filled with some wonderful hacks. My annual list of favourites will be out soon and you'll be able to vote for the Hack of the Year. But ... I am open to nominations, so, if you have a favourite which you want to see on the list, let me know in the comments below. ~ Jules

Happy New Year!

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

-William Arthur Ward

Temporary bar from IKEA Trofast boxes

dzn_Temporary-Bar-Diogo-Aguiar-and-Teresa-Otto-15
Materials: Trofast

Description: How cool is that? A bar made of Trofast boxes? That’s the brainchild of designers Diogo Aguiar and Teresa Otto of Portugal who designed and built a temporary bar out of 420 Ikea storage boxes. At night the boxes were lit with LED and pulsated according to the music played. The bar was built for a competition organised by the architecture faculty at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal.

dzn_Temporary-Bar-Diogo-Aguiar-and-Teresa-Otto-6
dzn_Temporary-Bar-Diogo-Aguiar-and-Teresa-Otto-5
dzn_Temporary-Bar-Diogo-Aguiar-and-Teresa-Otto-12

See more of the Temporary IKEA bar.

~ Rebecca Pasternack

Secret Passage and Fort for Kids Using Expedit Bookcase and Desk


Materials: Expedit

Description: I recently redid my little boy's room. Like everyone, we didn't want to spend a lot of money, yet wanted something that would last into his teenage years.


We decided to purchase the Expedit bookcase and desk since they would grow with him.  When he's an adolescent, he'll actually be able to use the desk as a desk, but while he's a toddler, the bookcase serves as a
toy/book organizer as well as a secret passage into his fort which is actually the area under the desk.


To create the fort, I took a shower curtain rod and a sheet to make the curtain that hangs under the desk. We added a rope light for a few bucks underneath and our little man loves it.

~ Amy W.

Redo of a jewelry drawer hack


Materials: Fira

Description:
I got the idea from the jewelry drawer hack. You can find pictures at my blog, and then the final results.



~ Elisa

BYGEL Stiletto Shoe Rack


Materials: BYGEL

Description: I came up with a smart and cheap way to store a lot of my wife's stilettos, pumps etc. I call it the "BYGEL Stiletto Shoe Rack"!

It's made with six 55 cm BYGEL Rail from Ikea, that I attached to the side of our dresser, creating a vertical shoe rack with a storage capacity of 18 pairs of stiletto shoes.

The BYGEL Rail is very cheap and is perfect for shoe storage as the shoes don't get scratches and tears from lying up against other shoes and boots.

~ 3xL

Habitually Chic Make Up

I'm very lucky that Estee Lauder sends me products to review because I often fall in love with crazy colors that I would never have tried on my own. I've been getting compliments on their red lipstick so I thought I would share it and a few of my other favorites with you.  I think New Year's Eve is the perfect time to try something new!
  • Estee Lauder Extravagant Berry Long Lasting Lipstick - Great matte color by itself but even better layer with a lip gloss.  Just found out that it's Limited Edition so get it while you can!
  • Estee Lauder Extravagant Plum Pure Color Lip Gloss - Also fabulous by itself but I love it layered over the Extravagant Berry Lipstick.  You might want to blot some off before you kiss someone at midnight!
  • Nars Mata Hari Blush - Looks a little scary bright pink in the compact but actually very natural once it's been applied with a fluffy brush.  Makes me look alive in the winter when I'm pale as a ghost!
  • Clé de Peu Concealer - Worth every penny! Stays creamy and covers without looking like you're wearing concealer.  You'll need this for New Year's Day!
  • La Mer The Treatment Fluid Foundation - Also worth every penny!  It gives light coverage with SPF 15 that looks natural and feels fabulous!
  • Lancôme Hypnôse Waterproof Custom Volumn Mascara - I love Lancôme mascara and always wear waterproof since it doesn't smudge.  If you wear the red lipstick, it's best to go lighter on the eyes but don't skimp on the mascara.
  • Smythson Wash Bag - There is nothing I love more than pulling out this pretty plum colored make up bag from Smythson.  I don't think they make this exact bag any longer but they do have a fun magenta color still available. Happy New Year!

Little desk and armchair


Materials: Rast

Description:
I took my idea from "Rast Sensory Table", so I thank its creator.

I bought two RAST nightstand for 9,99 €(one) and hacked them.
I screwed four shorter wooden board in a little armchair, and the longer ones in a little desk!


I also screwed a pink PS VALLO on the right side, very cheap and agreeble look, it contains papersheets, drawing pens, pencils etc.

Funny, cheap and usable!

~ remoxxx

Lift coffee table


Materials: VIKA AMON

Description: I made a coffee table lift (# 1) using a VIKA AMON plate and a trestle (in any hardware store) which I adapted some curtain rods to make it slide (# 3 and #4). So I can transform it into a table to eat (# 2)


~ Noëlle, BOURG EN BRESSE - FRANCE

The top ten of ‘10

Well, the end is near. The end of the year that is. :)

I had a great time recapping my top ten posts last year, and this year my friend Rhoda is having a whole linky party dedicated to the biggest and best projects of 2010.

So, without further adieu, here’s my top ten of this year, based on your comments! FUN!

First up was the start of our master bedroom redo. It was all about the bedding and I splurged big time on it. Cause we really like to sleep. Like, a lot.

The previous $25 Ebay bedding:

Was replaced with new duds from Pottery Barn and Target:

Target bedding

We did like the old set just fine – it just didn’t fit the bed. Huh. To say we love the change is a HUGE understatement. We quite literally melt into bed every night.

There’s been quite a few more changes to the room since that post, like new lighting, drapes and accessories. You can see all of that here.

And if you want to see how I used to make our bed, click here. (It still makes me giggle to read that. And want to cry just a little bit.)

Next up was our mini family room redo:

warm family room

A new HomeGoods rug made ALL the difference in the world in there! LURVE.

Next up, a project that was FREE and made such a huge difference in our dining room. I showed you how I removed this hutch:

And found the beautiful buffet underneath:

dining room buffet

I framed out the mirror myself, and because everything else was so cheap, I splurged on those GORG lamps. (From HomeGoods. Shock.)

You and I both loved my incredible Craigslist find in the family room – it completely updated a wall from this:

To this:

craigslist dresser

My new-to-me Drexel dresser was only $100, and it is one of my very favorite pieces in our house now. And it holds a bunch of toys. All the more reason to love it. :)

I finished a long, long, LONG process of taking our builder-grade kitchen island:

To a beadboard-wrapped, cabinet-painted, Ikea butcher-blocked one:

beadboard island

You can see the details of the transformation here, and the updates I’ve made to our kitchen this year here.

Speaking of the kitchen, you all loved when I took our basic, white pantry door and replaced it with a glass-paneled beauty:

glass pantry door

The (awful) night shot above shows it with the contact paper installed for privacy, and the light inside (which we wired up and I’ll show you soon!)

We have an unfinished basement that we treat as if it’s finished. We USE it. A lot. I showed you how my craft “room” looked before:

And then with some organization, fabric, and more lighting:

basement craft room

LOVE it! :) You can see more here.

The next one really isn’t a particular project, but it resonated with many of you (and me!). It was a post about STUFF:

STUFF

My father-in-law’s passing (and the week’s after) changed me. I’ve learned a lot about the STUFF and my emotional responses to it since then, and I’ll tell you more about that soon too.

The final two projects of the year were the ones you loved the most! First, the transformation of the Bub’s nursery to a big boy (airplane) room:

airplane room 

It is so clean and classic and crisp – I fall in love with it again every day. You can see the process to redo that room here.

And finally, my biggest DIY project to date, that was also my cheapest. :) I love when that happens!! I took our stairs from this before:

To this, with just about $30:

ripping carpet off stairs

Well, the stairs were $30 – the molding on the wall was a bit more later, but the whole project was still under $60. It helped that I had the paint, stain, and beautiful curved treads under that carpet. ;)

BUT…all the hard work kind of evened out the money saved. :) It took some major sweat and TIME.

I’d do it all over again though – it’s still my very favorite project I’ve tackled in our home. SO WORTH IT. You can see the whole slew of posts about the stairs here.

Well, there. you. go. The top ten projects here at TDC, determined by your comments. It’s been a GREAT year! Did you have a favorite? What did you tackle that made the biggest impact in your home/life?

Check out Rhoda’s party for inspiration for NEXT year! :) If I don’t talk to you before then, have a very, very happy, fun and SAFE New Year!!

 

Thank you to my sponsor!:

Bonus cutlery light


Materials: Bonus and perforated steel tape

Description: I made holes in the Bonus cutlery and hung them in a frame of perforated steel tape and installed electric.

~ Peter Van Zoetendaal, Netherlands

Chic and Cozy

I made it safely back to New York but the snow is still piled high on every street corner.  Makes me wish I had a fireplace and a fur blanket like in the home of Spanish designer Tony Espuch.  Looks like a great space to throw a New Year's Eve soiree as well!










Photos by Amador Toril for Habitania via The Wonderlust Journal

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