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

Modern dining room lightning

Materials: Löbbo, Hemma, scissors, knife

Description: 3 small Löbbo shades were cut on the long side in small strips. These strips were stuck in small cuts I have pierced into one big Löbbo shade, that's it.

It is quite a lot work, it looks best, when the pattern of the strips is rather irregular woven. I also used the non shiny side of the shade in the front - so it looks more natural.

The shades are hung up on the usual Hemma lighting suspension.

~ Vendela, Linz Austria

Chachut

Materials: Not, Mammut

Description: I had the NOT lamp and the MAMMUT shelf for a long time by my bed as a reading light and book shelf, one day I accidentally knocked the lamp down and broke its standing pole.

Instead of throwing it away I decided to attach the lamp to the shelf to maintain the same function as before.

The process was quite straight forward, the shelf opens into two parts so all the cables can be hidden inside, I drilled holes for the lamp poles and cables and that was it.

~ Daniel Metcalfe, IT

My cherry blossom lantern, inspired by Joey

Materials: Regolit lamp

Description: When I saw Joey's cherry blossom lantern, I immediately fell in love with it. Since I already had two Regolit lamps at home, I decided to make my own cherry blossom lanterns.

I liked Joey's a lot, but I was looking for a more delicate appearance, I wanted the flowers to look like real cherry blossoms and I found some soft pink faux cherry blossoms at the local DIY market. I needed two branches for one lamp, one branch for 1,49 €. Thanks Joey for the great inspiration!

~ Sarah, Germany

Mood light panel

Materials: Pax Fevik wardrobe door, DIODER led lights, some wood and two hooks

Description: I have always been a big fan of mood lighting and the low cost of IKEA lamps has allowed me to experiment with creating the perfect balance of functional and mood light.

So I decided to make a light panel for my recently purchased toy, a large plasma TV.

I had two packs of DIODER coloured led lights from some previous experiments, and set off to IKEA to find a glass panel door. I wanted a frosted glass panel as I figured this would diffuse the rather harsh lighting of the DIODER led's.

Click to read more>>

SMILA SOL Ceiling Fan

Materials: SMILA SOL

Description: The Kids Bedroom of our house (built in 1954) originally had a ceiling fixture. At some point a previous owner replaced it with a ceiling fan, which didn't match the decor.

I replaced it with plain white one from Home Depot, but was a little leery of the glass dome on the light kit and 2 rambunctious kids.

The SMILA SOL fit the bill as being made from plastic, and the sun/moon/stars theme made it a shoo-in. Unfortunately the SMILA SOL is meant to be mounted to a ceiling junction box and not a ceiling fan.

I removed the existing light kit and with the use of screws from my tool kit, I was able to securely attach our IKEA fixture to the fan!

See more of the Smila Sol ceiling fan.

~ PENFOLD, Whittier, CA

Southern Charm Mason Jar Chandelier

Materials: Kroken-ceiling mounted utensil rack, Hemma-black cord set, Mason Jars

Description: We hand-crafted this chandelier comprised of twelve (12) wide mouth Mason jars lit from within by compact fluorescent bulbs. The design is a reflection of old-school Southern hospitality repositioned in a contemporary artistic framework.

We began by drilling holes into the tops of each jar. Using the largest bit we had we drove it through the center of the lid. Next we used pliers to widen the hole to accommodate for the Ikea lighting fixture.

The lighting fixture has a detachable ring which is used for holding the lighting fixture to a lamp shade (or in this case the mason jar). We screwed the lighting fixture into the hole we drilled and widened, the screwed the ring on the opposite side of the lid to hold it in place.

After we had assembled our twelve jars we began attaching them to the Ikea utensil rack. We hung the rack from our ceiling, measured the distance we wanted from the bottle to the rack, and then used zip ties to secure the bottles and cords in place. All of the cables are bundled together by using zip ties as well.

Once all of the jars were placed we began hardwiring all of the lights together. This includes stripping the wires down and using small plastic caps to connect to existing wiring in the ceiling. Once all of the wiring is done (if you're not good with electrical stuff you may want to contact a professional to hang it), the four corner chains of the utensil rack can connect to a hook placed in the ceiling. Make sure that you purchase a hook that will hold the weight of the chandelier!

Ta-da! You have your very own mason jar chandelier!

See more of the mason jar chandelier.

~ Laura and David, Georgia

***

Look for me, up at the top right corner

Hey, there's a new gadget up on the top right corner. It's a Google Translate tool, especially for those who may prefer to read IKEA Hackers in another language. Just click on "Select Language" and a drop down menu will appear. Choose one and the site will be automatically translated into the language of your choice. It's not perfect (I tested it in Malay) but you get the gist of it. Do let me know if it works well for you in other languages. ~ Jules

Torked-out Multi-Ribba Technicolour Backlit Feature Frame

Materials: Materials:- 3x Large 50x23cm Ribba Frames, 1x Multi-Colour Dioder set, 1 Bundle of Torka, Kitchen Foil, Sticky Tape, Black Marker Pen, Wood Screws, Electrical Connector Blocks, Paint (optional), Pull Switch (optional). Tools:- Drill and Drill-bits, Electrical Screwdriver, Hot Glue Gun, Tape Measure and Square (or good eyes), Paint Brush (optional)

Description: Having seen the excellent original 'Torked-out Ribba' frame - I decided to make something of a larger feature piece using some large Ribba frames I already had, since I needed a feature for my fire-place.

Ok... my frame is slightly more complex then the previous one so I will include specific instructions for this version. I have attempted to be as consise as possible with the availiable picture limitation - but this is a hard one to describe with words.

Click to read more>>

Measuring Light

Materials: Lindmon venetian blinds, Ikea measuring tape

Description: I love going to the as-is section to find things I can use for school projects and I picked up some Lindmon venetian blinds to use as title blocks for a presentation. They didn't work out the way I wanted them to and put them aside. Finding them one night gave me the idea to make a frame out of them, which turned into this cute light.

I first cut off all the strings to remove the slats, layered them and glued them down. before i placed the last layer of slats, I made a basket weave of the Ikea measuring tapes and finished it off with the final layer. A small light fiture with a 15W bulb was placed in the back. After turning on the light you can see the print from the other side of the measuring tape right through.

Bright idea!

~ Nnolika, Toronto

Triple MELODI feather shade

Materials: Melodi lamp

Description: It is quite simple hack transforming dull Melodi lamp into large and unique triple shade.

The goal was to keep it cheap. For this reason Melodi was great (cost around 4 Euro per piece. After hack it looks more $ophi$ticated :)

You will need:

- 3 x MELODI lamps
- about 200-250 gams of feather (I bought mine in online store with florist and wedding accesories. Cost about 8 Euro)
- bottle of transparent universal glue
- some thin steel line (length dependant on hanging height)
- few electric connectors (some to be extracted from plastic insulator)
- basic hand tools, small drill ~3mm

Hack:

Hope that my drawings will help.

First drill small holes (~3mm) in tops of all shades. Now you can glue feathers to them (that is the boring part). When glue is drying you can make all electric connections. First cut all 3 ledas about 15 cm from bulb socket. remove insulation and connect all 3 to double electric connector. To its other side connect cable that goes to ceiling. Insulate the connection with tape. Ceiling cable should be long enough to stay loose when lamp is hanging. After lamp is assembled you will be able to hide cable conection between 3 shades.

Now fixing system. cut 3 pieces of steel line about 10 cm long and fix extracted cable connector on one end. Then pull them through small holes in the shades. Connect all three with another connector and pull them tight. Now main rope. Pull it through ceiling cover and make 2 loops to fix it to ceiling hook and triple shade. Remember about another connetot on yhis line to fix ceiling cover in place (it will not be stable on cable, because it has to stay loose.

Now you can put everything together, hide the electric connection inside triple shade and install the lamp. Important - it must be hanging on steel line only. Cable has to stay loose!

See more photos of the Feather lamp.

~ kedzil, Poland

Day of the Dead Reading Light

Materials: Smila Blomma lamp, paint pens, acrylic paint

Description: Very simply, draw sugar skull designs onto each petal with the black paint pen, then add small, colorful details in acrylic paint. Try not too cover too much space if you still want light enough to read by. The center circles are where the bulk of the light comes through, I had begun decorating them before realizing my mistake. Keep them clear. However, If you want a light that's more nightlight, then just go a bit crazier with the paint!

~ Erica, Maui

Convert LED Wall Light for use in RV

Materials: Jansjo

Description: I fell in love with the Jansjo LED wall light and I wanted to use it in my RV. It makes the perfect bedroom reading light, and since it's based on a light-emitting diode (LED) it's low power and you can't burn yourself by accidentally touching it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't run on a standard voltage. The special power adapter is built into the cord which plugs into the wall so there's no way to use it while camping or in a trailer. No problem.

In order to accomplish this hack you will need a Janslo lamp, a sub-miniature toggle switch ($3.00 from Radio Shack), a 1-watt LED power driver ($3.00 from Sure Electronics on eBay), and the ability to solder.

Cut the cord off the lamp and remove the little plastic screw that holds the cord in place. Unthread the power cord from the hole and clip off the white connectors, using care to leave the remaining wires as long as possible.

Drill out the hole that the cord went through using a 1/4" twist drill. Bend the contacts on the switch to be as flat as possible, slip the switch into the hole from the inside, and epoxy it in place. When the epoxy has set, you are ready to attach the cord and wire up the switch.

Solder the wires to the switch as shown using a piece of the old lamp cord. Polarity is very important with this project. You do not want to get the leads reversed. If you look carefully at the lamp cord, you will notice that one side of it is marked with little black dashes. Connect this side to the silver wire on the lamp. Connect the other side to the switch as shown. Connect the white wire from the lamp to the other side of the switch.

You are now ready to wire up the LED driver.

Strip a 1/4" of insulation off the wires to the lamp and attach them to the LED+ and LED- terminals on the driver board using the screw terminals. Once again, mind the polarity. The wire with the black dashes goes to the LED- terminal. The other one goes to LED+.

Attach the other side of the driver board to the 12-volt wires in your RV, being careful to observe the polarity. If you hook it up backwards, you will destroy the driver board (and possibly burn yourself).

That's it! You now have a very bright, very efficient reading light. It uses less than 1/10th the power of a standard 12-volt light bulb (150mA vs 2000mA).

~ Rick Scherle, San Francisco, CA

A DIY memo board

Well hello there!! I am just overwhelmed at your response to my last post. You made me feel SO much better! :) I was so happy to read your comments and to hear many of you are making time to take care of YOU! It made my week! (Really.)

Because of I’ve been organizing like mad, and throwing in a few more work outs in here and there lately – my DIY/crafty/decorating time has been suffering. :) I rectified that today with a project I’ve been meaning to do forEVER.

I needed a new memo board for the light and bright office redo I’ve been working on. I made this one years ago:

It’s looking a little sad now. :) To make it, I just covered a piece of insulation foam with fabric. I wrapped the ribbon around it and hung it -- done!

I wanted something huge and it worked perfect! (See that squishy face in the picture on top? That’s my Bub’s birth announcements. Still LOVE.)

Well, about a year ago (yes, a YEAR) I found this huge frame for $10 at Goodwill:

I think it was even half off – it’s been so long I can’t remember! I knew it would work perfect for a new memo board. (I was planning ahead.)

I liked how chunky the frame was, but it wasn’t in the best shape:

It also had a band of linen-type fabric that I actually quite liked.

I had a plan in mind for this baby and I absolutely luuuurve how it turned out! Not just love – LURVE.

First step was to prime the heck out of the sucker. I laid it down on my “spray painting” sheet on the garage floor and did a couple quick coats.

I need to mention that it was NINE degrees outside when I did this. It was unreal, it was so cold.

I am nothing if not dedicated! :)

Once I got feeling back in my hands, I brought it inside to dry. (Spray paint takes forever to dry in extreme temps.)

After that it was ready for paint. Because I wanted to use only what I had, I painted it the blue ceiling paint I used in the office. While it was drying, I moved onto the “memo” part:

This stuff is that thick foam insulation you can get at the hardware store. I love it! I got a few sheets to cover our crawl space openings into the basement years ago. It works GREAT – keeps the cold and the spiders out! Eww!

Anyhoo, I wanted to reuse the foamy stuff for this memo board as well. I measured the size I needed, then used my Dremel to cut it out:

Awe-some!! (Said in a sing song voice.)

I wrapped it with my fabric, securing it to the back with hot glue:

I nail gunned it to the back of the frame and it worked like a charm!

For now it's hanging right behind the desk:

I think it will stay on that wall, but not sure where exactly. :) My plan for the board and batten includes a small ledge, so after that’s done I’ll have to play around with the memo board.

Of course I used the stripe fabric, which is a pain in the booty to get just right:

It has to be perfectly straight or it will drive. you. MAD. Or maybe it just drives me mad. :)

When I primed the frame, I sprayed right over the linen fabric (one word: L.A.Z.Y.) and the primer didn’t even cover it. So weird – it looks just like it did before!:

I just left the little gold strip inside the frame primed. Again…laaaaazy.

I got the fabric pretty straight:

Enough that it doesn’t give my hives to look at it. :) It’ll be covered with notes anyway. That’s what I keep telling myself.

Did you notice my little addition to the DIY drum shade fixture?:

A picture in a magazine inspired it – I saw a beautiful drum shade trimmed out with beautiful, large glass beads. It was GORG. I searched ev.er.y.where. online and couldn’t find anything that looked like it – and then one day I checked out Hobby Lobby and found this.

It is just a precious little beaded trim – I adore it:

Is it possible to be in love with cute beaded trim? Is it normal to be in love with cute beaded trim? I don’t care – I am. :)

I am loving how the room is coming along! The time has come though – I need to buck up buttercup and just get that board and batten DONE.

I still can’t believe the transformation so far. The office before:

And after:

WHOO! Love it! And my office will be extra insulated now. ;)

**I still don’t know what I’m doing with that chair – the cover I had was the wrong blue, (total clash with the memo board) so I took it off for now. I think I have something in mind. (Do you hear my mind crankin’?)

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

Ikea lampshade-secondhand skirt combo lamp

Materials: Ikea Asele lampshade, Hemma cord set, glitter spray, secondhand skirt

Description: I had a funny second hand ballet skirt, and I decided to create a stylish feminine lamp from it. I glittered the inner side of the Asele lamp shade and the Hemma cord set. With a glue gun, I fixed the skirt to the lampshade. That's it. So simple. So funny. So cute.

See more of the ballet skirt lamp shade.

~ Kata alias Joie Vivre, Budapest, Hungary