Turn a throw blanket into a shower curtain

Materials: Ursula Ikea Throw Blanket

Description: A blanket can be a gorgeous shower curtain too.

See step by step instructions on Lynne's blog.

~ Lynne Knowlton, Design The Life You Want to Live

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Wall lights and closet en pendant!

Materials: Gyllen lamp and Ikea Stockholm Blad fabric

Description: My entrance was insignificant and dark, and I didn't like the lights and the old closet, so I decided to buy Gyllen lamps, but I didn' like the default panels...

First idea: buy normal glass panels and cover them with Blad fabric.
How to do that:
1. Buy glass sheets (56 cm) from your local glazier;
2. Cut the fabric with an extra edge and fix it with silicone;
3. Mount the lamp on the wall!

Second idea: make panels for the closet en pendant. How to do that:
1. Buy wooden slats to measure and, of course, the fabric, use: glue (vinavil), nails and tapestry stapler, silicone to fix;
2. Nail down the slats to make frames for the panels (fix them with glue);
3. Fix the fabric on the frames with glue and with staples all around, and cut off the borders;
4. Fix the panels with silicone on the closet's doors and let them fasten putting them on the floor, one on each other;
5. Remount the doors....done!

Now you have lamps and closet en pendant!

~ CyberLory, Pisa - Italy

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Spruce It Up

Materials: MARGARETA + KVARTAL

Description: I created a curtain Christmas Tree using the MARGARETA fabric and KVARTAL top and bottom rail from Ikea in just 5 easy steps.

1. I measured to the center of the fabric using a tape measure and ironed on a 4 inch strip of Pellon 808 craft fuse Iron-on backing down the center. This enabled me to cut the fabric in half without the fabric fraying once it was cut.

2. Once the fabric was in two pieces I measured the length of the KVARTAL rail and cut each piece of fabric on the outside edge to be one inch longer than the rail.

3. Using my iron on the hottest setting I ironed the outside edge under by the extra inch. I secured the top and bottom KVARTAL rail to each half of the fabric

4. I took down the two center panels of my KVARTAL curtains and hung the two tree panels in its place.

5. I added the ornaments by affixing green craft wire to the ornaments and poking the wire through the fabric. Once the wire was through the fabric I just bent it down flat against the back of the curtain.

Now I have a no-mess, no-space-required, Christmas tree!

~ Camron

How many times...

Materials: Britten Nummer fabric

Description: Buy 1,2mts of Britten Nummer fabric.

Soak it in tea for, about, 4 hours, this will give it an old-vintage touch. Drain and let it dry. Iron and starch the fabric.

Prepare a framework with 4 of 1mt wooden strips, joining them with wooden glue and some metal brackets.
Tense the fabric on the framework and fix it using enough staples.

Hang it and.... count.

~ Erika Serrano, Barcelona (Spain)

ERSLEV rug gets a sunny disposition

Materials: ERSLEV Rug

Description: 1. Lay out your drop cloth first and tape to floor-should be larger than 4'7" x 6'7" for paint overflow from stripes

2. Lay out the rug on top & measure out your stripes (can be a little or a lot! I did mine in 1, 2, 3 & 4 inch stripes with 1 inch in between for consistency. Then tape them off with frog tape or painters tape so the paint doesn't seep through.

3. I choose three different colours of paint - all latex - but you can use one or as many as you like. I did the yellow first then the dark grey and let it sit over night to completely dry. Then I did the lighter grey the following morning because there were less of those stripes. Total time was about 6 hours.

4. Let it sit for another few hours till it is completely dry and voila! Instant colour and designer touch added to any room!

Colours used:

Beauti-tone Natura: Best Dressed F038 (Bought)
General Paint: 8670W (Already Had)
C.I.L. Essentials: Obsidian Glass (Already Had)

~ Refresh Interiors, Squamish, BC.

Slightly Shadowy

Materials: 4 SEMINE Panel Curtains, a few screws

Description: A very very simple hack: using an existing pergola as a shade, by overlaying 4 Semine Panel Curtains in a zig-zaging pattern. The textile is strong enough as to be tensed on every step by using small screws. The pergola's wide was almost the exact panel wide. Lucky me.

~ Tresco, Tel Aviv, Israel

Curtain panel bluff and room divider

After with Panel Curtain Room Divider!

Before

Materials: IRJA Curtain rod set, Riktig curtain loops/hooks, Betydlig ceiling brackets, KAJSA curtain panels,Drill, screwdriver, hammer, hacksaw, mounting screws

Description: I wanted the look of the curtain panels but didn't want to double the cost by using the recommended rails and sliders.

Before

After

This is two related projects as they all include the same/similar hardware

1. Room divider
2. Closet "Bluff"

I inherited one, clearly IKEA. The only project that required cutting the rod with the hacksaw was the Bluff. The other rod slides open.

I used two Betydlig ceiling brackets per project @$1.49 each. Easy to mount with the option to easily raise/lower or slide the bracket back/front.

Instead of cutting the curtain panels, I rolled up the excess on the tube it came on and, for pinned them up. The weight gives it the right look with out the recommended hardware. You can also slip in a short piece of the remaining rod in if you want more weight.

The loops work well, too! Five per panel is perfect.

~ Clayton Smith, San Diego, CA

Custom laundry bag

Materials: Jall laundry bag, fabric, sewing machine

Description: I needed a hamper for our nursery, and wanted something custom that would match the other fabric I'd be using in the room. So, I made a slip cover for the Jall laundry bag!

See more of the laundry bag slipcover.

~ Lauren, AZ

Customised Blinds to match your curtains

Materials: Enje Roller Blinds

Description: Buy IKEA Roller blinds. I chose Enje as they are very light weight.

Cut the desired material to size. I did a band at the bottom the height of the curtain pattern repeat. These blinds are only decorative and will not be pulled down so you won't be able to tell that the material does not go all the way up.

"Hem" the material using fabric glue and an iron to get a straight edge at the top and the bottom. Leave the material at the sides with a good overlap.

Stick the hemmed material onto the blind. Very important tip - put the glue directly onto the blind and NOT the material as it will soak through. Tip #2 place a bin bag under the blind to stop the glue getting onto the surface you are resting on. Tip #3 - remove binbag as soon as you have finished gluing otherwise it will also be stuck to your blind ;)

Leave the blinds to dry - laid out flat.

Trim the edges so there is a cm overlap. Put glue on the blind and fold over the overlap - iron straight - to get a nice neat edge.

Hang the blinds. Enjoy the fruits of your labours :)

~ Kate

Throw turned into rug

Materials: Vilmie Rund throw, non-slip fabric, sewing machine

Description: I'm a poor student, with a rather large living room, and have been trying to find a rug that's big enough but still fairly cheap. I decided to try an experiment and it turned out really well in my opinion.

I used the Vilmie Rund throw and sewed it to the non-slip fabric (that you can get in any fabric store, by the meters).

- Get the non-slip fabric in any fabric store, usually sold by the meter.

- Sew the Vilmie Rund throw to the non-slip fabric on the long side of the throw, by folding the throw's sides over the non-slip fabric (otherwise the fabric will get stuck in the sewing machine).

- Lay the plaid on the ground evenly, like you want it to be, and sew the short sides by hand.

~ Mika Nilsson, Lund, Sweden

Revamp your HEMNES Chest of drawers

Photo courtesy of IKEA

Materials: HEMNES and IKEA Fabric

Description: I have a white HEMNES Chest of drawers that I was bored with. I bought some Ikea fabric, some Spray Mount Glue, AND I GOT NEW FURNITURE!

The fabrics I chose were ANNAMOA blue, ANNAMOA green and LILLIVI. About 28cm of each.

It is very easy, clean the surface. Spray the glue on the drawer and stick the fabric on it. Apply pressure, so it glues well.

Fold the rest of the fabric inside the drawer and glue it well to resist the daily usage.

~ Rachel

Damask Erslev

Materials: ERSLEV white rug, foam paint brush, Jacquard's fabric paint

Description: I saw plenty of rug-painting hacks on Ikeahackers and other websites, so after having moved into my new apartment, I decided to undertake the daunting task of painting my $40 ERSLEV rug ... with a damask stencil.

I did not actually know how long this would take. I started at 8pm, and finished at 1am, and by the end my back was killing me. The rug is currently drying and will be ready in 24 hours. The side that seems incomplete will be the side underneath my bed.

This task requires you to keep washing the stencil as it accumulates layers upon layers of fabric paint and limits the ability of the brush to reach the actual rug.

All in all, it looks good to me, and I have to thank Ikeahackers for giving me the idea in the first place!

~ Emily, NYC

Mod pink geometric painted erslev rug

Materials: IKEA Erslev rug 4'7" x 6'7"

Description:
1. I was inspired by the nixon pattern used by Jonathan Adler and sketched it on a piece of paper
2. I taped out a border within the rug that seemed straight
3. After I taped the border I measured the inside space that i was going to work with and had my calculator handy...
4. I then taped the design out using long pieces of tape to ensure all of my rectangles and center lines would be as symmetrical as possible.

5. I then used my x-acto to lightly cut the design out of the tape without damaging the rug so that it looked like this

6. I then pressed the tape down throughout the rug in order to be sure it was sticking to it really well
7. I mixed the fabric medium into the paint really well
8. I rolled the paint onto the rug and was careful to cover every white spot that was showing.
9. After several hours of drying I peeled the tape off the rug.

10. I did my little happy dance because that scotch green tape rocked my world!

See more of the pink geometric painted Erslev rug.

~ holly - the almost 40 year old intern

Ritva Curtains Transformed

Materials: Ritva curtains, Lummig curtain rod, gold spray paint, 12 yards of ribbon, fabric glue

Description: I saw another hack and thought I could do something similar to spruce up my apartment. I bought two sets of Ritva curtains for my living room and two Lummig curtain rods.

I took off the finials and spray painted them gold. While they dried, I measured the length of the curtains from the floor up and when they were just touching the floor, I marked the walls to put up the wall fixtures.

Once the finials were dry, I threaded the curtains onto the rod, added the finials, and hung the curtains.

To add the ribbon, I bought 12 yards of red, 2 inch grosgrain ribbon. I put a strip of fabric glue at the edge of the ribbon and folded it over about 1/4 inch to finish the edge. I put glue on about 1 inch of the ribbon and folded it over the top of the curtains.

Doing about 8-10 inches at a time, I put strips of glue on the edges of the ribbon and carefully (and gently) pressed it to the curtains. At the bottom, I did the same thing with the ribbon (finishing the raw edge and wrapping it around the curtain).

Now they look great and certainly nicer than plain Ikea curtains!

~ Sybil, New York

Skruvsta upholstery

Materials: 1 Skruvsta Swivel chair, 3m Kajsastina Fabric, stapler,staples, staple remover, sewing machine, scissors and a wrench n�10

Description: Time to change my white Skruvsta swivel chair.

Step 1: Get all your tools.
Step 2: Remove the four bolts underneath the chair with a wrench n� 10. If you have separated both parts put the bolts back on, so you don't loose them and protect yourself for step 3.
Step 3: Start removing the staples, I didn't count them but there are many of them. Be careful, injuries are possible.
Step 4: After removing all the staples, now take the fabric off and loosen all the seams, but mark your patterns so it is easy to fit them together afterwards.
Step 5: Place your patterns on your new fabric and start cutting.
Step 6: Sew all your patterns together.
Step 7: Put the fabric back on the chair and start stapling.
Step 8: Place the underframe back and tighten the bolts.
Step 9: Last but not least, put the pillow back, take a seat and relax...

~ S&M, Belgium

Something to look at when you lie awake at night

Materials: "Tupplur" Rullgardin - Rolling curtain. Pencil. Paper knife. (Metal) ruler . Large cutting board, or a thick layer of cardboard on your table. Highlighter.

Description: 1. Put the curtain on the table.
2. Scroll to the part that you want to enhance with a cut-out silhouette.
3. Make a sketch of your design on the curtain with the pencil. Don't forget this: parts of your design that are protruding upwards or sidewards need a connection to another part of the curtain/design to prevent them from falling over or hanging loose.
4. Highlight the parts to be cut out.
5. Cut them out.
6. Hang up the curtain.

See more of the Tupplur art.

~ Kophieps, Netherlands/Sweden

Ikea Mix'n' Match Studio

Materials: Expedit, Effektiv, Tag Handles, Galant, Grundtal

Description: My husband and I just relocated to Denver. I needed to make an office space out of half of our living room without it being an eye sore. I do alot of sewing so I needed something to hold all my craft supplies. I got two Expedit bookcases, 1x5 cubes, to put on either side of my Galant desk. My husband mounted them to the walls. Then he mounted two 1x8 boards of wood to the top of the bookcases with three brackets in the center to support the weight. We had to use the two boards so it would fit the depth of the bookcases.

We attached three Effektiv cabinets to the top of the boards and mounted them to the walls so they wouldn't shift around. To add more lighting my husband mounted the Ikea integrated lighting, Grundtal, to the top.

Since the doors in the birch color to the Effektiv cabinets were double the price of the white I opted to buy the white instead. I covered doors in some designer quilt fabrics. I used spray adhesive to glue the fabric down then stapled it to the backside. My husband then attached the Tag handles to the doors. I used an eyelet tool to cut a hole out of the fabric where the handle was going so when my husband drilled it didn't tear up the material.

Fabric has a tendency to bunch up when being drilled into. The other issue we ran into was the laminate puffed up where the drilling happened. After my husband drilled the holes I used a mallet to press the laminate back down under the fabric so it would lay flat. We attached the doors as per Ikea's instructions. I'm very happy with how it turned out. Now I have a great looking office.

See more of the mix and match office.

~ Kyle Leandra Kolkovich, Denver, CO