Non-flimsy full height, 24" wide recycling and trash cabinet

Materials: Akurum kitchen cabinet, drawers, jigsaw, drill.

Description: Ikea's kitchen cabinets are great, but their recycling center is limited to an 18" wide cabinet with a drawer above. That's not tall enough and if you use a full height door, when you pull the handle, the whole door flexes outward. And at 18" wide it's just not big enough for a family's trash and recycling.

SOLUTION: Use a 24" wide cabinet with full height door panel and an extra drawer kit. Don't buy the Ikea recycling kit, use standard Sterilite laundry bins instead.

1. Attach your bottom drawer to the door panel per the instructions and template and your rails into the cabinet. You can now install the assembly into the cabinet and it will slide in and out.

2. Stand your bins sideways (see photos) so there is an even gap to the front panel, back of drawer and between the two bins. This will allow enough wood when we come to cut the upper drawer base.

3. Offset the bins sideways, which when finished will allow for a roll of trash bags to sit in the bottom.

4. Assemble your second drawer without the base / floor in it. With your door open and the bins in place, hold the drawer (maybe need a friend for this) around where you plan to install it to determine which holes your rails should go in. Mark inside the cabinet, install your rails and fit the drawer without the base in it. The drawer should slide in and out.

5. Slide the upper drawer forward until it hits the cabinet front and mark where you will attach it to the door / front. This is a little tricky and is best done with the door as closed as possible so the drawer is sitting rigidly in the rails and not drooping down at full extension.

6. Re-use the Ikea template from step one to finalize your drawer attachment points on the door. Drill the holes and attach the drawer to the door front and check the operation. Your drawer base will still be missing.

7. Mark a line from the bottom of the upper drawer onto one bin. This is the level that the bin passes through the drawer base. Measure the depth and width of each bin and draw the outline on your drawer base. If in doubt make it a little small at first as the wood is easy to enlarge with a rasp. Cut your holes with a jigsaw.

8. Detach the upper drawer from the door and slide in the drawer base. You may need to remove the door completely first to get the board to slide in. Reattach everything.

The bins should drop into your two holes in the upper drawer base. If the bins don't sit all the way in the bottom drawer, your holes may be too small. Enlarge them a little with a rasp.

~ Patrick Ryan, San Diego

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Clipshelf - The shelf parasite

Materials: Powdercoated steel sheet

Description: This small add-on for standard shelves makes a designer item out of each ordinary IKEA Billy (Udden, Besta or similar products with a standard row of holes with 32mm distance)

Clipshelf adds additional space on existing bookshelves or gives your favourite books an extra place. Fits also to kitchen cabinets or bathroom furniture.

Vote for clipshelf here to make a good idea become real: The Italian design label ex.t will produce the winner of this contest...

Design: !idee / Michael Hilgers

See more of the Clipshelf.

~ Michael Hilgers, Berlin

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Pretty Jewelry Holder from Wooden Cutlery Tray

Materials: Wooden Cutlery Tray, Paint, Glass Knobs, Cup Hooks

Description: Sand the tray thoroughly and paint all sides and crevices carefully with a brush (I used Valspar's Tempered Gray for my main colour).

Let the coat dry, and then paint another coat.

I chose to add some hand painted details inside the boxes of the tray with white paint (Valspar'€™s Ultra White) and one of my daughter'€™s little craft brushes, but you could also skip this step or try painting with a stencil (or painting the back panels a different solid colour). The options are endless!

Add a coat of clear varnish.

Next, attach the knobs to the tops of each compartment. I used super glue instead of a drill - it was a lot easier and it seems to be holding well!

Screw the little cup hooks along the bottom of the tray (I used 5).

See more of the jewelry holder from cutlery tray.

~ Christina Dennis, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Ikea Rast Dresser with silver ring pulls

Materials: IKEA RAST

Description: I bought the IKEA Rast Dresser since it is solid wood for only $34, and then hacked it into a beautiful nightstand for our guest bedroom.

After priming & painting entire piece Benjamin Moore's Dove White, I then measured and taped off a design for the front of the drawers. I used left over wall paint (Sherwin Williams Misty) for this part.

I bought my silver drawer ring pulls off Ebay for around $2 a piece. So for $47, I transformed the IKEA Rast Dresser into a trendy nightstand!

See more of the Rast makeover.

~ Leah

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Stairway To Ikea

Materials: Billy Step Shelf

Description: Tools needed:
Phillips screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Cordless drill
Drill bits (for pilot holes)
Assorted sized drywall screws. (3/4, 1 1/4 inch and 2 1/2)
Hammer
Wood glue
Tape measure
Chop saw
Table saw
Pencil
T-square
Clamps

From Ikea (all the same color)
2 - Billy hanging wall shelves
1 - Billy 31 1/2 inch height extension unit
1 - Billy 15 height extension unit
1 - 4 inch plinth (ripped down the middle to create two 2 inch pieces)

From Hardware Store
Rubbermaid 6 ft shelf
2 - 1 1/2 inch 90 degree angle brackets with screws
4 - 1 1/2 inch straight casters

Before anyone says a word: yes, I realize I could of gotten an Expedit and done something similar and just installed a back to it, but the Expedit is too: deep for the hallway; difficult to hack because of the cardboard honeycomb fill; and they only make it black or white.

This is a MAJOR hack. Due to all the modifications and planning needed, it took me two days to complete. Word of advice, work slowly and very carefully. One mistake and you will ruin the shelf and have to buy another one. (IKEA will not take back furniture cut with a table saw.) This is not of a simple hack. If you do not own/cannot rent/borrow a chop saw and/or table saw, I strongly advise against doing this hack. I take no responsibility for anything.

Assemble everything, according to the instructions. Note you will be taking things apart again. (On the Billy wall shelves do not nail the back of the shelves until you finish this project.)

Take one of your Billy wall shelf and assemble it, again don't nail the rear panel on it yet. We are going to install our casters on this one.

Using the 2 inch plinth we ripped before, Make a toe kick. Cut to size. I left about a half inch from the edge to make it look similar to the other Billy shelves. I attached the plinth from the bottom using 2 1/2 inch drywall screws. Note: Do not over drill, as it will tear the laminate from the bottom up.

Using the chipboard that came with the plinth, I screwed two pieces lengthwise behind the toe kick for support and to attach the casters. I attached the casters, making sure they were straight and aligned. (Don't nail the back yet)

Stack the other Billy shelf on top. You will notice that there will be about a 1/4 inch gap between the top of the bottom shelf and the bottom of the top shelf. I didn't like it. It would of bowed when I put screws to it and looked bad. The gap is caused by the side supports that extend past the top and bottom of the shelf, leaving gap in between them. They got to go. So what I did is this. I took a sharp pencil and ran a line from the back to the front, except for the top right side of the top shelf. (See picture) Disassemble the units and using the chop saw, cut on the pencil marks. Reassemble, except for the top shelf. Screw the bottom shelf, the one with the casters, to the top shelf using 1 1/4 inch drywall screws. Make sure you drive the screws from the bottom. That way you don't see the screws.

Stack and align the 31 inch bookcase extension to the top of your two shelves. Using a pencil, run a line on each side of the right support. Remove the bookcase. Drill 3 equally spaced holes in between the lines. Stack and align bookcase again. Use the three holes as a guide and drill 3 holes in the right side column. Screw 3 - 2 1/2 inch drywall screws into the column.

Repeat the same for the 15 inch shelf extension.

Now to secure the left side of the shelves... Rip the Rubbermaid shelf to 11 inches deep. Cut to the right height. (I don't remember the exact height, use a measuring tape, it's like 43 inches and something) Using clamps secure the panel to the left side and using the shelf holes as a guide, drill a minimum of four one inch screws per shelf.

Now I came to a dilemma, the right column of the top extension shelf stuck out a 1/4. If I aligned it to the front edge, the top would have been misaligned. So I disassembled it and cut off a 1/4 inch off the back of the right column. It aligned perfectly, though the screw and the dowel would not line up. So I screwed the two 90 degree angle brackets. I secured the right side of the column, like I did above, by running a line on each side of the column. I drilled 3 equally spaced holes in between the lines. Stacked and aligned the column. Using the three holes as a guide to drill 3 pilot holes in the right side column. Screw 3 - 2 1/2 inch drywall screws into the column.

Finally, nail the wall shelf back to the columns.

TIPS

When you are finished with a section and assembling, for added strength use wood glue on the dowels.

~ Alex Perdomo, Miami

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

DiY Expedit Wine Rack

Materials: Expedit 2X1, 4" PvC Pipe, Under Cabinet Drinkware Holder

Description: I wanted a small, contemporary wine rack to hold my modest stores of wine. I simply build and Expedit bookcase as is, cut 12" lengths of 4" PVC pipe - painted all but one.

Since I don't usually have a ton of wine, I didn't need to add more space for that, so I purchased an inexpensive 13" under-cabinet glassware rack for the top shelf.

Two push-on LED lights and I was done!
I think it turned out well, and I know nobody has anything just like it :)

~ Amy, United States

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Custom Expedit

Materials: Expedit 4x2

Description: First of all I decided to hang my Expedit, in spite of Ikea's advise (the say NO for hanging Expedit). I made additional supporting beam under it (one of the pics shows this).

The second, I bought and customized standard doors and chests for Expedit, in the way they correspond to my room decor. Here is you can see navy-blue painted and varnished door, two chests covered with fabric and varnished and the last door made with the 100-year-old music sheet (decoupage technique. I also added open-close mechanism from Besta.

~ Masha, Poland

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Expedit 6.5x4

Materials: 2x Expedit 4x4, long screws, two mounts

Description: I have had my Expedit 4x4 for years, but was desperately running out of room in it, so when someone left another white 4x4 in the trash room, I quickly ran out there with an Allen key and saved it!

First, I found that I could fit just over 2.5 extra rows between my existing 4x4 and the ceiling. Measured out, drew the cut lines on the side panels and went to attack it with a saw. Sanded down the worst of the rough edges and assembled top part as usual, except I actually used the bottom board for the top; I figured that since it would be near the ceiling anyway, it wouldn't be visible, and I had a plan for the nicer top part. Also cut a single shelf to match the height to help support the shelves.


Then I called a friend (awesome to have friends nearby who are doing nothing on a Saturday night, just like me) to help me lift it up on top of the whole Expedit, and hold onto it while screwing in two mounts at the back to hold it together. This proved to be stable enough, so I left it at that. The joins could have been filled in and smoothed; but being who I am, I opted for just putting tons of stickers on one side and postcards on the other - this way it also doubles as "art-space" :)

The top bar and the shorter ends of the cut sides were then also assembled to create a TV bench (this also needs support from the bottom, but need to cut another shelf for this; so until I get around to doing this, I just have a bunch of books supporting the bottom, hehe). I also added a few extra shelves with the unused shelves from the row cut in half - they're literally just placed on to of a couple of screws, that's it.

~ Gitte, Denmark

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

BILLY meets MESNALI

Materials: BILLY bookshelf, 2 MESNALI mirrors, 6 hinges, 36 small screws, turnscrew, cordless screwdriver with boring bit for wood, yardstick

Description: I bought two old MESNALI mirrors to build matching doors for my BILLY bookshelf.

First of all, I bolt on 3 hinges to each of the mirrors (up, middle and down). Therefore I needed 6 x 4 small screws.

The next step was to drill 4 small holes into BILLY for bringing down the lowest shelf above the mirrors' edge into the right position.

Last, but not least I attached the hinges to the bookshelf (required: 6 x 2 screws).

That's it! :)

See more of the Billy with mirror doors.

~ Tira-Mi-Su

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Shabby chic Rast

Materials: Ikea RAST Chest of 3 Drawers

Description: A plain IKEA RAST PINE 3 drawer cupboard was the perfect size for a shabby chic French style spare bedroom.

I customized it by:

Gluing on a decorative wooden moulding shape on to each drawer.

I tacked each in place with a thin nail

Once dried, I painted it all the same colour.

I changed the drawer knobs / pulls to clear glass ones

My IKEA HACK is now perfectly lovely.

See more of the Rast hack.

~ Dee Snook, West Midlands

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Expedit one2two

Materials: 5x5 Expedit, some wood screws, additional metal L-bracket

Description: I'd like to show you my first IKEA hack! Time effort approximately 4 hours.

Because we moved around the furniture in our sharehouse living room the 5x5 Expedit didn't fit anymore into its desired corner. The idea was therefore to clip it into the right size and reuse the clipped part to replace the ugly old TV shelf.

before

First I cut the upper and lower thick boards just after 3 compartments. The resulting 5x3 mini Expedit was stabilized with a few screws from the side and a L-profile on the top and bottom end each. The cut edge could be covered, but as the shelf is placed really close to the wall nobody will see anything from the cut ever.

Thereafter I assembled the remaining 3 thick outer boards, including one row with the thin boards again. To make it stable 2 white L-brackets were screwed on the front side and another thin original board was attached at the rear. Additional screws were placed at the intersection of the thin boards from below. In doing so the "new" TV shelf can bear quite some weight again and nasty cables can be hidden in the same time. The cut edges are facing to the ground now and cannot be seen as well. Attaching some felt, the parquet is protected against scratches.

~ Damian, Switzerland

Give a little chic storage to the Pallbo footstool

Materials: SOLSTA PALLBO footstool, candle holders (4), screws (4), jigsaw, polisher, plywood, upholstery foam, lining, stapler, textile, sewing machine

Description: I took the footstool apart and turned it upside down. I drilled four holes on the bottom and screwed in the candle holders. I sawed the new top from plywood, and I polished the edges a bit.
I covered the sides and the top separately with the foam and the lining fixing them with a stapler.

Then I upholstered these items with textile with the stapler again, and sewed where needed (e.g. at the sides).

Now the new footstool doubles as a storage item for magazines or a soft throw.

See more of the madeover Solsta Pallbo.

~ Judit, Budapest

Pax Wardrobe: Inserted and Kompleted

Materials: PAX wardrobe frame(s), Komplement shelf insert (tall), saw, tape measure

Description: I wanted to have more order to my new wardrobe, which actually served as a closet for the central vacuum cleaner hose. The hose did not fill the whole space of the frame. How to take the space left in good use?


I figured that could use the inserts, designed for 35 cm deep frame but gave me the solution also for 58cm deep frame. Yes! So I took the shelf insert, and cut it to suitable length. Now there is well used space to storage for example light bulbs and other home goods. Now I only have to buy more Skubb-boxes and enjoy my orderliness.

1. Measure the height you need.
2. Draw the mark to the long part of the shelf unit. Remember to cut from the upper end.
3. Cut it with saw.
4. Assemble as instructed.

More pictures here.

~ Johanna, Finland

Malm Lego Table

Materials: Malm 2 drawer chest, large dowel, spray paint, Lego base plate, glue

Description: I was looking to make my grand-daughter a Lego table. The ones I saw were either too large or I didn't like the storage. The Malm 2 draw chest was the perfect size. I spray painted it Lego colors, cut the large dowel into approx 2 inch "slices" and glued them on the front to make "giant Legos", and glued the base plate onto the top.

~ Kathy T, Long Island NY

Built in Bookshelves with Window-seat for under $350

Materials: Billy bookcase, Benno Tv Bench

Description: We wanted built-in bookshelves and I have always loved the idea of a cozy windowseat to curl up in while reading a book.

The wall we wanted to build the shelves on was 158" wide, with a slightly off-center window. We decided to use the BENNO Tv Bench as the windowseat. Two31" wide bookcases on each side would be too wide and one 31" and one 15" would be too narrow. So, we had to cut two 31" inch bookcases down to size and then drill our own holes in the end of the shelf that we cut so that we could use the adjustable shelf pegs.

We decided not to use the backing board, we filled the track in with joint compound. I brought a shelf to Home Depot and they matched the paint color very well--although I got semi-gloss and the IKEA finish has slightly less of a sheen, but the line for the track is invisible after being filled and painted.

We removed the baseboard trim behind the bookcases and on the side. We measured from the rear wall to where the studs were on the wall. Once the bookcases were in place, we measured from the rear wall to where we knew the studs were and screwed the bookcases to the studs. We then screwed the sides of the abutting shelves to each other. Then my husband screwed ferring strips to the beam above the shelves and into the top of the shelves, so they are securely attached at the top and sides.

We decided the top of the Benno TV Bench was not deep enough, so we made a brace for the wall, screwing a 2X4 into the beam. We bought a 24 x 48 piece of alder, which we sanded and stained, then affixed to the brace we made on the wall, as well as the top of the BENNO.

Finally, we nailed 2" lattice to cover the space between where the bookcases meet. We replaced the baseboard and picked out nice crown molding for the top of the bookcases. We filled the nail holes and painted everything with the paint we had custom mixed to match the shelf we brought to the home improvement store. We bought some drawer pulls for the front of the Benno so it looks less modern and more traditional.

We love our new built-in shelves and the windowseat has become a favorite reading nook!

See more of the built-in Billy with Benno windowseat.

~ Theresa Novak

Boholmen repurposed as tie rack

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Boholmen dish drainer, drawer rail (not Ikea), drill, screws, screwdriver

Description: Hi! As with a lot of men, my husband
has a huge collection of ties. Some of them are very old, some quite horrible, but he loves to keep them, as many of them were a present... Since we moved into our new apartment he placed his ties on hangers, but the result was sad and messy.

So I started looking for a good and inexpensive solution by Ikea, and while I was wandering in the kitchen department I met Boholmen dish drainer: it was love at first sight. It has 42 pegs which can hold 1 or 2 ties each!

I drilled in the dish drainer two holes and I mounted it with screws on a drawer rail, then I placed with 3 screws the rail on the wardrobe wall, so that the tie rack can be extracted. Ta-daaa! 30 ties are now placed in the tie rack, and there is place for more of them.

~ Serena, Novara - Italy

IKEA turned Restoration Hardward Printers Cabinet

Materials: EXPEDIT, 1X2s, 1x1s, 4 legs, wood top, 12 handles

Description: We turned our Expedit into a Restoration Hardware Printers Cabinet.

Step 1: the doors would not lay flesh against the piece unless we added this trim around the front. So we added 2x1 trim around the outside. We did two layers of the trim to make it 2x2. We also added the piece down the front so that it could have 2 cabinet doors. We used 2 1/4 inch screws. Make sure you pre-drill so you can wood putty afterwards.

Step 2: Add the legs. We got these legs from Lowes at clearance because they are discontinuing them, so we got them for $2 a piece. I linked similar ones.

Step 3: Paint the whole dang piece! Those little cubbies were a pain in the you know what to paint! We used Annie Sloan Chateau Grey for this piece. Kind of a sage color.

Step 4: Make the doors. If you decide to use the same Ikea piece as me, just email me and I will give more specific directions on size, etc. Basically, we took 2x2's and we screwed on planks of wood, alternating 2x1's and 4x1's to give it the old small drawer look. You can see the impact on the finished piece really nicely with the alternating sizes. It is a bit tricky getting it exactly right with the door size though.

Step 5: We cut the top, added trim to it and stained it. We used Spanish Oak colored stain, which is a rich brown black grey. Then I waxed finished it with Johnson's Wax.

Step 6: Add the doors onto the piece. We used euro hinges from Home Depot. They can be tricky and a bit more expensive, but oh so worth it.

So here the piece laid in wait until the beloved handles arrived in 2 days. Gotta love Amazon Prime!

Step 7: We added the beautiful handles. They are super duper tricky to put on, so we got creative and painted over the little holes with paint and then pushed them against the piece and it left little marks where we needed to drill.

Step 8: We added drawer pulls to every large piece of wood on the fronts, which was 6 on each side. Then we used our handy dandy stud finder/leveler to make sure the handles were in line on both sides.

Step 9: Put your stuff back into the cubbies :)

Step 10: Step back and admire your work!

See more of the printer cabinet.

~ Meg Piercy, Chicago, IL