Vinyl lovers storage unit and DJ console

Materials: Expedit and Molger legs

Description: Simple !

I took a 5 x 1 Expedit, put it on its side and installed some 10 inch Molger cabinet legs (they go beyond the back a few inches).

The key to this hack is reinforcement. When I use an Expedit I always put it together with wood glue. Makes a huge difference. The Molger was attached to a piece of scrap wood that I grabbed from As-Is for $1, then attached to the Expedit. I used gorilla glue and bolts. It is sturdy and there is no chance of collapse.

Lots of style and storage for $80

Enjoy !

~ J. Rob McNeil 4th, Philadelphia, Pa

Roses in the Light - double hack

Materials: Skurar plant pot and Orgel floor lamp

Description: I had a 9 year old Orgel floor lamp - our wedding present :-) - so it was a bit old and yellow and used look. And also it was quite boring, after so many years.

I found the simply nice Skurar pots, and I bought seven of them (both hanging and standing types).

I wanted to use them for lights too, I made holes on the top and the bottom of the pots.
But there was something missing. In that moment I glimpsed some big roses in my neighbours garden and I found; I have to put Roses in the pots.

After I made Moire-roses and fixed them with a fine wire in the pots.

The lamp has amazing, soft light and romantic, feminine feeling!

See more of the rose lamp.

~ KarlaLina, Hungary, Europe

CAUTION: Possible fire hazard. 

Castle Bed

Materials: KURA bed, MDF

Description: Inspired by an idea I saw on this blog, in addition to my own ideas, I came up with this exciting bed for my son who's into knights and castles.

We bought the KURA bed and cut out sections of MDF to create a facade that would be mounted onto the KURA frame. My dad and I used a sabre saw to cut battlements and a window on one side. We glued an extra thickness of MDF on top for the battlements to create a relief effect and to strengthen the area against inevitable rough "boy play". We painted the bed and the mdf a dark grey and sponged a light grey over the top to create a stone effect. I liked the lighter color on the battlements to make them stand out.

A third thickness of mdf was added to the top of each tower to allow us to drill a hole that would hold the flags I bought online.

We made the front piece hang down about an inch from the bottom of the KURA bed to allow a surface to attach the curtain rod to. My mom, who owns an embroidery business sewed and embroidered the curtain. The moon and star lamps were a fun addition to the play space below, since it's a little dark underneath.

It was a lot of work, but the look on Lawson's face when he walked into that room was priceless!

~ Casey, McKinney, Texas

St�ll Computer Cabinet

Materials: St�ll shoe cabinet, Broder wall brackets

Description: Having had two computer towers standing around in my living room, making noise and looking ugly I decided to remedy the situation by hiding them somewhere: enter IKEA St�ll Shoe Cabinet.

Before assembly I drilled several holes (22mm diameter) in the backs of the top and the bottom surfaces of the cabinet. I then assembled the frame as normal, and mounted it to the wall.

I then took left-over wall brackets (from some Broder storage units I have) and attached them inside, and as close to the bottom as possible, of each fold out compartment, as to provide extra support for the weight of the computers.

Since the computer towers are a little high (38 cm) I could not put all the compartments into place. What I instead did was I wired the cabinet from the bottom up, and slid the bottom compartment into place. I then put the computer into the "basket" and attached the wires, after which I closed the compartment. I could now slide the second compartment into place, do the same thing as before, and then close that compartment as well. In the remaining, top compartment I put the UPS, which is smaller than the computers and therefore fits into the "basket" with plenty of room left over.

The two lower compartments can be opened enough to access the computers (but not fully). As these computers are file servers I do not need daily access to them thus this limitation of access is not a problem.

Very simple hack. Additional holes can be drilled into the sides of the cabinet for increased ventilation; also there is room enough to mount separate computer fans if one would wish to.

~ Soren Franson, Malm�, Sweden

Upgraded Melodi lamp

Materials: MELODI

Description: I love this MELODI ceiling lamp. I love its shape and its clean look. But for my daughter's room I thought it might be nicer to decorate it a little. I pierced it with a hot nail. It is very easy since it is made of plastic. After that I inserted a dozen butterflies made of feather around it. The effect is stunning.

~ Eleanor atrakji, Israel

Ceiling kitteh's new hideout

Materials: 3 Lack Shelves, 1 Gosa Slan Pillow, 8 Ekby Valter Brackets, 1 Galant desk extension top, 3 Neda Chair Pads, Drawer liner, screws, wall anchors, 1 old pillow case
Description: We've had issues over the past year with our 2 cats wanting to climb anything and everything in our bedroom (including our leather headboard that is now destroyed). Unfortunately we do not have enough room to put a kitty climber in the room but in an effort to give them their own climbing space we decided to build them their own custom kitteh korner.

MAKING THE BED AND SHELF COVERS
The wifey took care of this part -

To make the kittey bed that go at the top of the kitteh korner, she measured how wide the Galant extension piece was and took in the Galant pillow to the proper size by pinning it and sewing it - NOTE: do not cut before sewing... you will wind up with pillow fluff everywhere. She then tacked a piece of drawer liner to the bottom of a pillow case and then inserted the resized Pillow into the case and sewed it shut.

To make the Covers that would go on each Lack Shelf, she placed a shelf on one of the chair pads and cut the pad to match the shelf. She then cut the pad 1/2" in on each side so there would be a boarder of wood around each when on the shelf. Next, she cut pieces of drawer liner slightly smaller than each cover. We used drawer liner to help keep the covers in place so our cats could jump and not slide around.

ASSEMBLING THE KITTEH KORNER
The hubby took care of this part -

He first drilled holes in the bottom of each lack shelf where the brackets were going to sit. This made it easier when he had to attach the shelf to the already wall mounted brackets. He positioned the Galant desk extension at the top and marked where his brackets would be positioned. He marked the 4 holes for the brackets (2 brackets, 2 screws each) and inserted 75lbs anchors into the wall at these points (this may seem like overkill to some but we wanted to make sure that this thing wasnt going anywhere with our kittys on it). He then screwed each bracket into the anchor. After the brackets were set, he screwed the Galant desk extension into the brackets. Working his way down, he completed these steps for each of the lack shelves, ensuring that the bottom one was low enough for the cats to jump to. We also made sure that there was enough room between each so they could jump between them. Finally, we placed the bed and covers and voila!

~ Heather & Shahrum

Upholstered Hack-a-Lack With Nailhead Trim

Materials: Lack side table
Description: I needed an upholstered ottoman for my den and hacking a LACK side table was the way to go. It was inexpensive and easy and took about an hour. I bought some foam and batting at a local mega-store, and I purchased about a yard of fabric for the top of the LACK. I had some nailhead trim on hand from a prior project (which I had purchased on eBay).

First, I cut the foam to the size of the LACK tabletop and then used spray adhesive to glue the foam onto the top of the LACK. Once the glue dried, I cut my batting and fabric to size. I carefully stapled the fabric and batting to the bottom side of the LACK table, checking as I went that the fabric wasn't pulling or laying funny. I trimmed the edges underneath and used a strip of grosgrain ribbon to prevent fraying (but this step is largely unnecessary).

Once the stapling was done, I screwed the LACK's legs right through the fabric. To add another detail element, and to make it look a little more luxe and custom, I added some nailhead trimto the fabric at the top of the legs. And voila! Soft, functional and stylish! It doubles as a soft place to rest tired feet and with the addition of a tray, as a place to rest drinks and plates!

See more of the Lack ottoman

~ Shanna, Philly burbs, PA