BEKVAM BAM BAM

Materials: BEKVAM Stool, PEXTO blacksmiths stake plate, electric drill, w 1/4" countersink bit, Electric Sabersaw w wood blade, 1/4"x2" carriage bolts & washers (x3)

Description: Creating a solid, yet portable base for anvils and stakeplates is a difficult challenge. Making those look *good* is even harder to solve, so while this IKEA-Hack is actually commonplace among blacksmiths, ferriers, metal-artisans and the renaissance re-enactor crowd, it's going to seem a little 'niche' for the rest of us.

1. Procure and assemble a BEKVAM Step Stool from IKEA (Article Number: 601.788.87).

2. Take your handy household stake-plate (PEXTO is a good brand) and lay it on the top of the bench. Measure and mark the holes.

3. Since the pre-cut hand hole in the top of the BEKVAM is a great starting place, use that as a starting point for cutting out the two major hardy holes using a saber saw. I tried hard to 'color within the lines' when cutting so the stake-plate would fit snugly into the enlarged holes with no rattling around. This will matter a lot later when you are pounding out armor or horsehoes.

4. Drill the three bolt holes using a 1"4 countersink bit.

5. Drop in the stake-plate - sand, file or dremel the holes until it fits, then drop in the 1/4" bolts with the washers and nuts on the bottom. Tighten until veins pop out on your arms or the wook creaks.

6. Go make something!

~ Michael Steele, Austin, Texas

Reverse Stencilled BEKVAM Step Stool

Materials: Ikea step stool; CeCe Caldwell paint; Dollar Store Wall Decals; Poly Acrylic

Description:
1. Pick a decal that you like and apply it on the stool.
2. Paint directly over them. I used two coats of CeCe Caldwell paint in a soft Kentucky Mint green.
3. Carefully remove the decals. With my fingernail, I gently push out any small areas where the paint bled under the decal.
4. I lightly distressed the stools edges after the paint had completely dried. Follow that with two coats of satin poly acrylic.

DONE! I really like the wood grain showing.

See more of the reverse-stencilled stepstool.

~ Kathryn, Vancouver, Canada

Bathroom iPad Stand

Materials: BEKV�M step stool

Description: I was looking for a iPad Stand for my bathroom.... so I modified BEKV�M with a router.

~ Jo, Germany

Ikea's First Useful Children's Step-stool!

Materials: BEKVAM Step Stool, SIGNUM Cable Outlet Kit

Description: The problem: I was looking for a step-stool for my 2-year old to have access to the sink for brushing her teeth and to stand at the kitchen counter to at least "participate" in food prep. Ikea's step-stool options in this regard are pretty lacking and don't give little ones anything to hold on to. The the best non-ikea options I found online were in the $150 range.

The solution: I started with Bekvam step stool ($14.99), and bought some pine wood boards-- I used two 36"x8"x1" boards, one 24"x8"x1", and one 24"x4"x1" board, but you can tailor it to whatever size you want. The only other items I purchased were adhesive rubber bumpers for the feet to keep the stool from sliding and some wood screws.

For the side pieces, I traced a half circle and used my jigsaw to cut the rounded edges on one end of each board.

I had an old Signum cable outlet kit, and used the drill bit to cut the circle openings on each end.

I then installed the side pieces-- Bekvam sides are slightly angled, so it makes for some tricky angles. I wasn't comfortable trying to calculate those angles, so figured I would just install the sides and figure it out from there.

I pre-drilled holes, and then fastened the side pieces with the wood screws. I then added the additional support piece on the bottom, and the cross bar on the top-- first tracing the lines with a pencil, and then cutting with the jigsaw to the right size. I again pre-drilled holes and fastened with screws. (A mitre-box saw would also expedite this process.)

Then, a light hand sanding of the cut areas to ensure no splinters, and application of the rubber bumpers to ensure it doesn't slide out, and you're all done.

So, total supplies:
1 BECKVAM
1 SIGNUM drill bit
2 pieces of wood for sides
2 pieces of wood for stabilizing bars
12-14 wood screws
Rubber bumpers for feet.
Drill
jig-saw
sandpaper

~ Ellie's HackerDad, United States

Bekvam from kitchen to bathroom

Materials: BEKVAM kitchen trolley

Description: This is a simple hack using a BEKVAM kitchen trolley to mount a counter-top bathroom basin (not bought from IKEA).

A hole was drilled in the centre of the top for the waste pipe. I was planning to attach the basin with sealant, but in the end decided to leave it un-attached as it was securely located by the waste fitting and the whole thing would be easy to dis-assemble for cleaning etc.

I also sawed off the back legs of the trolley so they were the same length as the front legs without the castors attached.

That's it!

~ Nick Ray, London

Building/repair tool on rooftops

Materials: BEKV�M step stool

Description: Renovating an old house, I should remove paint, sanding the wooden panels, put primer paint and paint, sanding in between.

I am not a hero on the roof, standing on the small wooden slats on which the rooftiles are laying.

So I measured the degree of the roof and sliced away part of a BEKV�M with same angle.

After that I fastened two slats under the feet of the BEKV�M stool with screws.
These two slats I use also when working on the roof: six screws from the slats on the roof.

So I move my building tool on the roof taking out these screws, put the tool higher or lower and then fasten it again with these screws again.

Result: a tool with which it is good working! you can sit on it, hang on it, put paint cans, other things.

It gives me great confidence standing on my roof, working on my house.

~ Bert Lijnema, Netherlands

Stokke KinderZeat solution

Materials: BEKVAM Step stool, SNILLE (seat only), NEDDA chair pad, countersink drillbit, glue, 4x crosshead screws

Description: On a trip to the UK, my little boy had the use of a chair not too dissimilar to Stokke Tripp Trapp which costs well over $300 here in Australia.

He loved being able to use the step to climb in and out of a 'Big Boy' dining chair and sit at the table with Mummy and Daddy so here's what I came up with...

Step1:
Assemble the BEKVAM Step stool ($14.99) as normal

Step2:
Glue (normal PVA wood glue in this instance) the NEDDA chair pad ($0.99) to the top of the stool, trimming the excess off with a pair of scissors.

Step3:
Mark 4 holes in a square formation on the flattest part of the SNILLE ($7) seat and drill a pilot hole through each - get a countersink bit and make recesses on the holes.

Step4:
Line up the seat on the top of the NEDDA covered step and drive 4 countersunk screws through the seat and straight into the wood - make sure these screws are long enough to hold the seat but short enough to not poke through the other side.

Hey presto, a Stokke Tripp Trapp inspired, Kiddy-Climb-In dining chair for less than $25 AUD and about half an hour to put it together.

~ Duncan, Australia

The Bekvam stool gets pretty

Materials: BEKVAM

Description: Creative wallpapering by Maleriet. The Bekvam stools are primed and painted. Make a template of the steps and cut out a matching wallpaper. Glue them on and finish with 3 coats of varnish with light sanding between coats.

See more of the wallpapered Bekvam stool.

~ Heidi, Norway

Rack 'Em Up

Materials: Bekvam kitchen cart

Description: Add more vertical storage space to your kitchen cart with a pipe shelving. You can add shelves to hold your kitchen appliances and use the top rung as a potholder too.

See more of the rack shelving.

~ Towergirl

The perfect childseat

Materials: 2 step stools IKEA BEKV�M

Description: My granddaughter is 18 months and she needed a chair to sit when she comes to visit, but I didn't really feel like spending a lot of money for it.. What I did then was buying 2 step stools BEKV�M. I built one according to the instructions to create the base of the chair.

Then I cut the sides of the other step stool at 15 cm to create the armchairs and used the first step to create the back of the chair (you will need to cut it slightly otherwise it is too wide). The sides of the step stool are a bit wider than the top, so I added a little piece in the back (still from the pieces of BEKV�M) to solve the problem. Add some paint, two pieces of foam and some cute textile and you get the perfect chair for less than 30 �. What to do with all the leftover from the step stools? A small stool to use in the bathroom!

~ Marzia, Italy

ON,NAB-H or MMMMCC - Oh no, not another Bekvam-Hack or Mobile Mac Mini Media Center Cart

Materials: Bekvam Kitchen Cart, Multiplex-Board Birch, Besta-Caster (2x), screw-in threads (4x)

Description: Hence I threw away my TV-Set in 1999 I still wanted to take part in the Online-Life (Skype, Streaming) - without putting up a fixed media installation in my living room.

So I collected this Bekvam Cart from my neighbour, unmounted the legs (especially those with the funny scrumdidelumptious nonsense one-direction-casters) and off I went to the DIY-Store to have them cut with their big saw.

Next they cut down 2 shelves according to my measures. 1 for the keyboard tray, 1 for the bottom shelf.

Getting the Besta-Casters mounted:
For each of the 4 legs accordingly start drilling in the center down with a 15mm Forstner-Drill just to the exact depth of the screw-in thread. Next deepen the holes further down with an 8mm wood-drill to hold the screw of the caster. A big screw with two lock-nuts helps generously to get the thread into the hole. Next mount the casters and you're done with the fuselage.

Then remove the ledges from the bottom shelf, keep 2 of them and put in the prepared multiplex shelf which has to be cut exactly to snuggly fit around the legs.

Eehh, the 2 holes are for - what? The smaller ducts electricity and LAN. The larger one permitts the bottom facing speaker of the woofer a better performance. Fix the shelf with either double-sided tape or screws.

Take the two leftover ledges and screw them to each side to hold the rails for the tray.

Sand the Counter-Top down to the finest grain (1000) to achieve the shiny surface without using any varnish. Drill a hole for the various cables serving the monitor, the iSight-Cam and speakers. Mount 2 handles for convenient pushing and pulling.

Remove as many of the ledges as possible (leave 3) from the middle shelf. The three left ledges carry the Mac mini and thus supply perfect airstream from below to ventilate the machine. Add another small shelf for the mouse (unless you prefer a bt-mouse to command it from your fauteuil). You're done.

Now fill in the DVDs, the machinery, relax and enjoy.

~ Michael Manthey, Black Forrest, Germany

Landing Zone

Materials: NUMERAR Countertop x 1, BEKVAM Kitchen cart x 2

Description: So in the search for a new desk I wanted, I turned to Ikea to see what they had to offer. I went through the entire catalog to find a desk but was sadly disappointed in all the sizes of the desks available.

As I was walking out of the section I noticed the counter top. Specifically the NUMERAR counter top. It measures a total of 72"x40" and was the perfect size for me. However I still ran out of ideas on how I was going to keep it afloat over my chair.


That's when I found the BEKVAM kitchen cart. They were small enough to act as legs and provide room for my chair underneath the desk while holding the table up. They also act as two cool shelves on my desk.

I purchased 2 kitchen carts and the counter top and began deciding how to make it.

I put the kitchen cart together, but noticed it was rather high. It stood about 4.5 feet off the ground. Far too high for my chair.

So step 1:
Construct the kitchen cart.

Step 2:
With a wood saw, cut off the legs that do not have the wheels attached to them.
CUT TO LENGTH OF LEGS WITH WHEELS.
Do not use the wheels at all.

Step 3:
You should now have an equal standing kitchen cart without the wheels installed.

Step 4:
Place each kitchen cart about 3 feet apart from each other.

Step 5:
Place counter top (with help of someone, seriously, the thing weighs like 150 pounds) on top of kitchen carts.

Step 6:
Enjoy the massive desk you just created from a kitchen counter top and two kitchen carts.

See more of the kitchen cart workstation.

~ Carlos B., Southern California

Forward Facing Bookshelf Dresser

Materials: Ikea Bekvam Spice Racks, Dresser

Description: Basically, I attached the spice racks to the sides of my son's dresser.

See the tutorial on Katie's blog.

~ Katie @ On the Banks of Squaw Creek

Bekvam spice rack as keyholder

Materials: Bekvam

Description: Bekvam spice rack, white painted, switch the hanger in the back, perfect for hanging key chains!

See more of the Bekvam spicy rack.

~ pocalinde

Robust changing table

Materials: BEKVAM kitchen trolley, wood boards

Description: We needed a small changing table for our newborn. Since both of us are students with limited income, we decided IKEA was the place to find a suitable changing table. The only one small enough to fit in our bathroom was SNIGLAR, but I thought it looked weak and rickety. Another piece of furniture caught my eye - the BEKVAM kitchen trolley. It's really robust!

We bought some wooden boards to build up the sides of the trolley in order to keep the changing mat in place. These were screwed on to the sides of the table top. Standard size for changing mats in Sweden are 67x50 cm (26.4x19.7 inches) which makes the perfect width for BEKVAM, but slightly too long.

Next time we have a baby we will definitely keep our changing table but paint it white.

~ popcorn, Sweden

Bekvam stool turned into chair for a child

Materials: Bekvam stool

Description: Because it is the right height for a 2 to 6 years old chid, I decided to put something around the top to prevent falling. The chid now can get on and off the "chair" all by himself.

~ Helene Gourdeau, Quebec City, Qc prov. Canada

Mission Style Bedside Nightstands

Photo courtesy of IKEA

Materials: Bekvam Kitchen Cart, Stain, Paint

Description: Cut the legs short, and equal length to be the height of the bed mattress. Threw out the wheels.

Stained all horizontal wood with a teak color stain. Painted all vertical wood with a seagull grey paint.

The mission style bed frame matches the Bekvam cart shelf style perfectly!

~ Joe Black

A great stand for my new espresso machine

Materials: BEKVAM kitchen cart

Description: I just bought a new espresso machine, and my wife suggested I get a nice stand for it.

I found the IKEA cart remake on this site and decided to give it a little twist rather than duplicating what others have done before.



I started painting all parts of the cart white except for the top.

After the white paint was dry, I used antique stain, mixed it with a bit of black paint and applied it with an old cloth to give an antique look to the cart.

I distressed the top of the cart with a hammer and applied some black paint to the dents to make them stand out.

I went to a company that produces wooden overseas packaging boxes. They kindly gave me one of their original stencils used to label their wooden boxes, which I applied on the top. Afterwards, I sanded down some areas of the black paint to give it an even more distressed look.

After assembling it, I put my espresso machine on the top, and it looks great.

~ Thomas, Near Heidelberg, Germany

Bekvam Kitchen Cart Vanity

Materials: Bekvam Kitchen Cart (birch)

Description: So my wife needed a nest to raise our kids and we decided to head to the last place on earth we thought we would be living in. Oshawa, Canada.

Bought a 50's bungalow and before you know it, the place started to fall apart. The first night in the house for example, the tiles surrounding the tub started popping off the walls after the shower was used.

That was 2 years ago, and recently the sink's p-drain corroded and fell apart, forcing the inevitable renovation.

Anyways, I tried to keep the bathroom reno budget low while still making it look nice and contemporary.

For the vanity area I wanted a nice but cheap solution, but was looking at a minimum of $200 cdn for something really cheap, ugly and CHEAP.

Thankfully, not too long ago I discovered this blog, and it inspired me.

I grabbed a bekvam kitchen cart because it seemed very sturdy in the show room and appears to be made of solid pine and was a good size for what I needed. I cut the longer legs to match the height of the legs that the castors would have been mounted to. (I'll use them later for something else.) With the pedestal sink on top, it works out to a pretty standard height for a vanity.

For the stain I just grabbed one of those cans of black stain lying around at IKEA which my wife applied to the loose parts(smells like deep fryer oil btw).

After it was dry, I assembled it and cut a hole in the table top for the sink drain and mounted the sink to the top with bath and kitchen silicone. I also needed to cut the middle top out of the top shelf to make room for the drain. This was only necessary though, I think, because I decided to not replace the copper pipe in the wall, which was for an older lower vanity.

I have debated screwing it to the floor, for added stability, but the weight of the "vanity" seems to be enough.

~ Todd McCullough, Oshawa, Canada

Petit d�jeuner sur l'herbe

Materials: Bekvam stepladder, decopatch paper, artificial turf, glue for decopatch, extra strong glue for artificial herb, varnish

Description: First I put green decorated decoupage paper on the stands of the ladder with decoupage glue. Covered stands with 3 layers of glue to make it stronger.

When the stands were completely dry, I've varnished them (that will save the ladder from being damaged too soon and gives it a beautiful shining).

- Afterwards I decorated only the sides of the 2 horizontal levels of the ladder also with decoupage paper with 3 layers of glue.

- Cut out the artificial grass with a stanley knife and putted on the 2 levels.

- Varnished the sides of the 2 levels

- Put together the Bekvam ladder like mentioned in the Ikea manual

~ back2, belgium