Cubic Besta

before and after

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Besta shelf, Inreda hinge, drawers

Description: I had a Besta book shelf I wanted to close somewhat to hide a bit of mess but, due to the close heater, I could not install standard doors.

Finally I found a new inreda hinge (currently sold in Italy - Milan only - as part of the new TV system roll out).

This new hinge allows you to use Besta drawer panels without the inner drawer... brilliant!

Here is the link, hope this will hit your store soon as i think it might be pretty helpful for many hacks!

I have mixed us some drawers + a glass/alu door and it came out as a open/closed shelf, hiding the mess enough without having a final look too flat or heavy.

~ Fabrizio, Torino - Italy

EXPEDIT sofa table/bar/computer desk

Materials: EXPEDIT 2x2 bookshelves, extra EXPEDIT panel, HUTTEN wine bottle rack, INREDA stemware rack, LEDBERG 3-piece light strip set

Description: It's a pretty straight-forward hack that was made to hide the back of my sectional, provide more storage, a bar and a seating area where I can use my laptops.

I connected two EXPEDIT 2x2 with the side panel of an EXPEDIT 4x4 using the safety brackets that are used to tie furniture to the wall.

To create the bar area a stemware rack, a wine bottle rack were cut to size, painted black and installed. To have the bar lit, the LEDBERG 3-piece light strip was used. Strips were installed and connected in series by soldering electrical wires between them.

A bench is used for seating and can be pushed inside the opening when not in use.

~ Phong, Irvine, CA

Jars of light

Materials: Inreda, Jam Jars

Description: This is a fairly basic hack, so don't be put off by complex electrics... I started out with 2 packs of Inreda cabinet lighting (I think these are the old style that come with small bulbs, rather than LED's and have 3 in a pack).

1. You first need to take these lights apart so all you have left is the cable, socket, bulb and black grommet that holds the cable.

2. Having collected and thoroughly cleaned the jam jars, drill a hole in the lid (8mm in this case).

3. Rebuild the lighting using the lid to mount the grommet that holds the wire.

You may also notice the shelves are a Stolmen hack similar to this Stolmen-Jarpen shelves hack.

Although I originally saw this idea at a design event in Newcastle, I should also give credit to this previous hack

~ Pods, Newcastle

Back painted glass backsplash

Materials: Effektiv, Inreda

Description:
Our kitchen does not have a full splash and no matter how careful I am, I have spilled stuff all over the walls. I used to put a piece of cardboard paper around the stove everytime I cooked to protect the most affected area. We like the look of the trendy back painted glass backsplash but it is too expensive to have it custom made. We noticed that Ikea carries a lot of extra glass shelves for book cases and cabinets. All of these shelves are made of tempered glass; its resistance to high temperature and shock made it ideal for use in the kitchen area. The extra shelf of the Ikea �Effektiv� and �Inreda� series have a height of 14 inches so they fit well in between the granite and the cabinet.They are both priced at a steal of $10 a piece.

I googled the internet trying to find a paint that bonds well with glass. I found an outfit who sells glass primer paint online but you have to get it by a gallon and we only need a couple of ounces. We ended up buying from Michaels the Delta Permaenamel paint and Surface conditioner which is specially formulated for glass. We cleaned the surface really good, applied the Surface conditoner and painted it with two coats of Permaenamel. After the paint cured in ten days, we adhered the glass to the wall using a clear non corrosive silicone.



The �Effektiv� is 31.5� long and our back wall measures 95�. Three �Effektiv� panels turned out to be a perfect fit when we left approximately .16� gap in between the panels. The gap is hardly noticeable as we applied the clear silicone all around the edges to seal it and fill in any gaps. As for the side wall, the �Inreda� is only 22� in length so it comes up a little short. Originally, we were hoping to cut the �Effektiv� for a better fit but unfortunately, tempered glass cannot be cut or altered.

I�ve attached a before and after picture. The green glass backsplash really helps to brighten up our otherwise plain and boring kitchen. Besides being descent looking, it is also super easy to install, clean and maintain.

~ Rebecca

Quick Besta hack with Inreda magazine shelf

Materials: Besta structure, Besta shelves, Inreda magazine shelf

Description: I changed recently my kitchen cupboard opting for Besta. I had jars/boxes I wanted to show but there were a lot of them. During my 54 412 555th visit my Ikea store, I saw the Inreda magazine shelf (which exist in aluminium or plastic) and this made a bell ring in my brain.

Back home, I put it on a Besta shelf, put my jars on, pull and all was perfectly sliding.

As I wanted it on a shelf put above a space closed by a Vara door, I added a shelf directly on the fixed first shelf. Inreda went onto it and 'clipped' on it at the back.

When I pull the Inreda plastic shelf the wood shelf slide with it. This is heavier but also gives more support. If there is no double 'shelving', the Inreda will clip in the fixed shelf and you won't be able to make it slide.

You can also do this hack onto an open shelf (with no space closed by a door below). Inreda won't 'clip' at the back of the shelf as there is no space left, so Inreda will be elevated of some millimeters at the back but this won't prevent it to slide correctly (see drawing).

The Inreda magazine shelf exists in aluminium which is stronger to hold jars but can scratch the shelf below.

N.B.: note you have to hold the shelf when you slide it and take sthg with the other hand. It won't stand by itself.

~ Jerry, Belgium

INREDA bookend as a table attached to a BILLY bookcase in an otherwise not usable space

Materials: 1 INREDA bookend, metal cut tools (optional), 1 screw, 1 drill, 1 screwdriver

Description: I am of the opinion that in a small apartment no place is to be wasted and I had no space at all next to my BILY bookcase to put a table for my phone and mobile phone. I noticed that the INREDA bookend is flat and I turned it 90� and hooked on to a BILLY bookcase it is a perfect little table for my stuff!

In order to secure it, you simply use its little hole to drill a screw in! In my case, I had to cut one end off with metal work tools (I went to a tool shop for that) because the door would bump in otherwise.

~ A. G�ntert, Essen, NRW, Germany

Organized Jewelry

Materials: Inreda DVD holder, Ice cube trays

Description: More of a repurpose than a hack..

~ Laura Pazzaglia, Anzio, Italy

Hallway storage bench

Materials: Besta shelf units, Inreda drawers

Description: I wanted something in our front hallway where we could store shoes, umbrellas, gloves, etc; put the mail and house keys; and have somewhere to sit when putting on or removing shoes (we like to keep the house shoe-free as much as possible).

I bought three Besta shelf units -- two singles, one double -- and screwed them all together in an L shape. The open shelves at the bottom hold shoes, reusable shopping bags and umbrellas. I installed two Inreda glass drawers up top to hold smaller objects, such as gloves, scarves, sunglasses, bicycle lights, etc. Up top I have some baskets for mail and keys, and I found three square cushions at a futon store that perfectly fit the width of the bench.

~ Ali, Melbourne, Australia