Leksvik Nightstand gets chic new look

Materials: Leksvik nighstand, paint, scrapbooking sheet, spray adhesive and wooden applique

Description: I decided it was time to update my Leksvik nightstands to match my new bedroom decor.

Step 1: Lightly sand the entire piece with fine-medium sandpaper

Step 2: Glue the wooden applique (purchased at Home Depot for $5.00 CAD) on to the front of the nightstand, above the door. I used a No More Nails glue. Let dry.

Step 3: I used Benjamin Moore white Aura paint; it's a paint and primer in one, fast-drying, self-leveling, and goes on amazingly well. I used less than half one of quart of white paint to do to TWO nightstands (three coats each!)

Step 4: I painted the sunken panel of the door with my darker grey wall colour.

Step 5: Once dry, I used spray adhesive to spray the grey panel on the door lightly and apply the scrapbooking sheet. The scrapbooking page was actually transparent plastic with the black decorative pattern on it. The grey colour I painted therefore shows through the transparent areas of the sheet. I used one and half sheets on each nightstand, and cut them to the size of the panel ahead of time.

That's it! It only took about 5 hours to do each nightstand.

~ Jen Coffey, British Columbia, Canada

Leksvik to Lets Fix for Bigger TV

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Leksvik bookcase, 1X12's, 1X6's, 1/10

Description: We first rearranged some shelves on a Leksvik bookcase to hold our 27 in TV. Then we bought a larger TV.

We retained the sides, doors, and used some of the existing shelves in a wider, lower TV cabinet.

Used a Kreg Jig for nearly all the connections.

I did this in the garage of a temp home in Austin. Tools were 7.5 " circular saw, clamps, Black and Decker workmate bench, kreg jig, power drill, and power saber saw.

The sides of the bookcase were cut down about 12 inches off the top and then the original top was used to trace same design on the new tops.

The 1X12's and were used for the new bottom and middle shelf. The 1X10 for the top shelf. The original shelves were used as needed for shelves and vertical sides.

~ L. DeFrance, Woodstock, IL and Austin, TX

LEKSVIK floating TV stand

Materials: LEKSVIK coffee table, 1 x 12 x 10 #2 Whitewood Pine Board (lowes), Simpson Strong-Tie Angle (x3), white trim semi gloss paint, Stripper Gel, Wood strength glue, white decorative cable cover, Cordless drill and drill bits, Stud Finder, Circular Saw.

Description: I was inspired by this hack.

To make it easier to hack, I tried to reuse the IKEA assembly mechanism (bolts and screws) that the table had, to make this easy with just a few cuts.

First, disassemble the table keeping in mind what part of the table you're gonna use. (see picture with doodle). I wanted to have enough space in the shelves to fit DVD's, games and my kids Wii console. Cut the shelves to your desired length.

My table was painted over, so I stripped the paint off with Stripper Gel and later painted it white with leftover semi-gloss trim paint to match the wall panel, that way it blends as part of the wall. After it dries, put it back together as you would right out of the box.

Placing it on the wall is the tricky part, it's heavy piece, so that's why I used very strong and large tie-angles to hold it in place, and also *very important* to use a stud finder and screw the angles directly to the 2x4 inside your wall, so it holds in place without the risk of coming apart or falling.

Finally, glue the painted pine board to the top and guide all the TV cables through the white cable cover and VOILA!

~ Daniel R, Atlanta, GA

Leksvik Pine CD Cabinets and Ikea Pine Shelves = Kitchen Cabinets

Materials: Leksvik Pine CD Cabinets + Set of 5 Ikea antique pine shelves

Description: 1. Saw off the bottom of both units to remove base.
2. Fix both to the wall.
3. Use a whole shelf vertically on the left (against the wall) to give a more finished effect.
4. Fit shelves screwing them from the inside of each cabinet.

The antique pine actually marries quite well with the oak of the Ulriksdal kitchen units.

Sorry about the mess in the kitchen. I'm not looking for a design award, just sharing an idea.

~ Annette, France

Stain retraining

Materials: LEKSVIK dining table, INGOLF chairs (my chair style is no longer available), F�RH�JA kitchen cart, water based polyurethane, foam brushes, 3 cans spray primer, 5 cans spray paint, craft paper, painters tape, orbital sander, 30 grit & 120 grit sandpaper, 320 grit sanding block

Description: I have had my kitchen table and chairs for about 6 years and they were starting to show their age. I've noticed that ikea uses a finish that becomes "tacky," marred, and discolored with use. Very few of ikea's products actually have the same stain and finish. I picked up the kitchen cart at the thrift store for $25 and wanted all the pieces to come together and look like an actual set of furniture rather than a hodge-podge of mis-matched pieces. I also needed to brighten the space in my kitchen to give it the illusion of more space.

I sanded the table top of the table and cart with 30-grit sandpaper on my orbital sander to strip off the old finish. Once I was down to bare wood, I changed to 120-grit paper. Once I had the tops smooth, I covered them with craft paper to protect them during the spray painting.

I hand-sanded the chairs, the base of the table, and base of the kitchen cart with 120 grit sandpaper to improve adhesion and applied spray primer. After priming, everything was coated three times to ensure a good solid finish. I used high gloss white.

The craft paper had protected the table tops and no additional sanding was needed. I applied minwax "ipswich pine." I purchased the 8oz size can of stain and used about 3/4. I left the stain on for 12 mins, wiped off the excess with a rag, and was satisfied with the color intensity. I let the stain dry overnight. The following day, i applied 5 coats of water-based polyurethane. Each coat was allowed to dry for about an hour with a fan blowing across the table tops then it was lightly sanded with a 320-grit sanding block. The dust was wiped off with a moist sponge and allowed to completely dry before the next application. I used glossy polyurethane and chose 5 coats because the table is a high-use surface.

Overall, I spent $55 on paint, stain, and polyurethane. I already owned all the other supplies.

Unfortunately, I don't have any "before" or "during" photos. This hack would look great in a variety of paint and stain colors.

~ Oriah, Charlottesville, VA

Leksvik Becomes Kitty Potty

Materials: Leksvik Media Cabinet

Description: Ikea Hackers has some great ideas for hiding a litter box, and that is where I got the idea to create our own stealth kitty potty.

I used a Leksvik media cabinet that I no longer needed.

It's a large cabinet which is what I needed since we use an XL litter box with a cover. The cabinet in fact is big enough to hold the litter box, a box of Swheat Scoop litter, a scooper, and a box with plastic bags. I also added a mat to catch any litter tracking.



I started by removing the two shelves, added two coats of black paint, and I added a hook for the scoop on the inside wall.

I didn't want to buy new doors, but the glass doors had to be covered. Since my son loves graphic novels and anime art, I used Mod Podge that I bought from Michaels, pictures from a book on graphic art from the Barnes and Noble clearance section.

I removed the glass doors. With Mod Podge, it's easier to work with small pieces of paper since it dries quickly. I cut out the pictures and brushed a thin layer of Mod Podge directly on the glass. I placed the picture on top and smoothes it out with my hands to remove any air bubbles. I arranged the pictures to completely cover the glass on the doors and one the doors were covered, added two coats of Mod Podge to seal it completely waiting for each coat to dry completely before adding the next coat.

I cut a hold the size of a pet door on the side of the cabinet. I tried to install a pet door, but found that the walls of the cabinet are too thin to support the door properly. So I ended up buying some strong tape from Home Depot and wrapping the edges of my very bad sawing job.

I attached a CatMouse Electronic Litter Box Odor Eliminator that I bought at Petsmart to the inside of the cabinet and the smell is literally nonexistent.

I already had the cabinet and Mod Podge, the cost was: litter box $15, the Catmouse $25, the tape and hand-saw about $10, mat $4, and scoop $3. Super easy, no smell, and the cats love it!

See more of the hidden kitty litter.

~ Aracely, Orange County, CA

Leksvik book shelf to sewing table

Materials: Leksvik book shelf, metal shelf brackets, screws, rawl plugs, wood glue, wood stain, drill

Description: When I decided this year I didn't like my Olde Worldy obbity Leksvik-filled living room anymore, I had to find a good use for the 3 book shelves. The rest of the series (glass topped buffet, hanging glass cabinet and drawers) were going into sewing/guest room, which I was going to customise into being more tailored for for my sewing hobby, while keeping the guest folding bed, IKEA as well, of course. One of the book shelves would fit into the sewing room, too, another went to a friend (the Leksvik shelves are no longer available, she was glad to get an extra one) and the third on would yield enough wood to custom build a sewing table.

I fixed two of the biggest shelf boards together with metal plates and glue, then added three of the narrow back-boards, cut to length, for reinforcement, because a sewing machine is very heavy. I then screwed metal shelf brackets that I had from a former project onto the reinforcements.

I added a piece of back-board onto the drawer unit which would become the left side of the sewing table.

After fixing rawl plugs into the wall (yet another flimsy plasterboard inner wall that drove me batty) I screwed the table top in place at the back while it rests on top of the board on the left side. Now it was time to cut the right side into shape. I used the lower part of the book shelf side, cut it to the desired height, added another back-board for the table top to rest on securely, and fixed it all into place.

After dabbing some wood stain onto the now exposed raw edges that had been smoothed, and the filled holes where the book shelves had once rested on, the customised table was done.

It didn't cost me anything, because I had all the materials already, and I'm mighty proud of it.

See more of the sewing table process posts and many photos.


~ Nicole, Scotland

Pimp my IKEA table

Materials: LEKSVIK

Description: A Leksvik on the cheap gets a makeover with painted on "placemats" and "chalkboard" setting. The flower motif is set with a layer of clear coat with glitter sprayed on a template. 

See more of the Leksvik table.

~ Heidi, Norway

Leksvik goes cool

Materials: Leksvik bookshelf

Description: We took some IKEA fabric and nailed it behind a Leksvik bookshelf. No one can see our boring wall anymore and it looks very cool.

~ xenu, Germany.