Floating Star Wars Beds

Materials: Linnmon Desk Top, MALM Floating Nightstand , 200lb Picture Frame Hangers, screwdriver, leveler, saw

Description: We bought two of everything for our boys new Star Wars themed bedroom.
Used the Linnmon Desktop (19.99) as the headboards and the MALM Floating Nightstands.

We cut the headboards down a few inches for the width of a twin bed (we added two inches for bedding). While the MALM is suppose to be used with the bed on the floor, we used 200lb picture frame hangers for them to look like they are floating. Used the same hangers for the headboards. Got them at Home Depot for $14.99 each.

Screwed everything into the walls and used leveler to line things up.

~ Team Thompson, United States

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

King size MALM bed with no headboard storage solutions available? Time to get HACKED

Materials: 1 King size MALM bed frame, 1 4'x8'x3/4" sheet of birch plywood, 1 2'x4'x1/4" sheet of birch luan plywood, approximately 20' of doorstop material, 8 L brackets, various screws, etc

Description: 1) Determined how far away from the wall I wanted the top shelf to be. In our case, we felt that 11"-12" would be good.
2) I measured the width on the 3/4" plywood and cut it out using my table saw.
3) Since the MALM bed is 82 1/2" wide, I knew I needed to account for the face frames on each end since I wanted everything to be flush with the MALM headboard that came with the bed. So I cut the shelf to a length of 81 3/4". My face frame material (the doorstop mentioned in the materials) is 3/8" thick.

4) I wanted the shelves on the sides to be the same height as the bed once the top was sitting on them. So I cut 4 sides out of the 3/4" plywood that were 12" deep by 29 7/8" high.
5) I then cut 4 shelves for the sides out of the 3/4" plywood that were 12" deep and 9 3/4" wide.
6) I assembled the bookcases for each end by nailing the shelves into place through the sides. 4 2" brad nails along each side is more than sufficient.
7) I cut the back pieces out of the 1/4" birch luan and attached with small finish nails, making sure that the pieces were square.
8) I measured the exposed edges of plywood and cut all of the face frame material to the appropriate lengths.
9) Nail on the vertical pieces first, then the horizontal pieces. To get that look like real furniture, I made sure to rip the face frame material so that it was about 1/4" wider than the plywood so there would be a little overhang.
10) After I gave everything a really thorough sanding with 220 grit sandpaper (pay special attention to the transitions between the plywood and face frame to make it perfectly smooth), I applied one coat of clear satin polyurethane to everything. I had previously tested different finishes to see which ones matched the birch veneer closest.
11) I let the poly dry overnight before sanding it one more time with 000 grit steel wool to make it really smooth.
12) Installation was pretty straightforward. I attached the 2 L brackets to the side of the shelf that would be against the MALM headboard, and then crawled behind the bed and attached them to the bed. While under there I attached 2 more L brackets to the shelf and the wall making sure to secure them with heavy duty wall anchors.
13) The book shelves were slid in place, making sure they were flush with the outside of the MALM headboard, and fastened to the top shelf with 2 L brackets each.
14) You can see from the pics that I left a gap in the back of the top shelf. This is so that cords have a place to go behind the shelf.

~ Jeff, Pittsburgh

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Lifting up IKEA table for bed to fit with other beds

Materials: MALM Occasional table, wood, steel plates, saw and screwdriver

Description: We liked MALM Occasional table in oak, which went with our bedroom, but our non IKEA bed was to high.
Made an extension which I think look pretty and work well.
Moved the wheels from the table to a piece of wood by cutting out enough space for them.
Added extension to this piece fitting into the place where the wheels had bin.

Got the wood covered by steel plates, folded by a local metalworker.
Could be done in copper or aluminium yourself, which is softer than steel.
Voila!

~ Frode, Norway

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

Ikea Malm Closet drawers

Materials: Ikea Malm 3 drawer Chest White

Description: My new home had a closet 36" wide with nothing in it. I needed shelves and drawers so the 32" wide Ikea Malm chest of drawers was the perfect thing to start with. I found one on Craigslist that was stained, beat up, and cheap...

I had to disassemble and reassemble the dresser into my closet. I braced it to the wall. I put one 2x4 behind it, and used scraps of 2x4 cut into precise sizes to brace it into the wall with screws.

I bought MDF board (which I later primed and painted) to cover the top. This was the base of my closet.

I used crown molding to hide the braces, and give it a built-in feel.

I put up the rest of the MDF boards in my closet, and used some simple molding. I nailed it into place with my nail gun.

Finally, I caulked the molding and put hardware on the Malm to finish the high-end look of my closet.

~ Matt W, Dallas, TX

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

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

More hacks on IKEAHackers.net

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

Malm bed ledge hack

Materials: Malm Queen size Bed x 2, L brackets

Description: I wanted a bed ledge, but I didn't need Malm's existing slide out storage (or want to spend that much, and I like to reuse/re-purpose). I wanted a ledge the same length as my Malm Black/brown queen bed, and none of Ikea's ledges or occasional tables had the right dimensions or colour match.


1. Procure a second Malm bed (second hand wouldn't hurt the pocket as much)
2. Discard the side rails, the metals supports and the slats
3. Drill holes in your 'second' Malm bed head(keeping the first and most loved Malm scar free should you prefer) to match those on your chosen L brackets. I think I placed them 300 mm from the edge...
4. Take the second Malm's foot and align the second head to the foot to form an upside down L - the foot will become the ledge, and the head will become the second set of 'legs' to your ledge. The mark and drill the guide holes for the other side of the L brackets.

5. Place L bracket on the other side of the 'foot' and screw in.
6. (OPTIONAL) Matched L brackets to first Malm bed head. I did not do this, and with the other side screwed in, and the L brackets, it limits lateral movement of the ledge, without scarring my first Malm.

The only limitation is that the Malm foot needs to face the wall to hide it's ugly un-finishedness. But that's easy enough!

See more of the Malm bed ledge.

~ Sarah, Sydney, Australia

Manly DIY Play Kitchen

Materials: Malm nightstands, Bygel rail and hooks, Lansa drawer pulls, Duktig utensils and pots/pans,

Description: I made my two year old son a bitchin� kitchen, inspired by the likes of Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, and Anthony Bourdain (who�s kitchen I�ve never seen, but I can only imagine). The kid loves cooking SO much, I knew this would be a home run gift he would enjoy for years.

But of course I couldn't just buy one and put it together�where's the fun in that?!

I hunted down gently used furniture I might be able to turn into a culinary haven. I finally scored two Ikea Malm nightstands.

I won't lie, there were several challenges during this project.

First challenge? Little to no work space. We have a tiny basement and no garage to set up tools or a work table. And with the winter weather on our heels, the driveway/backyard weren�t awesome options. We were scrunched, to say the least.

Second challenge? It was not my intent to get two different cabinets. I got the small one first, then a week later picked up the bigger one, immediately realizing the problem. They were both "Malm nightstands" but I should have asked for measurements�lesson learned. Though at $20, I decided I could make it work and bought the big one anyway, hoping to solve my height variance issue later.

I moved forward with paint. After sanding everything down (just to rough up the shiny veneers), everything got a coat of my fav primer�it adds more "stick". I then sprayed the small cabinet with aluminum paint and brushed the big one with white trim paint, the drawers with black chalkboard paint. Everything but the aluminum was leftover from other projects, saving me big $$.

When all painting was complete (which seemed to take FOREVER) I hit everything with a coat of polyurethane �especially the oven. The aluminum had a tendency to rub off on hands/clothing/anything and I wanted to be sure it stayed put. I hit the knobs and burners with poly too.

Third challenge? The tile backsplash. It took me about a minute to find the tile I wanted, a glass, greenish, subway variety at Home Depot that I've been drooling over for years. But since we haven't done a tiling project in about 7 years, we were supply-less�there in lies the challenge. Good thing I was able to talk a nice Home Depot flooring expert into doing this part of the project for me...whew.

Which brings me to the Fourth Challenge. The oven door.

Let me start by saying we are in NO WAY wood-workers. (Pretty sure that will be eminently clear in the next paragraph) While I've been reading and learning from the likes of Ana White, I'm long from being confident with this fine art.

So if you think it's possible to cut a hole in the middle of a piece of oak plywood (leftover from a train project of some kind), you'd be dead, dead wrong. Believe me, we tried, and failed miserably. We hurled the result in the trash after two days of attempting some emergency wood-filler-and-primer surgery�it was so bad I didn't even take a picture.

It caused some major frowny faces, arguments, guffaws of frustration, some reading time on Ana White�s website, and another trip to Home Depot where I took up a whole aisle laying out my pieces and measuring everything at least 10 times. Luckily the weather cooperated so we could work outside on "Oven Door Part Deux".

The results were PERFECT.

Luckily, there were a few "piece of cake" parts. Like the sink (a dog bowl from Amazon), faucet (recycled from Stu�s grandparents), burners (wood discs and dowels from Michael's), knobs (painted wood discs from Michael's), and oven legs (large wooden dowel cut down) all came together with no problem.

A few touchups, some hinges, handles, oven rack, and knob attachment finished the project. I couldn�t help but make them Wolf red.

The piece behind the knobs is actually an original drawer cut down and gorilla-glued to the top of the oven opening. To attach the knobs we drilled holes slightly larger than our screws. A tiny pilot hole in the back of the knobs helped the screw go in without cracking the wimpy wood disc. The knobs turn freely without falling off.

I built the oven rack out of a small metal cooling rack. A couple screws (which I painted black) hold it in place nicely.

A piece of plexi finished the oven door (easy buy at Home Depot but I had to cut it down myself). I was sure to drill pilot holes in the plexi AND wood to prevent cracking. A magnet holds the door closed. And, my favorite part, I added a cheapy motion sensor light that turns on when the door is opened. Fabulous!

Glue, scissors, and some paint made the burners look like they could pack some heat.

I used my favorite drawer pulls from Ikea, the same ones we used in our old kitchen. They make perfect tea towel holders too!

We�re so pleased with the turnout and can�t wait to try all the yummy food Ethan will make us for years to come!

Check out the full story at my blog: http://preparingforpeanut.com/ethans-manly-diy-play-kitchen/

Product list
Tile: Home Depot; Cutting Food: Melissa & Doug; Toaster: Hape; Stand Mixer: Hape; Utensils: Ikea; Pots & Pans: Ikea;Handheld Mixer: Pottery Barn Kids; Red Hanging Bucket: Ikea; Hanging Rail: Ikea; Drawer Pulls: Ikea; Cabinets: Originally Ikea, found on Craigslist; Faucet: hand me down; Sink: dog bowl from Amazon; Burners: DIY; Knobs: DIY; Wooden Crate: leftover packaging from christmas gift; Oven Rack: already owned; Metal pitcher: Ikea; Espresso Cups: Ikea; Baking pan set: Pottery Barn Kids; Aluminum Spray Paint: Rustoleum.

Check out the full story at my blog.

~ Becky @ Preparingforpeanut.com, United States

An EXPEDIT Bed for kids!

Materials: 2 2x2 EXPEDIT, MALM, SULTAN LUR�Y, SULTAN HUGLO

Description: After deciding to renovate my children's bedroom, and searching this site and coming across some fantastic posts, I thought I'd give it a go.

You may recognise a lot of the hacks like this, this, this and this!

It comprises of a MALM chest of drawers, 2 x EXPEDIT, SULTAN LUR�Y bed base, a SULTAN HUGLO mattress and some 125 x 25 timber and some 25 X 25 timber spurring.

So first things first.
I needed to do a test fit of the items together with the mattress. I knew that I really needed to give the bed some stability by fixing the top to at least two walls, but with the 2 2x2 Expedit's and the MALM set of drawers the overall bed length would be too long. I will come to that later.


Bed Construction.

So as I said earlier, I needed to make sure the bed was firmly secured against the wall on two sides. I constructed the main frame from some 125 x 25mm timber (5x1 in olde English!!) and fixed it to the wall using frame fixings (The same used to fix door frames and windows etc to walls). I did this on two sides and then screwed and glued the other two sides together

As you can see from the picture, I then glued and screwed some 25x25mm battens to the base of the frames. These would act as the support for the bed slats. Also in the picture above, I have already attached one of the Expedit units to the wall. This was done again using screw fixings through the edge of the units as this is where the internal timber supports are.

You may have already noticed that the height of the MALM is lower than the overall height of the EXPEDIT, but this was rectified using a thin piece of MDF and a cut down shelf from a LACK table!!

The LUR�Y Slats resting on the 25x25

The next task was to fit the slats. As IKEA sell these separately it was just a simple case of laying them out on the battens that were in place

The battens over the MALM drawers were screwed down with 2 50mm screws. This ensured that the screws penetrated the battens, the filler pieces on top of the drawers and the drawers themselves.

The next task was a bit of a tidy up job. The gap down the side of the MALM drawers was filled in using a piece of white faced chipboard

Of course, then came two sticking points. The first was how does my son get on the bed?

That turned out to be easier than I thought. I just cut down the ladders that he originally had on his large cabin bed so they fit and after a few well chiselled groves in the bed frame, they slid into place.

The second was that my wife panicked that he would fall out of bed. After informing her that he would probably only do it once and after recovering from a black eye for such a "stupid thing to say" I went with a fence style bed guard. This were constructed from some timber that I had in my garage and two left over slats from shortening my daughters FJELLSE bed.

What about the gap at the end of the mattress you may ask. Well after some consideration I decided to turn this into a shelf. I had some left over white faced chipboard which I cut to size, screwed down and sealed around the edges. I then made a 'Headboard' of sorts in order to stop his pillows falling off the mattress.

I also constructed a desk for him and added some VIKA ALEX drawers underneath.

See more of the Expedit children's bed.

~ Simon Millward, Basingstoke, UK

MALM meets NUMERAR Kitchen Island

Materials: MALM, NUMERAR, AKURUM

Description: My wife and I recently bought our first house. Yay! As you can imagine, living in L.A. means housing is very expensive, and we didn't have very much left in our budget to renovate the new house as much as we would have liked to.

One of the things we knew we wanted to concentrate on was creating as nice a kitchen as our dollars would let us. So that meant the usual suspects: IKEA cabinets, cheaper countertops (we wanted Ceaserstone), and less cabinetry. We also kept the stove that came with the home as we did not have the Benjamins to splurge on a new one. We also kept our old refrigerator. The only appliance we bought new was the dishwasher, also from IKEA.

I'd like to show you how we took $559 and made ourselves a pretty cool island that we love.


1. First, we outlined the footprint of the island, 3'x6' with Blue painters tape. FYI, the kitchen is not finished in these photos.

2. The next step was to build a frame base. Here we used 2x4s that are held down with angle brackets. Do you see the dresser under the window? That is an IKEA MALM bedroom dresser that we will be using as part of our island.

3. Once the base was built, we attached the MALM dresser. To the left of the dresser (as seen in this view) is an IKEA base cabinet. We found it in AS IS at IKEA and it was in rough shape as you can see. We snatched it up for $10!!

4. With both bases in, we can now move on the next step: the sides and top.

5. For the sides and the top we decide to use IKEA wood countertops. We purchased two; each one is 3'x6' basically. We cut one right in half, and voila, the sides of the island!

6. The top is, you guessed, a full sheet of the IKEA wood countertop. This is so heavy, we barely had to fasten it in place much, we just used two brackets on either end, tucked away inside so you can't see them.

7. For the face of the island, we attached a piece of 1/2" plywood to the 2x4 base and the back of the cabinets. We then used a sheet of vinyl wall panel (called Plas-Tex) that we picked up at Lowe's. It is attached with Liquid Nails, that's it. So far, its held up well. Easy to clean kick marks too!

8. This is what the other side looks like. the MALM drawer gives it a very refined look we think. The only thing left to do is to add some shelving on the right and a toekick.

9. Yes we would have liked to have some doors here instead of exposing the pots and pans, but the budget wouldn't allow it. Nobody sees this side as much anyway so we're ok with it.

Well, there you have it, our $559 kitchen island. Hopefully, it will inspire you to do something you're happy with, and not spend too much money doing it. I did sand it and seal it when it was all put together of course.

Here is a list of the items we bought (with prices, rounded to the nearest dollar) with links, if available:

(3) 2x4s (10'), Lowe's, $8.40 + tax = $9
(2) Countertops, IKEA Numerar $390 + tax = $424.
(1) IKEA Malm dresser, $69.99 + tax = $76
(1) IKEA Base Cabinet, (AS IS), $9.99 + tax = $11
(2) Shelves and back of island, Lowe's, made from (1) 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" plywood, $15.97 + tax = $17
Plas-Tex Vinyl Sheet, Lowe's, $19.98 + tax = $22
Total: $559

See more of the customised kitchen island.

~ Danny Cerezo, Los Angeles, CA

Half a loft bed

Materials: 3 x MALM with 3 drawer; 4 x Expedit 2x2

Description: Unfortunately, the bedroom in our new apartment is a bit small. To gain more storage space, we have set up our bed to MALM dressers and Expedit shelves.

First of all drawers and shelves are built according to instructions, and positioned as desired:

All pieces were connected via screws so that they can no longer move as single items.

There are differences in height between Malm and Expedit. With some boards we have cleared these:

The mattresses and bed is finished with a solid wood frame, so they can not slip off accidentally.

~ Thorsten, Cologne; Germany

Mock Built Ins with Malm and Billy

Materials: Malm 4- Drawer, Billy Bookcase

Description: We noticed that the Billy Bookcase and the Malm dressers have the same width. We decided to stack one on top of the other to create a built-in-look while giving us some additional storage. We built each of the two dressers as instructed. For the Billy shelves, we build them as instructed, except we did not attach the top or the back.

Next, we turned the Billy upside down and placed it on top of the Malm. Thus, the base of the Billy is actually the at the top of our shelves. This allowed the top of the Malm to be accessible without being obstructed by the bottom shelf and base of the Billy. The Billy and the Malm are held together by brackets. We also attached each piece to the wall. We then trimmed the base of the billy (now the top of our shelves) with crown molding to give it a built-in look. We also trimmed the bottom of the Malms.

We build the bench ourselves, as Ikea didn'??t have one to meet our specifications.

We then used the Granat cushions on the bench. We also hid an integrated lighting strip (I can'??t recall which one) behind the crown molding on the top of each Billy.

~ Rachel, Detroit, MI

MALM Captains *Full Size* Bed Hack

Materials: 2 x MALM 3-Drawer Dresser, Plywood Sheet, 2x4 Legs, Screws/ L Bracket/ Hardware, Power Drill, Hammer

Description: I found this Ikea Hack when I first moved into my tiny Brooklyn apartment (approx 8' x 9') and thought it was a great idea but my bed is not twin sized! I basically expanded Peter M.'s structure to fit a full sized mattress.

1. Build the MALM Shelves and place them in the center of the room facing out from where the bed would go.

2. Measure the size of your mattress for the size of the plywood you will need. Remember that plywood comes in 4x8 sheets so measure accordingly! I needed three pieces to build mine.

Attach the first piece of plywood to the MALM drawers and use 2x4's (approx. 30 3/4" long but measure the MALM drawers after you build it to double check) to support the opposite side of the plywood. You're going to need a fair amount of support so test the weak areas and secure extra 2x4's as needed. I used L Brackets and also secured the leg supports to the baseboard with 3' screws (against the wall) for extra support.

3. The next step changes depending on how big you want your desk to be. Measure your room and divide up the plywood (or not if your room is that small) so that both of the next two pieces will rest on the MALM drawers. (see pictures) Use 2x4's to support the other ends and use L Brackets as needed.

4. I drilled holes into the plywood so that the mattress could breathe.

And you're done! I painted mine sky blue and left some plywood showing on the desk area! I store suitcases and a rolling set of drawers underneath of my bed.

If you're not comfortable with building on this scale its best to get help lifting and securing the plywood. I managed it by myself but for a girl I'm pretty tall and beefy.

Have fun and best of luck!

~ Annatruus, Brooklyn, NY

Malm on the rise...

Materials: Malm bed frame, 4"x2" pine, 2"x2" pine, coach bolts

Description: When I lived at my old place I had loads of room to hide junk so didn't need underbed storage and I liked the Malm bed frame because it was low.

But when I moved I found myself short of storage space and contemplating buying another bed so I could store stuff under it.

Instead I paid �25 for materials and set to work to lift the Malm from ground by 7".


I started off by building the new frame by cutting the 2x2 to the length and width of the bed. Then I mortise and tenon the long piece to the centre of the two short pieces, to create a large I that the bed would sit on. I did this because I thought it would have a degree of rigidity. So far I haven't seen need!

Next I cut 4 pieces of the 4x2, 5" long, and coach bolted these to the corners of the I frame. I recessed the bolt heads so the bed could sit flush on the I frame. I also used dowels to stop the legs from swivelling, so you had two dowels and a coach bolt holding the legs to the frame. Very Sturdy!

With the bed up ended on the headboard, I aligned the I frame to bed and attached it using more coach bolts. Two to the headboard, two on the footboard. Again I recessed these bolts but this time for neatness.

And then I landed her on her four new feet! I was going to stain it to match the bed but I rather like the two-tone look!And the beauty is, if I want to bring her back down to earth, I can just unbolt the I frame and there is no scarring!

~ Nikki