The 'just-so-I-can-say-I-hacked-something' light

Materials: Ordning cutlery caddy, Hemma table lamp base, cheap plastic folder

Description: I stumbled on this website a few weeks ago, and decided I had to do one. I've seen some very creative ideas, as well as some not-so-much, but I admire everyone for trying.

Perhaps I'll do something else on a grander scale, but for my first hack I just wanted to do something cheap and easy.

Get an Ordning caddy for 2.99 and a Hemma table lamp base for $5.

Now grab yourself a plastic folder (mine was mostly clear, just to diffuse the light.) $0.50 at Big Lots. You can use colored if you want for a different look. Cut it just wide enough to line the inside of the Ordning and it will slide under the lip. Otherwise you could use glue to secure it I suppose.

Use the collar from the hemma lamp base and trace a circle onto the bottom of the Ordning. I used a Dremmel tool to cut out and sand the hole.

Put the rest of the lamp together and....

I think it turned out pretty decent, also makes some nice light patterns on the wall. Not bad for $8.49 plus tax. Thought about making it a hanging light as well, maybe a couple over the counter in the kitchen...

~ Steve B., Tacoma, WA

Ordning living room standing lamp and pendant light

Materials: lamps, Ordning cutlery holder, children's toys and dessert bowl

Description: I made several lamps with IKEA components using:

- Lamps
- Utensils holder
- Small pots of children's toy

The floor lamp uses 3 lamps from IKEA and 3 "pots" of a child's toy from IKEA and three Ordning (short) as lampshades. Each bulb has its own switch. The long stainless steel rods I bought elsewhere.

The ceiling light uses four Ordning containers (long) as lampshades and four lamps from IKEA without its usual plastic shade. Their stems have been shortened. On the ceiling, I used two IKEA dessert bowl to hide the cables and holes.

~ Jo Walling, Beaconsfield, QC, Canada

Utensil holder becomes exterior light

Materials: Ikea Ordning metal utensil holder, spray paint, jb weld, tin snips, jelly jar light kit from big box store

Description: We are doing a huge remodel and I had been sent to pick exterior lights numerous times. I just could not justify the price for just kind of liking them... This whole thing cost me less than $30 for 2!!!

It's quite simple and I will be surprised if it has not been done before.

Take and toss or repurpose jelly jars.

Mark out where light bulb is to go on bottom side of utensil holder, tin snip out the sq. (the light kit fits perfect between the little bumpy "feet" - this was a coincidence)

Scuff up around the hole according to your jb weld directions. Jb weld it up and wait.

Put it on some card board and paint until you are happy.

Have a handy person install and voila! cheap but nifty outdoor light... Surprisingly it lets out a ton of light and our neighbor already came to admire!

I think I am getting the hang of this hacking stuff ;)

~ nicole, scottsdale, arizona

Ordning Wake-up Light

Materials: Ordning, Lobbo, Hemma

Description: I like waking up with a dawn simulator alarm clock, but unfortunately the one I have has controls that are less than user-friendly. What I'd really want is a wake-up light that lets me program different wake-up times for each day of the week. Since I couldn't find anything like that, I decided to build one.



IKEA items used:
- 1 Ordning cutlery caddy
- 1 Hemma pendant lamp cord set
- 2 Lobbo lamp shades
- 4 wooden dowels

Other items used:
- 1 plug-in timer
- 1 Velleman programmable dimmer kit
- 2 faulty CD-R
- 1 old PC power cord
- odds and ends

The Ordning makes up the body of the lamp. This was lined with the first of the Lobbo shades, cut to size. One of the Ordning holes was widened to fit the Hemma cable plug thingy. This secures the cable, and additionally served to connect a grounding wire to the Ordning - because the Ordning is metal, safety requires it to be grounded; that is also why I used a 3-wire PC power cable.

I found that a CD is just about the perfect size to act as a "lid" for the Ordning. I stripped the reflective layer of two misburned CD-Rs (because I wanted light reaching the body of the lamp), glued them together, and enlarged the hole using the Lobbo fitting as a template. The CD and Lobbo fitting are held together by the lamp pendant, and kept in place by IKEA wooden dowels glued to the CD. There may be simpler ways to do this if you want to make a plain lamp, but I wanted a dust cover for the electronics.

I sawed off the plug part of the plug-in timer and glued it to the "back" of my lamp, leading the wires in through the Ordnung holes. Finally I connected everything together and used the second Lobbo shade in the expected way.

Warning: electricity is hazardous, don't try hacks like this if you lack the appropriate training.

~ Eli, Belgium

Ikea Hobo Stove

Materials: Ordning cutlery stand

Description: I had an extra Ordning cutlery stand and decided to give it a different use.

As an outdoor enthusiast I decided to convert the stand into a wood-burning (hobo) stove for camping.

Cut a 'window' with a Dremel tool to create a 'window' to feed the stove with wood. And that's it, you have an Ikea Hobo Stove.

You can use the holes to insert two tent sticks to hold a pot. The holes also allow the right ventilation needed for the burn.

~ Pedro Brito, Lisbon, Portugal

Draining-lamp

Materials: ORDNING cutlery drainer

Description: You need a potato-masher, an ORDNING drainer and a painted wood board.

I fixed the potato-masher on the board and attached the ORDNING drainer on the handle of the potato-masher with a little flat piece of iron.

I fixed a socket (linked to an electric wire taken on an old lamp) inside the drainer... and there you go !

It gives a beautiful dotted-light to accompany your reading before you go to sleep.

~ Pierre Gonzalez, France

Hacked Ikea kitchen timers shoot time lapses

Materials: Ikea Ordning timer

Description: Make a cheap and easy Ikea Time Lapse Panning Unit with the Ikea Ordning for your next photo shoot.

Here are samples of what it does.

See more of the time lapse panning unit

~ Getawaymoments, Florida

Samtid Lamp into the future

Materials: Samtid Lamp and Ordning Cutlery Stand. Electric drill and adjustable metal cutter tool, rounded metal file, heavy duty gloves, goggles and two people

Description: I was searching for a replacement lamp shade for my Samtid Lamp, after the original plastic shade had warped during three years use, this was down to it being in direct sunlight. Unfortunately replacement shades are not available and I wanted something more modern. I spotted the Ordning large cutlery holder on a trip to Ikea.

Measure and mark the centre spot on the back of the cutlery holder.

One person wearing work gloves and goggles holds either sides on the cutlery holder tightly, best done on a piece of wood to stop any marking on the cutlery stand, but prevent much movement when drilling. This is the best option if you don't have a work stand.

The other person sets the metal cutter to around 45 mm diameter, starts the drill slowly on the centre spot and quickly bring the drill up to full speed. Some heat is generated throughout the cutlery stand, but you should cut through in well under a minute.

Smooth down any rough edges with the metal file and fit to the lamp.

A simple hack to modernise this lamp.

~ Ben Hallifax, London

$5.38 (+tax) ceiling porch light

Materials: Ordning Cutlery Stand, plastic ceiling light, Dremel

Description: Not sure if this exact project has already been done, but this was somewhat based off of the "let there be light" hack from an Italian contributor.

I purchased a cheap plastic ceiling light from Lowes ($1.39). It is one that holds a single bulb and has the plastic collar that secures a difuser/shade/whatever.

Using a Dremel I cut a small portion of the bottom of the Ordning ($3.99)so that it can slide up socket. Once the light is installed in the ceiling the collar will hold the modified Orning to the light.

Pretty cheap/easy and it beat staring at a bare bulb.

~ Alan, Florida

From Kitchen to Home Studio

Materials: Ikea Ordning Dish drainer

Description: The hack is really simple. I needed something useful to create a litlle home studio, but what I found in specialized shops was too expensive. For this hack, you just need the Ordning Dish drainer but you have to reverse the position of the railings. We have lots of place in the back for cables and electric plugs.

~ Jean-François CAUCHE,Lille / France