simple ideas for cat litter boxes

sara's wheelaway cat litter box
sara sent me her cat litter box constructed from 2 snack boxes. she flipped a smaller snack box on top a larger one. cut a hole for her large kitty to go through and attached the two boxes with hinges.

should you want to paint it, do remember to paint it before you construct the boxes - it will save you time painting round the metal plates. sara also added wheels. last thing is to place a litter pan in it and you're set.

the finished cat litter box

cut an entrance for your cat with a jigsaw

attach the two boxes with hinges

view sara's cat litter photoset and instructions on flickr.

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robert's version (updated Jan 30, 2008)
this is a cool version of sara's idea. same 2 snack boxes but with a square cut-out, which is probably easier to achieve. the stenciled paw prints are just too cute, don't you think?

see robert's instructions on his flickr set.

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dee's kitty litter hideaway
this is dee's version, build from a hol storage box. she just cut out a section from the side for a concealed litter box that's big enough to hold an extra large litter box, the extra litter and all the extras (poop scoop, litter deodorizer and bags).

dee also added 2 bygel cutlery caddies with the center section of the holders cut out so they could be hung through the holes of the hol storage box. perfect for brushes, combs and extra little things she uses for her pampered persian!

dee's bonus: you can even use the piece you cut out from the hol for a kitchen trivet!

(on a side note, after a year running this site i've received only one doggie ikea hack. dog lovers not ikea hackers? :O )

other cat furniture:
> build your own cat stairs
> stairway to cat heaven
> compact kitty box
> cat bed
> stolmen cat gym
> the cat pod
> no pooper cat litter

microsoft surface started as an ikea hack

chris tipped me on this piece of trivia.

do you know that microsoft surface originated from an ikea hack?

a microsoft what? in short, it's a surface computer that turns a table top into an interactive surface. so you and your team can use objects, touch and gestures to collaborate easily, moving beyond the mouse and keyboard.

the interesting thing is that when bill gave the idea the nod in 2003, the team made the first prototype with an ikea table. i don't recognise the table though. any idea, any one? they cut a hole through its top and added a sheet of architect vellum as diffuser.

the prototype

it's not a great looking hack but i guess it did a good enough job. and because of its humble ikea beginnings, the world can now have the shiny one below.

the upgrade

anyone tried it?

ikeahacker joins liferemix

hmm ... i'm not sure whether ikeahacker (me? productive?) fits the profile but i am honoured to be invited.

liferemix is a network of productivity blogs, featuring syndicated content from really cool sites. check out the sampler - 100 great tips to improve your life.

after reading about 10 posts, i felt that there is hope for a more organised, less cluttered, more zen-y me! i am currently working on the waking up early bit the past week. so far, bed-5 me-2.

go subscribe to the rss feed and get awesome productivity tips daily.

ikea catalogue 2008 is out!

every new ikea catalogue is a bit of an event for me. i can't wait to get my hands on it, leaf through it - first a quick overview, then a slow study of new items, new ideas and creative uses. also, very importantly, to see if they've dropped the prices of old items further, which is always a good thing.

well, it is the time of the year again and i've just spent the last 2 hours flipping through the online catalogue. i'm still not done with the 370 pages!

at first glance, some of the the stuff looks seriously good. i'm eyeing the besta tv units and i am in love with the red linnarp glass cabinets you see on the cover.

i hope they look as good in person. guess i'll be checking them out at ikea this weekend.

alicia's craft corner

alicia's craft corner turned me all green. i love it that it is so flowery, so girly, with such a beautiful mix of colours and patterns.

the craft storage box below is a fira chest after several coats of paint, lacquer and two attempts at covering it with paper. well worth the trouble, i think.

the insides of the chest drawers are painted yellow, lacquered and covered with scrapbook paper.

above her craft table is a chris noticeboard, with squares painted to match the room colour scheme.

under the craft table is a helmer drawer unit. originally in silver but alicia spray glued pieces of paper to each drawer and totally transformed it from officey to pretty!

click to view more of alicia's craft corner.

cook up a work-at-home desk

smul assembled this sleek desk set-up from a kitchen counter top and kitchen cabinets.

"we wanted something that wasn't so wide but quite long. it also had to be nice looking since we don't have office space in our apartment and needed to have our computer in the living room. it is actually a kitchen counter top (pronomen) and kitchen wall cabinets (faktum with �rlig doors) that we have built together into a desk and side cabinet. for the end of the countertop that needs legs we used vika kaj and under the cabinets we used capita legs.

i like it since we can fit in our files, knick-knacks and even our big printer. even though it is a desk it does not make the room look like an office."

dining table with vika fintorp legs

this is one sexy dining table for two that jackson built. don't you just love the curvy legs?

"this is the dining table i built using the vika fintorp table legs. first, i constructed the underframe (the black pieces of wood seen through the glass top).

essentially, i made it like a large picture frame using 45 degree miter cuts. after painting each component, i attached the legs to the frame and then simply placed the window on top. the fit is so snug between the underframe and the frame of the window that i didn't even have to connect them in any way. the total cost for this project was around $60, not including tools or painting supplies which i already had on hand. the cost rundown goes like this:

vika fintorp legs: $40
window from Habitat Restore: $5
wood for the underframe: $5
yellow paint: $10

i later painted the feet of the vika fintorp legs black, which was a very surprising improvement over the original drab gray.

i'm very happy with the way the dining table turned out and think it fits my little space perfectly!
jackson's non-ikea bonus: "the pictures also include another small hack. although it is not from ikea, it sells a very similar product. the snake plant on the table is planted inside of a simple box shelf. i cut a piece of sheet metal to the right size, liquid nailed it on the bottom of the shelf, and then caulked the inside. i think it looks great for such a simple hack."