Lack Gets a Makeover

Materials: Lack coffee table

Description: I wallpapered out little Lack and added decorative nails to give it a bit of glam.

See more of the Lack makeover.

~ Lizzie, Chicago

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

IVAR Bathroom Space Saver over toilet for renters

Materials: IVAR side units, IVAR shelf, OBSERVATOR cross-braces, LENDA fabric, push-pins, hammer, screwdriver

Description: Having quite small bathroom, without space for closet or an opportunity to replace any furniture, since we are renting, we have to be creative. There are many space-savers for bathroom on the market but most of them quite ugly and/or expensive ($100 easily).

We needed nice-looking closed storage with open access to the only power outlet which is place right above the toilet.

USED MATERIALS:
+ 2 IVAR side units x $20/each
+ 4 IVAR shelves x $5/each
+ 2 OBSERVATOR cross-braces (just to be safe since I couldn't make a shelf on the bottom) x $5/each
+ 1 yard of LENDA fabric x $5.99
+ 2 dozens of push-pins x $3

BUDGET: $80 TIMING: 2 hrs

I built a tower with cross-braces, mounted shelves everywhere except bottom, covered side part with fabric and made a curtain to cover it all from the front side. Easy-peasy but very pretty looking if you are into Scandinavian design.

~ Natasha, NYC

Meddling with Melodi

Materials: Melodi pendant lamp

Description: I've wanted a feature lighting pendant for some time for our dining nook. Any of the beautiful pendants I've seen have unfortunately been outside of a reasonable price, so the opportunity arose for me to come up with a little something of my own. Here is what I came up with ...

Materials used
- One IKEA Melodi pendant lamp
- Felt sheets {I used roughly 8, at €0.72 per sheet}
- Glue/adhesive
- Scissors
- Measuring tape {not necessary}
- A steady hand and a good eye for cutting straightish lines

I began by cutting the felt into 1x5 inch strips - by cutting the felt rectangle into vertical strips, then cutting the vertical strips in half. Pretty easy, but you can choose whatever length or shape you like.

I started at the top of the Melodi lamp, and using a small dab of glue at the end of each piece, I placed the felt evenly around the top of the lamp. For the remainder of the lamp, there is no right or wrong method to placing each piece of felt. I continued to dab glue to the end of each piece, and placed them underneath the felt above, making sure to underlap {as opposed to overlap} to cover the exposed Melodi lamp.

Not to make it too repetitive, I decided to stagger the lengths of the felt. I simply did this by gluing the felt, and then trimming it to varying lengths where I saw fit. Don't be afraid to hack into it. I continued this process until no parts of the original lamp were visible. The entire process took two evenings {an after work job}, accompanied by some decent TV.

See more of the Melodi with felt shade.

~ Hydrangea Girl, Ireland

Hot air balloon Regolit

Materials: Regolit, paint, box, string, fabric scraps.

Description: We got some Regolit light shades and have been decorating them to suit our style. We did a hot air balloon for the spare bedroom, this was inspired by something my Dad had seen once but unfortunately he doesn't remember where!

This was painted with water colours following the lines of the Regolit paper and a small basket found in the back of a cupboard was attached with some string (dyed in tea) and little sandbags (made from scraps of material) were attached to achieve the hot air balloon look.

See more of the hot air balloon night light.

~ Chani LM

Lack tables to floating shelves

Materials: Lack tables, wooden battens, screws, plasterboard plugs, corner brackets, wallpaper leftovers, electric saw, drill, screwdriver

Description: Let's start at the beginning, which is: what the doodah was I going to do with all my DVDs? I don't have nor want a TV and love my DVD collections. I would have to build something new, and I had a narrow space between two doors that was perfect for displaying DVDs without trying to hide them, which never works. This was also the place where Mr F's (my cat) food bowls reside, which were going to be incorporated.

I got the red Lack tables for a bargain price in IKEA in January, because they were on sale for �2.99 a piece due to being discontinued. What is so clever about this table, and what makes it so cheap, is the production method. It's lightweight but sturdy, and the secret is the honeycomb paper inside, which means the table top is essentially hollow, thus perfect for floating shelves.

I then cut the table tops into the required depth (a little more than the width of a DVD) and started ripping out enough paper on each side so that cleats would fit, and a little paper on the top. Make sure you don't rip out all of it, or the shelf will lose stability.

To make the cleats, measure the inside of the shelves. I found a perfect size of batten, which would allow the shelves to slide onto the cleats while remaining safely in place. You want the cleats to fit snugly. I cut them 46 cm long to leave space for the wee 'arms' that will hold the sides of the shelves. Then cut out the latter, bearing in mind the differing depth of the corner enforcing blocks in the shelves. Sand all your pieces down nicely.

Joining the wood in a sturdy way to make the cleats should be done with wooden dowels and wood glue. With this being right angles this should be an easy task to do. First of I marked the spots where to drill for the dowel holes by dabbing some paint onto one end then pressing the other against it to transfer the mark. This is most probably completely unprofessional, but it worked for me. I then fixed the wood to be drilled with a clamp (essential!), chose the right sized wood drill, marked on the drill to where I needed to drill (half the length of the dowel) and went ahead. Rinse and repeat, and then fit the pieces together, using wood glue for extra sturdiness. When it's dried, reinforce the corners with metal brackets. This will leave you with a lovely load of shelf supporting cleats.

Now it's time to get the cleats securely onto the wall. It's entirely up to you and your creativity, where you want to place them. I marked the drill holes for fixing the cleats to the wall, and got a-drilling. Making sure I marked the left and the right of each cleat, and which number cleat it was. First a thin hole and then a bigger one with enough depth to sink the screws in. With the position of the shelves drawn and measured onto the wall, I then used the thin holes to mark where the plugs should go (special metal screw-in ones for plasterboards, the only ones which hold anything at all in my partitioning walls). Fix the cleats onto the wall and admire your handiwork so far.

The IKEA Lack tables, as cheap and cheerful as they are, only have coloured coating on the top and sides, not on the underside. So unless you want the holes in the corners and the raw brown of the material, you have to do something about it. What better way than to use the wallpaper. I used PVA that I had left over to fix the wallpaper.

Now slide the finished shelves into place. You might have to add a little support underneath the shelves, depending on how deep you chose them to be, or the sturdiness of your wall, etc. You should be amazed at your lovely, cheap and entirely unique shelves now.

And finally, here are my completed shelves in all their DVD laden glory (DVDs are held in place by acrylic bookends) and Mr F's integrated food bowl space. 

See detailed step-by-step descriptions and more photos.

~ Nicole, Scotland

Expedit Island

Materials: Expedit 2x4 bookcase, Vika Amon table top, casters from hardware store, screws, anchors, drill/driver with bits

Description:
1) Construct the bookcase according to instructions.

2) Turn case horizontally and add casters to whichever side you want to be the bottom. We used 2.5-inch casters, and put two locking ones on the long side. We used short drywall anchors to set the caster screws more securely, since the Expedit case is essentially hollow.

3) Carefully flip the whole piece over and mark where you want the top to sit. We decided on a 4-inch overhang on one side, 10 inches on the other. Anchoring the Vika firmly to the Expedit, carefully drill up through the top Expedit cubby and just into the Vika. Be very carefully not to drill entirely through the Vika. We used eight screws, two in each cubby.

4) Remove the Vika insert a short drywall anchor into each hole (make hole larger if necessary). Realign with holes on Expedit and run a 2.5-inch screw up into the anchor.

The whole thing went together in less than two hours, cost around $140 including casters, screws and anchors, and is absolutely perfect for its intended use. If we were to do this project again, we're probably use one of the solid wood table tops so we wouldn't have to worry about water damage.

~ Kim, Oregon