book case bridges over doorways

one of the things that i always wanted to have were books over the doorway. but i don't think it will ever be possible with the low ceilings i have.

robert from paris, france, has done just the thing in his living room, seamlessly joining his billy book cases with height extension units over the doors.

"here's a few pictures of a hack that started quite some time ago when we moved into a new apartment with double doors into the living room. we already had six billies, each with double extenders but the new apartment had lower ceilings so the second extension wouldn't fit. i disassembled two extensions and fit the top board as a bottom board inside two other extensions, which were then connected with another two extensions using two 2x2 beams to form the bridge spanning the double doors as seen in the picture above.

two years later we bought an old office building which we renovated (ongoing project). we converted what was originally a conference room into our living room and since it has high ceilings (yay) AND double doors we decided to extend the (book case) bridge. i had to cut up the sideboards of four extensions to fit over the two beams but the result is pretty nice, i think. the second picture shows the current setup, one of the two beams is visible in the picture but after we put the books back in it's completely hidden. oh and don't mind the electric tube on the ceiling, i still need to fix that."

inspiration: moritz's red and white studio

while i sort out the next batch of hacks to post, i thought i'll just quickly share some fresh eye candy. this is from moritz of germany who shares my love for ikea and mitch albom.

the dunker light cum room divider (i can no longer find it on ikea's website) looks great lined up in a row.

"in the summer of 2005 i renovated my room totally and i nearly bought everything (of course) at ikea. i didn't hack the furniture; i just took care, that they fit well with each other.

the only 2 furniture which are not from ikea are the bed and the cupboard on which the tv stands. and the metal-palm tree, of course (which was crafted by a local artist)."

roo rules

hey there, i'm back.

sorry for not being posting much the last week or so. some places we went to didn't have internet connection or the terminal was down or i was just too shagged (oops!) tired (most of the time) to post anything.

many of your comments were also held up pending my verification. they are released now. thanks for your patience, i should be back on track this week.

the last 14 days were a good lesson on how to manage my blog when on holiday. anyways, work, blogging and all those niggling things aside, i had an amazing time in aust.

the big rock was surreal. watching it 'come alive' with the rising sun is some thing everybody should do at least once in their lifetime. very humbling.

may post some photos later on, once i sort out my emails, work and my almost 'starved-to-death-guppies'.

a cheap temporary 'sofa'

kevin from toronto gives us this foldable temporary sofa solution.

"just got into my first condo and bought a new sofa. did not realize it was going to be a 6 to 8 week wait for it. so i asked myself what would be the cheapest way to have a temporary sofa... 4 jeff chairs tied together!

my tag line for it is the only new 'sofa' for under $60 bucks canadian. note it would be under $40 in US of A. almost criminal if you think about it."

hey, it works for visitor waiting rooms too.

projection tv entertainment center

arthur was searching for an entertainment center for his super sized JVC projection tv. they were either too small, too large or not tall enough and they all cost in the neighborhood of around $2,800.00.

so, he hacked his entertainment center two billy book cases and two lack shelving units instead.

"to fit our available wall space, and to fit just right around our tv, i cut the two lack units down to 56 5/8 inch and filled in the cut end with a white-faced board cut to fit. because the units have a thin masonite skin reinforced with very thin corrugated paper, i also placed a piece of 1/2 inch plywood on top the lower unit, painted to match and trimmed with a piece of plastic edge trim used for edging sheet rock to give it a finished appearance, and the strength to hold the heavy tv.

i attached the upper lack unit to the wall at a height just above the tv. The lower unit is supported by eight of the 6 inch, adjustable, stainless steel legs sold by ikea for use with the units when used horizontally, but stands about 4 inches out from the wall to accommodate the depth of the tv. the billy bookcases are secured to the wall so as not to tip over, but are located 4 inches out from the wall to hide the side of the tv. i used a PVC 1"x4" (available at lowes) as a spacer between the bookcases and the wall to keep them at this distance.

total cost of the project, including the stainless steel legs and tax, about $280.00, a savings of over $2,500.00."

g'day

reporting live from sydney.

it's absolutely lovely here. the weather is beautiful - it's supposed to be winter but i've been having clear spring days - cool but sunny, bright blue skies with fluffy clouds. i'm in love with sydney. and of course it totally helps that the streets are crawling with hot men!

okay, okay, i know this blog is not supposed to be a shameless parade of my personal life ... so i shall exercise some restraint and keep this short.

will post a hack in a bit.

i'm on a jet plane

i'm off to australia in about 5 hours. woohoo!

can't wait for the movie marathon and stale airplane food.

first stop will be sydney for a week and onwards to alice springs. we'll then join a backpacker tour down to adelaide, stopping for the mighty uluru and other sights galore. (i bet 5 ikea allen keys that the tour guide will play this song. it's in the tour guide manual!)

for the next 2 weeks, i'll try to post from wherever i am but i reckon it will be spotty.

have a great weekend and see you in the land down under.