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

SVALA Kids Art Table with Storage

Materials: SVALA Table, Utensil holders, PRESSA hanging dryer

Description: We have had this great Svala table from Ikea for the last few years. The table has served many purposes and was definitely worth the $19.99 price tag. However as the girls are getting bigger I have found that it is hard for them to sit at the table with all their papers and materials and still have room to work. So to solve this problem I found some utensil holders at Ikea that fit perfectly onto the side of the table and are a great storage space for crayons, markers and other materials. To attach the utensil holders I nailed two nails into the side of the table and then slipped the nails through the slats of the utensil holder. I can easily remove the the utensil holders if we didn't want them there, which is a really nice option.

I love having the art materials right there for the girls to use without taking up all their work space and in a place that they can reach without even getting up, it makes cleaning up super easy! I also wanted to add a place to display art work and dry wet paintings, so I was very excited when I found the Pressa hanging dryer, also from Ikea. I hung it over the table and love how it looks like a chandelier dangling from the ceiling. It has been great and easy way to store wet artwork.

See more of the children's art table.

~ Katie

Glass Panel Headboard

Materials: 2 Billy Olsbo glass doors, your choice of fabric/paper/etc, blue painters tape, comand picture hanging strips.

Description: I really wanted a headboard for my Ikea bed, but didn't find one in the store that I liked. So I decided to make my own.

This headboard is mounted onto the wall behind the bed, but still looks really great. And it's easy to customize to your decor depending on which fabric you use. You could also use wallpaper or wrapping paper, or even family photos.

1. Unpack the bookcase doors and lay front side down on the floor.
2. Cut your fabric to cover each of the glass panels and tape in place with the blue painters tape. (I used a fabric shelf liner that looks like a bamboo mat to make my headboard, but you could use anything you like.)
3. Measure and mark where you want your headboard to be mounted on the wall. you will mount one glass door on top of the other one. I mounted the first one just at the top of my side tables, about an inch or 2 above the top of my bed frame.
4. Follow instructions on the command picture mounting strips to mount each door onto the wall, placing them on the wooden part of the door. Be sure to use enough of the picture mounting strips to hold the weight of each of your completed doors.

You're done! (I waited about half a day to make sure the headboard would stay on the wall and the command strips adhered properly before I slept on the bed.)

~ Shannon

Besta by the Door

Materials: 75 5/8" Besta shelf unit, Antonius clothes rail, 4 3/8" Grundtal hooks, screws

Description: We needed a narrow piece of furniture to hold our various coats and jackets (you need quite a variety in Seattle) that did not mount to the wall. The Besta shelf was the perfect fit for our pocket-sized entryway.

After building the frame, we lowered all the shelves to the bottom to be used for shoes, bags, etc.

The Antonius clothes rail was a bit long, so after chopping that to the appropriate length, we then attached it to the ceiling of the shelf used long screws drilled in from the top.

We chose to leave the back off the shelf because we needed access to the light switches on that wall.

Threw on a couple packages of large Gruntal hooks, and bam! Besta by the Door.

~ Mary McMurray, Seattle, WA

ForsaCamera

Materials: Forsa

Description: I've just built my own camera-boom-stand using a cheap desk-lamp from Ikea.

The reason I built this is that I needed a simple document-camera for my classroom. Now I can enlarge anything kids bring in and then we can talk about it.

It uses a Logitech Quickcam Vision Pro and an Ikea Forsa lamp. Total cost: about 50 euro, compare that to the 500 euro that a normal system would cost.

Steps:

1) Remove the wiring and socket from the lamp, do NOT damage the bracket that is holding the socket!
2) Remove the stand from the Quickcam
3) Insert cam in the bracket
4) Optional: thread the cable through the lamp's internal ducts (requires soldering).

See more of the camera boom stand.

~ Sebastian, The Hague, Netherlands

How we added a "third room"

Materials: Billy bookshelves 106 cm; MDF board; pieces of wood; red velvet

Description: Our flat is not so big and so I've had the idea to create a "third room". First I painted the wall behind the new bed in red color. Then I built up the Billy bookshelves and placed two boards of MDF wood on them and fix them on the bookshelves with crossing pieces of wood. Must be solid!

Then I used one Billy to make the stairs. Lastly I put the red velvet around the bed upstairs to have a soft border and a little bit of color. And now upstairs we have a new bed and downstairs we store all our shoes. The room is bigger now and there is also place for a desk and a PC.

That's it!

~ Sue

Smart bedside alcove

Materials: Malm BedBoard 140cm, Pax Nexus 50x236

Description: Pax are drilled in order to create an integrated bedside table. Aluminum angles to hide the cuts.

5cm wedges are fixed between the wall and the headboard and neon lights are placed vertically on each side. Patches of semi-transparent plastic are inserted into U of aluminum.

(Bed is 160cm wide)

~ Z, France