IKEA Hack: Desk for Two + Järsta Wall Cabinets

 

It's been awhile since my IKEA home office for two hack and though I've put the finishing touches on the desk for two, I'm not quite finished with the room. I've been exploring wall cabinets. I had some time last week between appointments in the IKEA area, so I popped in and as often happens I found the inspiration I was waiting for. I think you're going to *love* it!

How to Hack an IKEA 35" Wall Cabinet

Don't you love IKEA's new 40" wall cabinets? The longer cabinets look clean and modern, plus they turn what would formerly have been wasted space above into usable storage. But with our 90" high pantries—4-1/2" with toe kicks—dictating how high we can hang our wall cabinets, we were left with just 18-1/2" clearance above the cooktop, when the specs call for 24". Bummer.

I went into my design appointment at IKEA Brooklyn resigned to the prospect that I would have to order all three sets of wall cabinets custom. But IKEA kitchen designer Deb (callout!) came up with this genius solution.

Float Mount Frame Hack for Large Canvas Paintings

You know how some people have good parking karma — a spot always opens up for them just when they need it. Well, I have good artwork karma. I've been collecting art for most of my life and have had some unbelievably good large-scale canvases fall into my lap. Though I've acquired many large canvases for free, framing them can be costly, so I'm excited to share with you this easy DIY hack to create a simple float mount frame.

CB2 Slice Hack: Floating Nightstands

After months of searching fruitlessly for mid-century floating nightstands that we like, I decided to wall-mount two Slice cabinets from CB2 at nightstand height. The install was more challenging than it should have been, due to our plaster-masonry walls, but it all worked out. Here's a step by step of how we did it — including the embarrassing number of holes that I put in our walls trying to find a stud that isn't there.

 

Troubleshooting IKEA Kvartal Curtain Rods Install

There are FOUR things you must know before installing the IKEA Kvartal on any window, including a bay window — miss any one of these and you'll be running out to a hardware store or back to IKEA for spare parts.

Ikea Hack: Home Office for Two

I've been dreaming of a white office with a floating desk for some time. A real home office that would bring all of our office gear into one place and with enough storage options that I wasn't looking at piles of papers, computer equipment, scanner/printer cords and files every place I turned around.

Ikea Hack: Cutting SKOGSKLÖVER and ENJE Roller Blinds to Fit Your Windows

This article was originally published after I hacked the ENJE roller blinds, now discontinued. They were replaced by a newer model, introduced in the 2017 IKEA catalog drop. The new SKOGSKLÖVER roller blinds are made of the same solar mesh and can be hacked in almost exactly the same way. Here's how you do it.

Ikea Hack: Built-In Bookcases

Who would think you could jump-start your built-ins using inexpensive Ikea bookcases and and some decorative trim and get this? 

A beautiful home library! 

About 7 years ago in a previous home, I commissioned a contractor to build floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases along the hallway to house my library. It cost me about $5k in materials and labor. Here's what that looked like:

I opted to paint them myself to save money – and the task was a beast! All those shelves and trim pieces.

This time around, encouraged by the work of AM Dolce Vita and Centsational Girl, I hacked Ikea bookcases for about $800.  Here's the schematic that I drew up for my contractor.