DIY: Expedit Hack - Wide Cubby and Legs

One of the things that I like the most about IKEA furniture is that not only does it have clean modern lines and awesome colors, but they all have the potential to be hacked!  There is an entire website dedicated to hacking IKEA furniture, and I'm no stranger to hacking, myself, as you'll remember my Orgel lamps that I hacked to add fabric shades.

Ever since I began designing the Family Room, I knew that I wanted the IKEA Expedit as the TV stand. The fact that it had all of these little cubbies to put our DVDs and video game consoles was perfect. However, the cubbies aren't exactly wide enough for a DVD player, and likely not wide enough for your Cable or Satellite box either, as those are typically around 15" and the cubbies are about 13".  To solve this, we decided to hack the unit, which didn't require any power tools or saws, which for Dylan, meant that it was perfect!

We followed the normal directions on setting up the Expedit unit, by attaching one of the long sides to one of the short sides first.  We put on the first short shelf, then the first long shelf, and then this is the point where we made some changes.

Instead of doing another short shelf and then a long shelf, we did the opposite - a long shelf and then a short shelf.  And yes, I know that sounds confusing, so I made you a diagram.

The black thick lines are the outside borders of the Expedit.  The small red lines are the small shelf dividers, and the long green lines are the long shelf dividers.  The layout on the left is how the Expedit is supposed to look, according to IKEA, and the layout on the right is what we did to make it fit our needs.

It's a little easier to see how we made the change now. Instead of putting a short board underneath the top long horizontal board, we put another long board, this time going vertically.  And then to the right of that long vertical board, we attached a small board, horizontally.  Because all of the pieces are essentially identical in the way they are put together, we didn't have to make any new holes for the dowel pegs to go through.  We did, however, have to make 4 of the wooden dowel pegs shorter.  The long boards (the green ones) have holes that go through completely so that they can attach to both of the short boards (the red ones) that meet up with it. Because of this, and the fact that we are using one of the long boards "improperly", we had to cut about 3/8" off from 4 of the pegs so that they didn't stick up through the long board and into the space we want the Cable box to go.  Not a big deal though - it was really easy. In fact, you don't even need a hack saw, although that would work really well.  We ended up using a large pair of wire cutters and it was perfect, although I bet you could get away with kitchen shears, pruning shears, and possibly even a flat-head screwdriver and a hammer, like you would use a chisel.

So, once you have your boards the way you want them, you can finish putting together the frame of the Expedit, securing everything together just like the IKEA directions say to.  Don't be concerned if you end up with extra boards. We ended up with an extra short board, which is a good thing, because I may or may not have accidentally chipped off an edge of the high-gloss finish...

After you have rearranged our boards, you may declare yourself done with this project, but we still had one more small hack to complete - attaching legs.  Since our unit will be placed on the long side, in order to hold our TV, we wanted it up off the floor so that the heat from our radiators could pass underneath it, and also for easier cleaning and so that the long side of the Expedit doesn't get too scratched when it's moved.  So, enter the IKEA Capita legs.  We originally got the 8" legs, but after getting the Expedit set up, we realized that adding 8" more to it's height would make the TV too high, so we exchanged them for the 4" ones.  They also have 6" ones available if you're interested.  

Anyways, I wasn't too logistical about placing the legs on the bottom, so I lined up the legs with the corners of the unit, and then pushed them inward about 1.5" so the screws didn't interfere with the assembly of the unit at the corners. The last thing I want is the piece to fall apart with the TV on it, right!

First off, make sure that if you hacked the shelf arrangement, that you are putting the legs on the side you want down.  You really don't want to go through these next steps just to realize that you put the legs on the top instead of the bottom!  So to attach the Capita legs, I just used one of the screws that came with the legs, and made a small indentation on the surface of the Expedit in where each screw will go, using the hardware as a guide.  

Using my drill, although a screwdriver would work fine too, I then attached the legs to the Expedit using the screws that were in the unit package.  I did not pre-drill the holes, as the interior of the Expedit structure is not solid wood, so they went in very easily.  

Depending on the weight of your television, you may want to add a leg or two to the middle of your unit. Our TV only weighs 50 pounds, but I just wanted to be extra careful, especially since we technically removed one of the weight-bearing shelf dividers from the unit.  

Once you have your legs attached, you can flip your piece over, set it in place, and then place your TV on top!  Our Cable box now fits in the top cubby, and when we bring the DVD player downstairs, it will be placed right under the Cable box.  

I think this looks great, and I can't wait to fix those cables back there so they don't show. And I have another neat little project planned for the Expedit - yes it is another hack. And I can't wait to get started on that project and show it to you!

Have you ever hacked an IKEA product? What did you do and how did you do it?

The Motherland Has Been Raided

In the wake of me almost becoming a member of the 9-finger club, Dylan and I decided to focus less on painting, and more on decor.  With one thumb less to work with, painting was going to be somewhat difficult, so we spent the Sunday after Christmas at my favorite-est store ever - IKEA!!!

The Motherland, as I will now refer to it, was amazing, as expected.  We spent just about 3 hours there, much to the dismay of both Dylan and his father, but we came out right on budget, surprisingly, and with almost everything checked off on the list.  It turns out that even though one of the rugs I wanted was listed as In-Stock on the website, it was actually off-site in their storage warehouse while the new addition is being added to the building, so we ended up taking another trip up there to pick it up.  

But, now I can say that we finally have some furniture for the house!  We got home, unpacked the truck, which Dylan's parents were so kind to join us for the trip and use their pickup truck, since our cars were just too small for the boxes of furniture.

After a delicious lunch with Dylan's parents to thank them for making the trip with us and letting us mooch off of their owning of a truck, we unpacked the kitchen items we purchased, including our new plates and bowls, and some champagne glasses, since they were on sale, and began putting our furniture together.

We started with the Family Room furniture, and got both of the Vittsjo pieces put together - the Nesting Tables and the Bookshelf.  And we ate dinner on the nesting tables that night, as our kitchen table is still covered in all sorts of junk from when we were painting.  And the bookshelf was left empty, and until this past weekend, it remained empty.  

But, we're getting somewhere with this space!  We ended up putting together the Expedit that we purchased too, but I'm going to save that for another post since we hacked it. I can't wait to show you how we changed it up! Also, I already have another trip to IKEA planned! I just wish that it was closer, but Dylan is very happy that it's not!

DIY: IKEA MALM Occasional Table

For a really long time now, I have been obsessed with the IKEA MALM Occasional Table. I think it's absolutely genius for using over the bed, and it's also almost the perfect size to use as one of those behind-the-couch tables.  But the $129 price tag? Outrageous. Especially since it still needs to be assembled once purchased, like 99% of IKEA items.  

Being a DIY guru, I decided that I would make my own, for a whopping $40.  It couldn't be that hard, right? Actually, right.  

In all reality, it was so easy! And the awesome thing about mine compared to the one from IKEA is that mine is solid wood, not particle board.  

So I'm here to show you how you too can save about $100 dollars and make your own MALM Occasional Table!

Step 1 - Measure the size of your bed/sofa

If you are going to build your table to go over the sides of your bed, you will need to measure the width of your bed to make sure that you make the table larger so that it will fit over comfortably.  Make sure that you also measure the height of your bed.  You will want your table to be at least 6" higher than the highest point of your bed, which will either be the footboard or the mattress.  Then, sitting in your bed, you should measure how far off the ground it would be for you, and anyone else that you share a bed with, to sit comfortably with a table over your lap.  If that height is more than the height of your bed plus 6", then use that height as the basis for your table, otherwise, don't add any additional height.

If you are making this table for the back of your sofa, measure the height of your sofa, and then subtract anywhere from 1-6", depending on your personal preference of how high you want the table to be.  

Step 2 - Buy your materials

With your measurements in hand, take a trip to your local hardware store and gather your materials.  You will need the following:

Wood - $15

L-Brackets (4) - $10 for 4

Rigid Casters (4) - $12 for 4

Wood Screws - $6.50/box of 50

Sandpaper - $3.50

Wood: I used White Fir, and bought a 2"x12"x12', which I had cut to the sizes that I needed at Lowe's.  Lowe's and Home Depot have the capability of cutting the wood to size for you, granted that their saw is in working order, so you should take advantage of this if you don't have a way to transport a 12' board, or if you don't own a saw.  

You may not need or want to use White Fir, but this is the only type of wood that was available in the size that I wanted.  My wood is untreated, which is important if you plan on staining or painting your table.  

L-Brackets: I bought four 4" L-Brackets from the hardware aisle.  You can use any size bracket that you want, but the larger ones are typically stronger and help with sturdiness, especially on a project like this.

Rigid Casters: If you are making this table for your bed, you will want to purchase 4 rigid casters, which are the ones that are bi-directional.  These will allow the table to slide back and forth over your bed in a straight line and not sideways, versus trying to direct the table with swivel casters, which would allow the table to go in all directions while trying to use it.

Wood Screws:  I bought a box of #12 1.5" wood screws to attach the L-Brackets and the Casters to the wood pieces.  To save money, I made sure that the head of the screw fit into both the brackets and the casters, that way I didn't have to buy two different size screws.  A box of screws usually contains 50 screws, which is more than enough for this project, since this will require 32 screws - 4 on each caster, and 4 on each bracket.  

Sandpaper: You will need a medium-grit sandpaper to remove any splintering pieces of wood from your boards.  If you already have a rough-grit or fine-grit sandpaper on hand, you can probably save some money by not purchasing a medium-grit sandpaper, although you may need to sand a little harder or softer based on what type of grit you have.  

Step 3 -  Sand down your boards

Using your sandpaper, sand down all of the sides of the boards, including the ends.  Make sure that when sanding, you go in the direction of the grain of the wood.  Going against the grain of the wood will result in scratches that will show through stain and thin layers of paint.  

When you have finished sanding, wipe off your boards with a dry cloth, then vacuum or brush the rest of the dust off using a shop-vac or small hand brush.  This step is extremely important if you will be staining or painting your boards, since you will not want any small pieces of dust ruining the finish on your table.  

Step 4 - Prime, paint, and protect your boards

This step is optional, but it will really help your table last longer and be protected from sweating cups, food spills, and anything else that can possibly ruin raw wood.  For me, I used a sample can of paint that I bought a few weeks ago for the small bedroom on the first floor, which will be my craft room.  I put two coats of primer on the wood first, let that dry, then I followed that up with two coats of Sherwin-Williams Summit Gray paint.

Once the paint dries, you are ready to add an optional protective coat onto the boards.  I decided to use a spray-polyurethane to protect the paint on the boards, that way wet cups and spills wouldn't ruin the wood and would make clean up so much easier.  I actually waited overnight to start the polyurethane since I started the project after work one day, but if you start this project early enough in the day, you could actually just wait a few hours for the paint to completely dry before moving on.  If you choose to use polyurethane, follow the directions on the packaging to allow for enough drying time between coats.  

Step 5 - Mark, drill, and attach your L-Brackets

Once you have finished priming, painting, and the optional step of protecting your boards, it is time to attach your hardware.  

On your leg boards, measure how far inside you want your L-Brackets to be, and using a pencil, mark inside the screw holes so you know where to drill your pilot holes.  I attached my L-Brackets 2" from the long sides of the boards, and made sure that the bend in the bracket was flush with the short side of the board.  

Once you have the holes marked on both the leg boards, use a drill bit that is smaller than the size of the wood screws that you bought and drill pilot holes where you marked the screw holes with the pencil.  This step is important because not only will it help make sure that your screws go into the exact location that you want them to go, but it will also help them go in easier.  Once your pilot holes are drilled, screw the L-Brackets into the leg boards using your wood screws.

Next, line up your short boards on the end of your long board, making sure that both boards meet perfectly, creating a 90 degree angle.  Using a pencil, mark where the L-Bracket screw holes are, then using your drill, drill in your pilot holes.  

Step 6 - Attach your Casters

On the bottom of your leg boards, measure how far inside you want your casters to be, and using a pencil, mark inside the screw holes so you know where to drill your pilot holes.  

I attached my Casters 1/2" from the edge of the short side of the board, giving the legs the most stability.  Once you have all the holes marked on both the leg boards, use a drill bit that is smaller than the size of the wood screws that you bought and drill pilot holes where you marked the screw holes with the pencil.  This step is important because not only will it help make sure that your screws go into the exact location that you want them to go, but it will also help them go in easier.  Once your pilot holes are drilled, screw the Casters into the leg boards using your wood screws.

Step 7 - Assemble your table

Depending on where you will be using your table, it may be easier to attach the top of the table to the legs once you have it in the space it will be in.  For me, this was the case not only because I was working by myself and without someone else to help me transport it, but because our bedroom is upstairs via an L-shaped staircase, which would have made it annoying to try to transport assembled.  

When you are ready to assemble the table, lay the table top on the floor, with the pilot holes facing upward.  Line your table legs up with the edge of the table top, and line up the pilot holes with the holes in the L-Bracket.  Attach your table legs to the table top using the wood screws.  

Once you have the legs and top attached, you are ready to use your table!  Flip it over onto the casters, or onto the bottom of the legs if you chose to forgo the casters and use this behind a sofa, and you are good to go!

Have I inspired you to take more chances and to try building your own furniture? This is literally one of the easiest projects, plus it's completely customizable. Now I just need to finish that other DIY Lampshade and then add my favorite digital art prints for some pops of color.

So, when are you going to the hardware store to get your supplies?

DIY: IKEA Orgel Lamp Shades - Part 2

I posted earlier this week about my IKEA Lamp Shade Makeover, showing you how to alter the shade frame with welding rods and solder.  Now, here's the rest of the project - making the shade for the newly done shade.

First things first, choose your fabric. I had purchased this linen print duck cloth a while back and was planning to use it outdoors, but the color and simple pattern was perfect for our bedroom.  When choosing your fabric, you should make sure that it is flame resistant/fire retardant since it will be used close to a light bulb.  My fabric did not say whether it was flame or fire resistant, so I cut a small piece off and tested it with a lighter.  The fabric resisted the heat and the flame from a distance, and when it touched the fire, it melted, but a flame never formed. I deemed this fabric flame resistant and since it was only melting with contact to the fire, I decided I was comfortable using it for my lamp shades. 

Next, measure how much fabric you will need. I suggest that you add one inch to each side of your measurements just to make sure you have enough fabric to work with.  Measure the height of your shade frame, then add two inches, one for each side. Measure the width of each side of your frame, add those together, then add two inches.  

Trace your measurements onto the wrong side of your fabric using a pencil or fabric chalk.  Cut out your fabric and iron flat.  Ironing will get rid of all the wrinkles and help you work with a stiffer fabric.  

On the wrong side of your fabric, make a mark on the two long sides where the frame of the lamp shade will end.  If you added one inch to each side of the fabric, you will have marks one inch down from the top and one inch up from the bottom of your fabric.  These marks will help you make sure that your hemming will still leave you enough room to cover the shade frame.  

Next, fold both of your long sides down and pin into place.  You can either use a double fold technique, which hides the frayed edge under a second fold and only requires a straight stitch, or you can use a single fold and a binding stitch to stop the edge of the fabric from fraying.  

Set your sewing machine to the stitch appropriate to the type of hemming you have decided to go with.  I went with a binding stitch to show you how to align the fabric with the needle since most readers will know how to sew a straight stitch on a machine.  

When aligning your fabric with your machine needle, you want the needle to line up just past the edge of your fabric.  Making sure that there is an overlap from the fold to the backside of the fabric is important because this will make sure that the stitch goes over the raw edge of your fabric, therefore stopping the fraying. 

 If you thread color matches the color of your fabric, you will not need to worry about the thread showing, as you can see below.  

Wrap your fabric around your lamp shade and mark where the fabric will meet.  Pin the fabric over to the backside and pin in place.  Leave yourself an extra 1/4" so that you can attach the two short ends together to make a tube around the frame.  

Using your binding stitch, sew as close to the edge of the fold as you can.  

Next, cut the extra fabric off after you have hemmed the short side.  Cutting this extra fabric away will make sure that you don't have an overlap of fabric over your lamp shade, which would be seen when the light is on.   

Fold your fabric in half, with the backside of your fabric touching.  Match up the edges of your short sides together, and pin in place.  Using a needle and thread, hand sew the edges together using a slip-stitch.  

Leave a two inch section at the end, but don't detach your needle just yet.

Slip your shade onto the frame.  Leaving that two inch section open should give you a little more wiggle room with your fabric and stretching it over the frame.  

Once you have the shade on the frame, sew up the rest of your short sides. Trim off any little threads when you are finished.  

Gently rotate the fabric shade around the frame so that your seam ends up on one of the corners.  This may take a little more work than you think.  Also, be careful around the corners that you have soldered in case you missed a rough spot when sanding. You wouldn't want to make a pull in your fabric now that it is finally on the shade frame!

Attach your shade to your lamp, turn it on, and admire your hard work!

And there you have it!  You should finally be done with your IKEA Orgel Lamp Shade!  Now, if you're like me, you'll still have one more lamp to do, but you'll get to it soon.  Plus, now that you have done this once, you'll be able to do the second one a lot easier.  

What do you think of the finished product? I think the lamp came out awesome, and hopefully the cats won't ruin this shade like they did the last!

DIY: IKEA Orgel Lamp Shades - Part 1

When D and I moved into our first apartment together almost 6 years ago, I took a trip to IKEA to get some furniture and decor.  One of the things that I chose for our bedroom were the Orgel Table Lamps. They were cute, and really inexpensive at about $10 each.  

They were perfect, until we moved to this house.  They had survived five moves, but that isn't what ruined them.  When we moved to Indiana, we adopted our second cat from the shelter, Oberon.  He is adorable, but like most cats, loves paper, especially the noise that it makes.  

Also, our cats aren't normal cats. They aren't the type where you can put food down and leave it there all day and they will graze.  If there is a single kibble that lands on the floor, I can guarantee you that it will be gone in less than five seconds.  Our cats are hounds, so they get fed once in the morning and once in the evening.

The Orgel lamps from IKEA are handmade with crepe paper.  Every morning, if we haven't gotten out of bed before the cats have decided that it's breakfast time, a.k.a approximately 5:00am, Oberon takes his anger out on the lamp, by chomping on it and clawing it.  

Which leads me back to this DIY.  The paper lamp shade was in really really rough condition.  The lamp used to sit nicely, as you can see in the picture below.  

But now, the lamp looks more like this.

And a closeup of the rips and full separation from the frame.

For a while, I actually used a hair tie that I cut and tied the paper to the frame in order to keep it on and straight, but eventually, other rips formed and the lamp went back to sitting sideways.

Instead of just getting different lamps, I decided to redo the existing shades, and change them up a bit.  I bought some green linen print duck cloth a while back, and I decided to use it for these lamp shades.  

One last thing before I get to the DIY part of this project.  I have split this up into two different posts. There are a lot of steps to this project, and I didn't want to be too long-winded, so I have this part now and later this week I will have the second part.  

The first thing that I did to start this project was to take the paper off of the lamp shade frame.  Make sure that you get all of the glue and paper off of the frame.  You will likely need to use some goo-gone or sandpaper to help get all of the residue off.

The frame is technically two pieces and the rigidity of the paper holds the shape in a rectangular tube.  Since I will be using fabric as my lamp shades, I needed to do something to attach the two pieces of frame and make it sturdy so it didn't collapse.  I decided to solder some welding metal onto the frame.

I picked up two 1/8"x4' rods of welding metal from the hardware store and used my hack saw to cut them into 11" sections, which is how tall the paper lamp shades were.  You can find the welding metal in the mailbox and sheet metal aisle of Lowe's or Home Depot.  It is important to make sure that your pieces are all the same length, as you don't want your frame to be crooked.  A hack saw with a metal blade will cut the metal, as will a chisel and a hammer.  

While I was at the hardware store, I also picked up some lead-free solder and some flux.  The solder was over by the power tools, near the welding supplies, and the flux was actually in the plumbing aisle.  

For this part of the project, you will also need a soldering iron, which can be found in the welding aisle by the power tools, but I didn't need to purchase one since I already had one.

Before you actually get to soldering, make sure that your material is dry, clean of dust, oils, and fingerprints, and is sanded down to the raw metal.

Now I will show you how to solder.  First, using a small brush, paint a generous amount of flux onto the area that you want to solder.  You will need to apply the flux to all of the metal pieces that you wish to attach.  The flux will prep the surface for the solder to stick and attach your additional pieces of metal.

Next, using your soldering iron, heat the metal where you have painted on the flux.  The flux will melt and once it starts bubbling, you are ready to add your solder.  Make sure that your metal does not cool down too much, because it needs to be hot in order for the solder to adhere.

Unwind some of the solder from the roll and melt it onto your lamp shade frame using your soldering iron.  Never use the tip of your iron. Always use the angled side and the stem.  

Once you have a small amount of solder on the frame, take your welding rod and using the soldering iron and solder, attach it to the frame.  You will need a second hand to help you hold the welding rod in place while you attach it with the solder.  

Once the rod is attached from the top, flip the frame over quickly and carefully, and add some solder to the bottom to make sure that the welding rod will stay attached to the frame.  If this isn't done immediately after you attach the welding rod to the top, the metal will cool and the solder will not stick. Don't be afraid to add too much solder. You will be sanding it down later to make it smoother, and you can shape it then.  

Repeat this step for all of the corners of your frame.  Don't forget to the flip over the frame and attach the welding rods to the other part of the frame.  

Once you have all four welding rods attached to both parts of the lamp shade frame, go back and add additional solder as needed.  You can add solder to solder without it needing to be hot, but in order to attach solder to metal, the metal must be hot.  You may need to reheat your frame or welding rods if they have gotten too cool.  Fill any gaps that you may see, then let the frame cool completely.  

Once the frame is cooled, you can use medium grit sandpaper to gently sand down the solder to make it smooth.  This is important because solder can be very sharp and not only do you want to make sure that you don't scrape yourself on the metal, but you also want to make sure that your fabric will not snag on the rough spots.  

In the next post, I'll show you the steps that I took to make the fabric shade for the frame.  It was really simple and quick, and something that you could easily do in less than an hour.  

Have you ever soldered before? What did you use it for?