Ikea biffed by going after IkeaHackers, the fan site that shares all kinds of new uses and smart mods for the Swedish superstore's affordable furniture—seriously, you can't buy this kind of devotion. Until founder Jules Yap sets up shop under a new name, let's have a look at a few of the projects that make her site so endlessly scrollable. There's such a range of finished works—from "Oh oh I could do that!" to "Why would you do that?!" to "Hey now that gives me an idea..."—that it's tough not to fall into a DIY-design clickhole. Here are some of the adventures-in-how-to that stood out to us. Share your own personal faves below! There's no end to what you can to with an Expedit (RIP). This awesome hamster habitat won the Hack of the Year in 2010, and it's easy to see why: Some small modifications to the Expedit—plus a little glass—turned Ikea's beloved shelving system into a home for a furry friend. You'd never guess that this sleek, sinuous privacy screen—which turns the bathroom of an open loft into its own space—was made from $2 Rektangel vases.
But yep: Hundreds of these glass thangs were tipped on their sides and repurposed. There's a reason this incredible personal library won the 2011 Hack of the Year. It's made from 60—yes, 60—Billy bookshelves, Ikea's bargain basement bookshelf. Attached to the French country home of Chas Saunter, they look undeniably classy. Here's the archetypal example of IkeaHacking brilliance. Take one stool, four nested file organizers, and boom: A transformable table with tons of storage space for under $10. All you have to do is glue the folders together and attach them to the stool. For an added bonus, the nested folders inside the table pull out to change its profile. Things really get cool when an Ikea hacker has soldering skills: This brilliant hacker turned a plain old wood table top into a beautiful working guitar. Now this is unexpected. Tracing around an old kid's jacket will give a decent enough pattern for this cute little coat. Lined or unlined, it's pretty ingenious—though apparently it will dull the hell out of your sewing machine needle.
I'm wondering whether to try to make one for myself... Here's a solution for all those space-challenged Ikea hackers out there (and aren't there so many!). This Dutch hacker took a shelf and a cabinet and mounted them to the wall, creating what might be the skinniest desk for an iMac ever built. The best part might be the fact that there aren't any errant cables hanging around: They're all stored inside the upper cabinet. Okay, this is admittedly not for everyone, but it's a smart solution! An industrious family member made this for her grandma's home in Malacca, Malaysia, which is lacking upstairs plumbing. Adding a raised section to the top and a few privacy panels between the legs of a Stefan chair, a small bowl can easily slide in to the hole. Noted: next time she's choosing a model with arms, for extra comfort (though it would be tough to beat Homer's Lazy Man Toilet Seat for sheer sit-back-and-relax luxury). This was designed to allow or opening the drawers under a Mandal bed, but relocating two of the Frosta stool's legs looks like it would make a killer sofa table, too (as long as the height was right).
There are a lot of storage beds on IkeaHackers, but there's something about the structure and staging of this one, which used nine Faktum cabinets, that makes it look particularly perfect for a small space. It's involved (with extended blog post how-to here), but if you had the tools and the time and the drive—it would be incredible to make something this functional look this good. This is another project that's going to require some power tools, but if you're keen on sewing and have the room for a dedicated place to stitch, this is a might purdy use of an Ingo table. Additional tutorial here, if you're into it. Okay, hey—we're back to unconventional spots to pee and poo. The name here really says it all, and all it took was a long piece of MDF, a pair of Ikea PS Lockers, and a cat flap inserted into a custom cut-out in the side. Slide a litter box in the drawer and you're good to go.This effect was made pretty much exclusively out of Trofast toy storage boxes affixed to the walls and ceiling: some facing out and filled with magazines and books, some facing the other way and lit from within by LEDs.
Ikea's iconic Frosta stool is a cult favorite—and here, it's turned into a beautifully abstract bookshelf that seems to climb up the wall like a vine. Rather than spring for some spendy backsplash, this cool kitchen has a series of Rationell glass panels installed flush up against the wall between counter and cabinet. Wallpaper will make it match whatever else you've got going on, color-and-style-wise. Take an average Bjursta dining room table, two average plastic high chairs, do a little clever sawing, et voila: An incredible double-trouble high chair. Ikea hacking doesn't have to be all about furniture: This clever hacker took a plush stuffed animal from Ikea's kids section, decapitated it, and installed a hidden USB drive. It wasn't easy to figure out a design to encase the new tub in this remolded bathroom—but using two Ikea Pronomen countertops, the crew was able to perfectly fit the wood around the irregular space. Hyllis shelves are good for more than just books: This Texas hacker turned them into one of the craziest cat playgrounds I've ever seen.
Hung from the ceiling with brackets, these ordinary shelves become an incredible jungle gym for this lucky kitty.These are just a few of our favorite hacks, but there are thousands more out there. Share yours with us below!Read more on PRF CA, East Palo Alto Go to Swivel chairsAlong with mattresses and the perfect house, the office chair is one of the most difficult things to buy. We want so much out of our work chairs: to be comfy, fit right, and save us from the ill effects of sitting in them all day. Unfortunately, the perfect chair may not exist. Slate takes a look at the long, hard quest for the perfect work chair, starting from 3000 B.C. Over the years, the office chair has evolved to become more supportive or ergonomic, but Heather Murphy writes: The word ergonomic has become utterly meaningless. Though there is more-and better-research than ever, there is still no standard way to define whether a chair is ergonomic or not. And there is no widely agreed-upon way to measure how successful a chair is.
Ergonomists will be the first to tell you that this is the trouble with their trade. Theirs is a field based on concrete research, on close study of the body as a form. And yet it's a field steeped in subjectivity, plagued by onerous, impossible questions like "What is comfort?" or "What should an office chair accomplish?" Inspiration to occasionally move around? Encouragement to sit immobile for days?)Besides the vagueness of what an ergonomic chair really is, there's no one-size-fits-all chair for everyone. And even for each person, probably no one perfect chair for all day. The chair experts Murphy consulted said they use different chairs for different occasions—ones for perching, lounging, or sitting supported.In the end, if you feel frustrated searching for the perfect office chair, you're not alone. Perhaps having more than one type of chair would work better for you than trying to find that ultimate seat. And maybe the best we can hope for is a chair that lets us sit for several hours without making us "feel like death" when we get up from it.