I used to have one of those plastic floor protectors from IKEA for beneath my desk chair, but to be honest, those things are ugly, dirt gathers under it, and they are generally bleh. So I decided to make a mat for my desk area. Back in February I found the really cheap bathroom mats in lovely colours. They can be washed in the machine, are rubber-backed thus won’t slip when I move around on my chair, and can easily be cut and hand sewn with a big, sharp leather needle. I went for a leather one, because I used sturdy DIY tape to glue the mat pieces together and thus had to sew through the material. I cut off the rounded edges to have straight angles. I got some broad black cotton webbing/tape off eBay, which was advertised for horses but was exactly what I needed, which would hold the mats together on the top and provide a frame for the colours. On the back the joints are stabilised by the aforementioned tape, and the edges are bound by the tape. Here it is, and it has been giving me great service for a few months now.
I finished it in July/August and it cleans easily. A unique rug for very little money. We love IKEA for its affordable prices, modern design (hello, chic IKEA kitchen cabinets), and cutting-edge product releases. But given that the Swedish mega-retailer prints more copies of its catalog than there are sales of the Bible each year, it's only natural to worry that your new flat-packed furniture won’t look unique when millions of home decorators are buying the same thing. Enter the IKEA hack. We can't resist a good DIY, especially ones that involve our favorite Swedish retailer. These simple upgrades instantly elevate your cheap finds into totally chic and expensive-looking décor. We love IKEA for its affordable prices, modern design (hello, chic IKEA kitchen cabinets), and cutting-edge product releases. One clever DIY-er gave a simple IKEA trestle desk a luxe makeover by simply covering the top with marble-printed contact paper (available in hardware stores or online). A pair of fairly basic wooden IKEA Knuff magazine files were transformed into chic and artful desk accents with a splatter paint effect and contact paper that mimics a natural timber style.
What a super-chic addition to any bookshelf or office. One area of IKEA you've most likely overlooked is the fabric section. We love this hack that uses IKEA's textured raw cotton, Minna, to make textile pots. They have sewn the fabric into a simple shape and placed it around basic planters, then painted them with stripes of varying hues. This easy DIY can add a pop of color wherever you need one. A Reclaimed Wood Stikwood Headboard Any furniture hack that doesn't involve a drill is one we definitely want to know about. This clever decorator used a little Stikwood adhesive and some wood panels to spruce up her IKEA Malm bed frame. The end result is a reclaimed wood look with very little woodworking involved. It does require a rotary saw to get the length right, but that’s nothing you can’t handle. Copper Barn Pendant Lights Copper is all the rage these days, so we're 100% behind this hack. One smart DIY-er made the wise choice to brighten up IKEA's Ottava pendant lights with copper spray paint to get the look for less.
It's super chic, and we wouldn't be able to tell the difference. A Modern Pendant Lamp A single drill hole transformed IKEA’s beautiful bronze Angenäm dish into a modern pendant lamp. Simple yet so sophisticated. A Wood and Metal Bracket Shelving Unit Can you believe IKEA Ekby Lerberg brackets were used to build this beautiful DIY wooden shelving unit? The brackets have allowed for greater flexibility when placing accents like the mirror. It's also a great alternative to store-bought shelves. A Modern Nursery Dresser A coat of soft green paint and a set of brass bar pulls transformed IKEA's wooden Tarva dresser from something plain into something photogenic. For those who want the look of custom cabinetry without the cost, Semihandmade doors are the answer. The company produces doors, panels and drawer faces designed specifically to fit IKEA cabinets, and as you can see by these pretty sage cabinets, they look quite luxurious. A Built-In Billy Bookcase
Custom built-ins don't come cheap, so we love one homeowner's genius idea to put three of IKEA's popular Billy bookcases together. A solid baseboard and crown molding were added so it blends perfectly with the period style of this home. A 22-Foot-Long Media Stand This homeowner purchased multiple IKEA kitchen cabinets, set them on the floor, and added a top surface to create a 22-foot-long media stand for their living room. An Upholstered Bunk Bed Now this is one cool bedroom. This parent figured out how to upholster IKEA’s Kura reversible bed for their daughter’s room to give it a softer, more traditional, and personalized look. Sleepovers are sure to be fun in this bedroom. By hanging IKEA’s Bestå shelf unit on the wall and topping it with a stained wood panel, you can create a floated credenza that looks way more costly than it actually is. A DIY Wood Nightstand A little contact paper and spray paint went a long way to transform the basic and modern IKEA side table into a nightstand with a more feminine vibe.
A Refrigerator Cabinet Window Seat We would never have guessed that this sophisticated and contemporary window seat, which stores shoes, coats, and kid's backpacks, is actually an IKEA refrigerator cabinet. It’s incredible what some creative reuse can produce. A Round Belted Mirror By attaching some affordable leather belts from H&M to a round mirror from IKEA, one crafty Swede created an insanely stylish accent.I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of stand up desks. Not because of potential health benefits or anything like that, but in general I get a bit tired of sitting all day. I’m a little bit of a spaz, and I’m always twitching or fiddling around with things. Chairs hampered my spaz, so I wanted to make a change. Unfortunately, most standup desks are either really expensive, or look completely unprofessional. I’m not one of those guys that would rather wear sweatpants and flip flops to work, I’ve got an image to protect, right? So I was highly intrigued when I read about the affordable IKEA stand up desk.
It looked like something that would work for me – functional, yet doesn’t look like I went to the trash heap to scrape random parts together. So a couple of months ago, I took the plunge and built myself a stand up desk. I followed the printable instructions fairly closely, with the exception of a slightly different choice of materials. Instead of a plain black Lack table, I went with a black-brown, that is more of an ebony color. Most of the furniture in our office is a very dark wood color, but not straight black. That bumped the price from 7.99 to 9.99 for two tables. Above is the completed desk, which looks quite professional and not homemade. I used standard brackets and shelves from Ikea, and constructed the whole thing in a matter of an hour or so. The trickiest part was really figuring out how high to have the shelf, as I’m also fairly particular on the angle of my arms etc. I tried this out for a couple of weeks, and found that I was extremely sore. Now, I work out and all that junk, but I wasn’t prepared for how tired my feet were going to be at the end of the day.
I wasn’t changing my footwear to tennis shoes or Crocs or anything. Quite a few folks on Twitter pointed me at anti-fatigue pads. Reading reviews led me to want to buy something a little nicer, so I went with the GelPro NewLife Eco-Pro commercial anti-fatigue mat. Reviews on Amazon were great, but it is a little pricey at $79.99 for the size I was looking at. This was almost 3x more expensive for the mat than my entire desk configuration. However, the reviews tend to justify the price, so that’s what I went with. Mat = HUGE difference. If you are going for a stand-up desk, buy an anti-fatigue mat. It’s really the only way to go. I’ve used the stand up desk now for a couple months. It was a little shaky at first – without that mat, my days felt really long. Sitting down to get in my car to drive home felt fantastic. But once I got the mat, I got rid of that barstool chair and I really haven’t felt the need to sit during the day. I do change positions quite a bit during the day.
I alternate between standing on both feet equally, or shifting weight back and forth. I was doing this anyway when I sat in a chair all day long (evidently I’ve got the jimmy legs), but now it feels a lot more natural. But what about other benefits? To be honest, I don’t put a lot of stock in the idea that merely standing is better for your health than sitting – studies tend to show negative effects of sedentary lifestyle, but not that merely standing automatically makes you live longer (instead, a treadmill desk is a likely better choice). I haven’t lost or gained any weight, but I already go to the gym regularly. I don’t think I sleep better, feel better or anything else. But on pure preference, I do like standing more than sitting. I sit enough at home, so it’s nice to have a chance of pace. One thing that I do have an issue with is that my shelving is not adjustable vertically. When I got the anti-fatigue mat, it raised me standing by nearly an inch. I also recently switched keyboards, lowering the profile of my hands.