Ikea, the furniture brand known for producing affordable minimalist furniture, will soon release its 2017 catalog. Available starting August 8, it will spotlight new products coming to its US stores. Check out 11 new Ikea items that everyone will inevitably obsess over this fall. A minimalist standing desk. The Knotten standing desk is perfect for tiny apartments or work spaces, since it doesn't take up much space. It also has a drawer, ledges, and hooks for storage. A lamp that can clamp onto anything. The Varv light can clamp onto a headboard, table or desk. It uses LED bulbs (which save energy) and can be adjusted to provide a bright spotlight for reading or softer mood lighting. Tables that double as storage containers. The Kvistbro tables let you store things in its metal basket. Since it's see-through, you'd probably only want to put nice-looking books, blankets, or magazines in there. A sectional sofa that you can mix and match.
The Vallentuna modular sofa is made of three different pieces (the cushion, ottoman, and armrest), which come in different colors and materials. This means you can completely customize the size and look, depending on your taste. A mini-kitchen that lets you prepare simple meals. Sometimes installing a large kitchen isn't necessary, too expensive, or takes too much time — especially in an office, studio or guest space. The Sunnersta is a free-standing micro-kitchen that features a small fridge, faucet, sink, and storage space — the only thing missing is an oven, of course. A lightweight storage system that helps you organize and access your clothing. For a room that doesn't include a closet, the Elvarli storage system could be a great addition. It has lots of shelves, a few drawers, and hanging space, helping you keep the room nice and tidy. Classic yet modern rocking chairs. This chair woven from rattan (wooden tree palms) is super lightweight.
You can easily pick the Grönadal chair up and bring it anywhere in your house or patio. A colander that hangs on top of your sink. The Grundvattnet colander balances on the edge of a sink, making it super handy for washing produce. It might also help lower the chance that germs could get on your food in the sink, since it never needs to touch the bottom. Airy side tables with removable tops. These modern tables, called Gladom, come in soft colors, like mustard and seafoam. You can also remove their tops and use them as trays, and they're small and versatile enough to be placed in any room. They could also serve as nightstands or end tables next to a sofa. Stickers that spice up a wall. The Klätta stickers are a fast, easy way to decorate a room, or even cover up flaws or cracks. According to Ikea, you can peel them back off the wall without harming the paint. The stickers come in different styles, including frames, a world map, flowers, and letters.
Vibrant cabinets that stack. The Lixhult cabinets are another modular piece that you can mix and match. They come in vibrant shades of green, yellow, blue, and red, as well as white. Its price ranges from $15 to $35, depending on the size.Today’s post brings me great pleasure to share! It’s a secret project I’ve been working on since I was 7 weeks pregnant. It is my first DIY project for baby Crowder. (First person to come up with a solid nickname for the IBK Fetus gets a prize!) I’ve always been in love with wingback rockers. You might as well trade your first born child for one, and then, what’s the point?! The rocker on the left came from Nurseryworks, and the rocker on the right is from Pottery Barn Kids. And then, it hit me hard like my pregnant emotions during country music. I could EASILY make my own wingback rocker. All I would need to do is find a wingback chair, and some rocking chair runners. It was so simple. I thought “surely, this has been done a million times.”
But I googled it hard, and didn’t find anything on the matter. (But in the Internet’s defense, my googling skillz are weak like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert.) We picked up the Strandmon Wingback chair from IKEA, for $279. I looked online and found a place that sells unfinished wood rocking chair runners. I order a pair of adult large in maple. We measured where we would need to drill holes for the legs to attach to the runners. The holes need to be 1&1/8″ in diameter. The center of that hole needs to be 7 1/2″ in from each end. The hole needs to be 3/4″ deep. **DISCLAIMER** Double check those measurements by holding up your runners to the legs of the chair to make sure it ‘dry fits.’ It has been brought to my attention that there is variation in the legs of the Strandmon, and my measurements might not be a perfect fit for your chair. We used the drill press at my parents’ house. But if you have a cordless drill, you can use a forstner bit to drill the same kind of hole.
My two favorite men! I spent countless hours in this shop, learning the ways of woodworking and DIY from a great teacher. We brought the runners home and fitted them to the chair. Fit like a glove. Now we had to match the runners to the legs of the chair. Instead of painting the runners, I thought it would look better if we stained them black. I will admit, I did help with staining. BUT I was very careful to not get it on me (and when I did, I scrubbed it right off), and we had all the windows open, with a fan going. Aaron did most of the staining. The wood was so blond, it took several coats. This is how thin it still looked after the first coat. Several coats later, it was looking like a dead match to the legs of the Strandmon. We used a matte poly finish. I love this poly. And it has a soft touch. I don’t know how to explain it, but it is magical. Buy it and try it. After they were dry, it was just a matter of attaching the runners to the chair.
We put the runners in place, and drilled a skinny little pilot hole to make sure the wood didn’t crack when we put the screws in. Let’s take a minute to talk about how much Buster loves the chair being upside down. Here’s a montage of Buster in his fort, on several different days. Now that your heart is sufficiently melted, we can get back to the real work. Then we switched out for a bigger drill bit to make a hole (not all the way down! Just slightly below the surface) the same size of the screw head to counter sink the screw. Then we sanded the bottoms of the feet, and coated the holes in the runners with wood glue. After we put the runners in place, with the wood glue, we use spax screws and secured the runners. We filled the holes with black wood putty. And now, it’s ready to rock. And let me tell you, it rocks like you wouldn’t believe. It’s probably as good as Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. Or when Adele came out of the womb singing her feelings.