Martin Cooper

Sophie asks, “Has anyone ever tried to bring that HEMNES solid wood bookshelf to natural?” *** Hi Sophie Firstly, I’m not sure the bookcase in the photo is a HEMNES . The legs are a little different from the HEMNES’ straight legs. And the HEMNES top isn’t flared. Perhaps an older HEMNES? I’m not sure. HEMNES bookcase | Buy on IKEA.com But anyways, to answer your question. Yes it’s possible to take the solid wood HEMNES bookcase from lacquered to natural. And if your bookcase is solid wood with a lacquered top, you can pretty much follow the same steps. I’ve seen some pretty examples of it, especially this one . In that hack, Janson removed the white lacquer to reveal the natural pine wood beneath. Stripping HEMNES to natural wood Basic steps include using an orbital sander to remove the lacquer on the surface. Start with an 80 grit sandpaper to remove the top layer then switch to a 120 grit to smooth out the wood. Some prefer to disassemble the item and then sand each...

I love my NORDEN Gateleg Table. It fits in nicely in my tiny flat and I use it as a dining table, sewing table and prepping orders from my online shop! However it’s SO heavy which made it difficult to reposition and pull out the other side if I wanted to have more people over for dinner. After some Googling I found a really helpful Youtube video . The result is my very first IKEA hack! I just wanted to submit this hack as there are definitely others that have done it , but I don’t think I’ve seen it on IKEAhackers yet, or with castor recommendations with UK/EU specs. IKEA items used:  1 x NORDEN Gateleg Table Other materials and tools:  4 x heavy duty 25mm locking castors and 2 x heavy duty 25mm regular castors from ebay. (Or two sets of these from Amazon to get 4 locking wheels and 2 regular ones) Screws and screwdriver NORDEN gateleg table on wheels:  1. First, I turned the NORDEN table upside-down. I used a duvet for cushioning t...

I recently hacked up some IKEA IRSTA LED countertop lights. Reason for hacking it was I didn’t pay close attention to the depth of the light panels when ordering. And it’s too much of a hassle to take them back these days. I was extremely nervous when I started out, but the hacks turned out to be pretty straightforward and now I have lights I am very pleased with. IKEA items used: IRSTA countertop light [104.069.57] (24″) x 2 TRÅDFRI 30w driver TRÅDFRI remote control IRSTA LED countertop light | Buy on IKEA.com Other materials and tools: Circular saw with light metal cutting blade Cutting guide / straight edge Sharpie Engineer’s square or ruler File or sandpaper Utility knife Super glue (in case of mistakes) Eye protection Respirator / mask Modifying the depth of the IKEA IRSTA: Step 1. Find the Right Size For Your IKEA IRSTA Lights I probably wouldn’t have had to make this mod if I’d measured the available space under my shelves accurately in the first plac...

SVALNÄS wall mounted cabinet gets a touch of cane. While I liked the soft white color of the metal brackets and cabinet doors that came with the SVALNÄS range, my husband thought it was too juvenile for our bedroom. He asked me to spray paint them in bronze color. However, after I painted the cabinet doors, I wanted some of the original “airiness” back, so I used the cane. It turned out so lovely, I am looking around my house for other places that might need the SVALNÄS installed! IKEA items used: 5 x SVALNÄS Wall Upright 2 x SVALNÄS Desk 2 x SVALNÄS Cabinet Assorted SVALNÄS Shelves SVALNÄS workspace combination | Buy on IKEA.com Other materials and tools: Hammer Phillips-head screwdriver Level Drill Rust-Oleum Satin Bronze Spray Paint (Home Depot) Cane Sheets (for Chair repair) (Amazon) Gorilla Glue (clear) (Home Depot) Wood Cabinet Knobs with Green patina applied (on hand) Glass tops for Desk/Cabinet (local glass cutter) Contact paper for desk drawers...