How we made a Custom Family Calendar & Command Center

The world has been upside down for a while now, and we figured it’s about time to start to take control, even if only in the smallest way.

We used to have a family calendar on our fridge, but our new French door refrigerator made the setup obsolete.

So it looked like it was time for a command center. The thing is most were either too ‘college dorm room’ or far too expensive, at least before deciding to commit to layout and design.

Enter this IKEA hack.

IKEA item used:

IKEA PJÄTTERYD canvas frame (We used one we’ve had since circa 2010 but you can get a new one to fit your home decor style.)
SKÅDIS pegboard

Other materials:

Acrylic top layer from a generic poster frame
White paint pen
Seafoam green frosting paint
Small screws

Tools used:

Gridded cutting mat
Straight edge for cutting and inking
Blade knife
Tape to hold down the sheet
Drill with small bit
Windex to clean the acrylic
Q-tips to touch up the lines

How we made our Family Calendar and Command Center

First, align the acrylic sheet to the canvas frame and mark where to cut. We aligned one corner so we only needed to make one long cut.

Using a utility knife, we trimmed off the excess acrylic. Read our blog for best way to cut this.

After cutting it, clean the acrylic sheet with a window cleaner.

Next we moved to drawing the grid on the acrylic sheet. Place the sheet against the gridded cutting board and mark where your calendar boxes and lines should go. We used a liquid chalk pen and drew the lines on the back of the sheet so they won’t be erased.

We decided on a monthly calendar on the left and a weekly chart for daily reminders or menu planning in the center and an open area for notes on the right.

After drawing the lines, we removed the excess chalk with Q-tips to ensure neat lines.

Then, we sprayed the side of the acrylic sheet we just inked with frosted glass. This was to give the sheet a slight opaque finish to obscure the painting and make the calendar clear.

Once dry, line up the sheet with the painted side down on top of the art canvas. Make pilot holes and fasten with small screws.

Lastly, we fastened a SKÅDIS pegboard to the right side of the frame.

And there you have it: a functional and personalized family calendar and command center.

The only thing left was to hang it up and fill it with our appointments and tasks.

See the full tutorial on our blog.

~ by Laurie & Doug

The post How we made a Custom Family Calendar & Command Center appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Comments

SKÅDIS: 5 ways to make the IKEA pegboard even better

IKEA introduced its own pegboard system, SKÅDIS, two years ago and I’d say it’s one of the best systems IKEA launched in recent years. I love how super customisable it is, with a growing range of accessories that help keep things organized. It works everywhere, in your wardrobe to bathroom . Probably anywhere you have a flat surface to hang it up. Photo: IKEA.com SKÅDIS pegboard system See it on IKEA.com But no matter how perfect a system, you can trust IKEA hackers to improve on the SKÅDIS. And they’ve settle these 5 issues you may have faced with the handy IKEA pegboard. Read on for their fixes. 5 IKEA SKÅDIS issues and fixes #1 Expensive hooks? You’ll need quite a number of hooks and accessories to fill up the SKÅDIS pegboard, and Kenyer was shocked at how quickly they all added up. So he figured he could make his own hooks to save cost. Photo: Kenyer Over at Instructables , he shows us how to twist copper wires into the SKÅDIS hook shape. It works s...

Enjoy Sweet Dreams With These DIY Headboard Ideas

A headboard is one of the last things you see before you fall asleep and one of the first things you see when you wake up. Demonstrate your unique design style by creating your own. Below are some ideas and tips to get you started. Do you think the formula for sleep is on this London bedroom’s headboard? Image: Clifton Interiors Ltd Chalk headboard Create this look with a can of black chalkboard paint. Almost any type of wall – drywall, plaster, wood, brick or concrete – will work, as long is it is properly prepped. Chalkboard paint is easy to apply, dries fast and can be cleaned with soap and water. But you’re not limited to the color black – chalkboard paint comes in just about every color. If you don’t want to use paint, consider chalkboard contact paper – and yes, you can use chalk on it. An Edmonton hockey-themed room. Image: Cameron Homes Hockey goal headboard For the ultimate hockey fan, nothing beats a hockey goal headboard. Complete the scene with a team blank...

A beautiful design idea for the IVAR cabinet with doors

A wall of IVAR cabinets with doors engraved is astonishingly captivating. Because IVAR is real solid wood (unlike a lot of flat-pack cupboards), it makes a great blank canvas for CNC machining work and engraving. IKEA items used: IKEA IVAR cabinets in 30mm (12″) and 50mm (20″) depths. IVAR cabinet | IKEA.com Other materials and tools: CNC Router How to engrave the IVAR cabinet with doors: Build a wall of IVAR cabinets to your preference. It’s not too difficult to shorten some in order to fill a wall exactly. I shortened the top row to 695mm and reduced the depth of the middle column to 40mm to create a 50/40/30 sequence so that I didn’t block the window but maximised storage capacity. Take a drawing, trace it in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into a black-only flat design. You can simplify the path at this point to reduce the time needed to engrave. Chop up the drawing in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into door-sized sections. Save as an SVG. Import the ...

Martin Cooper

Search This Blog