With the latest IKEA catalogue pushed through my front door, I was reminded of how very clever this Swedish giant is. They have solutions for small spaces, for small budgets, for small people and they always inspire. But it's hard to mass produce and still keep individual taste in focus. Enter IKEA hacks. Here are our top ten favourites, in no particular order. You may see a recurring theme with them, hinting at just why they would be faves chez Bemz:
This one ticks so many boxes: upcycled, stylish, personalised, durable, inexpensive. Alex of the US transformed a plasticky Emmabo deck chair into the modern take on the traditional Adirondack. Kudos.
Personalise a Gyllene lamp (original from IKEA, below left), with your own image as Damian of London did (below right). Artistic and practical. Personal and beautiful. Cute kids too!
Marianne of the Netherlands transformed run-of-the-mill into country cottage chic when she re-did this Bonde cabinet. All she needed to create a completely unique piece was a little elbow grease, chicken wire and good old gingham. Like!
That's how it started out...
And this is the end result. What a transformation!
A close up to really appreciate it.
Felicia of the US took a perfectly normal Hemnes bed frame and really upped the wow factor by adding a seagrass blind to the headboard and voila! A vintage bed frame that looks like no other.
This one doesn't really fit into our personalisation theme like the other examples do, as it is more of a classic hack (in the sense of taking something intended for one thing and making it work for something else) but I couldn't resist! What lucky lady wouldn't want her very own shoe room? Philip built this shoe room for his fiancee Cat out of Billy bookshelves. *Swoon*
Anna in Sweden must have made her little boy Filip very happy with this hack. Nice floors too!
Or how about a budget lamp that is totally on-trend? Sounds too good to be true? Well clever Charles dreamed up this little number out of a Lack table leg! (Just ignore that bare electrical socket please!)
The final product for this hack is meant to be dress boys (those things you hang your clothes on!) which is a clever solution for those living in close quarters, but I immediately thought of art when I saw it. It's like your own little installation! I loved that: contemporary art out of a couple of painted Bertil chairs from IKEA. And investing in art for your home is a big trend for interiors in 2011.
Lydia of Germany transformed a plain Egeby rug into a unique, filigree inspired focal point using paint, paintbrush, a stencil and her own creativity!
And last but by all means not least - although we may not be terribly objective - is this one. A Henriksdal bar stool turned into a moving and grooving designer chair thanks to some casters and a new slipcover in Marimekko's Unikko - Black (from Bemz, natch!).
All ideas and photos are originally on one of our fave sites: Ikea Hacker. The links will take you to the original hack, along with detailed instructions on how you too can transform your IKEA drab into personal fab!
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