Back in 2006, Jules Yap was on a mission to spruce up her newly purchased Ikea Pax sliding doors. After scouring countless home decor blogs for ideas, she stumbled upon a tutorial that showed how to convert them into room dividers. This discovery was the “lightbulb moment” that inspired her to create a central hub for all the innovative ways people were hacking their Ikea products.
As an Ikea enthusiast based in Malaysia, she wasted no time and immediately started working on her idea. Thus, Ikea Hackers was born, a website dedicated to showcasing repurposed and customized pieces from the Swedish home retailer. Over the past decade, the platform has become a haven for like-minded individuals, with Ikea “hackers” submitting five to eight tutorials per week and a community of visitors generating around 700,000 page views each month.
Grab the attention of the bigwigs at Ikea
The website even managed to grab the attention of the bigwigs at Ikea. In 2014, the company sent Jules Yap a cease and desist letter due to her use of their trademarked brand name. However, after facing backlash from fans of the blog, Ikea withdrew the letter and invited Yap to Sweden for a discussion and some fika – a surprising turn of events. “In essence, they decided to let me be because they recognize that they cannot stifle creativity or limit what people can do with their products,” Yap explained.
Yap has recently published a book titled IKEAHACKERS.NET: 25 Biggest and Best Projects, which showcases the most exceptional tutorials featured on the blog, along with some never-seen-before hacks. Inspired by the project, we have gathered our favorite submissions from the blog. Check out eight fantastic makeovers for your beloved Ikea products by clicking through.
How these ideas have been applied
To conceal the radiators in a pre-war building, the Algot metal shelving system and Ekby Lerberg brackets were repurposed. All that’s required to create a unique and effortless DIY nightstand for your bedtime essentials is a cutting board, brackets, and superglue.
For a bamboo floating nightstand, you can use a cutting board, brackets, and superglue to create a simple and stylish DIY solution for your bedtime essentials. In addition to being a convenient storage solution for toys, the Trofast rolling Lego table can also serve as a versatile mobile home for kitchen essentials or art supplies, and it’s simple to construct.
Why bother with a bed frame when you can create a sturdy base for your mattress by utilizing nine Faktum storage cabinets with the Faktum storage bed? Before you think about getting rid of your Malm bed, consider repurposing the slats into a DIY coffee table – it’s a creative and practical way to give your old furniture a new lease of life.
