Materials: IKEA Marius stool

Description: The legs of the IKEA stool Marius are part of this really quick and easy DIY project. I simply screwed the legs to a little drawer similar to the IKEA fira drawers, which are unfortunately not available anymore. I got mine from a hardwarestore. The result is still a very fresh and quick new addition to our bedroom!

See more of the Marius nighstand.

~ Fenke, Berlin

Materials: Malm king size bed, 2 lamps (as normally used in kitchens), screws, wire and switch


Description: We had a baby and since we have to feed him at night we decided some "soft lighting" was needed in the bedroom. The idea was to install 2 lamps, as the ones normally used in kitchens under the bed structure with 2 screws per lamp. The wires go to a switch screwed in the back of the bed. The light reflects in the floor and provides enough light to feed, change diapers and so, without "blinding" none of the people in the bedroom!


~ Pedro Farinha, Aveiro, Portugal

Materials: Hemnes queen bed frame, Anno Sanela blind, pre-finished polystyrene molding, liquid nails, saw and miter box, and clamps

Description: We bought the Hemnes bedroom furniture suite but recently started feeling tired of the baby crib-like bars at the top of the headboard, especially since that's all we could see of the headboard once all of the bed pillows were in place. We wanted to maintain the classic and clean lines of footboard and nightstands without adding a lot of weight or taking apart the bedframe. We found our solution with the Anno Sanela blind at Ikea, it was light, large enough to cover the headboard, stiff enough to hold its shape without wrinkling, and had a great seagrass texture that completed our bedding.

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Materials: Ekby Gruvan shelf; Vika Curry legs; Godmorgon box; Kolja mirror; Gilbert stool

Description: My bedroom isn't very large so I needed a small makeup vanity. I'm the type that likes to see all my makeup because if I don't see it, I won't use it. The Ekby Gruvan works great for this reason.


Connect 4 Vika Curry legs to a Ekby Gruvan shelf (I used the 48 1/2 inch). If you need a larger surface area, the Ekby Gruvan table top would work too.

The Godmorgon box with compartments fits perfectly on top of the shelf for more storage.


To finish off the vanity, the Kolja mirror is hung on the wall and the Gilbert stool works great with the small area.

Acrylic trays from the local craft store fit perfectly between the shelf and glass to store all of my makeup.

This was such an easy project and took less than an hour. The part that took the longest was organizing the makeup!

~ Annie, Fairfield, CA

Materials: Brimnes and Lack shelf

Description: Couldn't find anything I liked for a night table. And I am not a fan of a lot of things around my bed... just a place to charge my phone and let it ring to wake me up.

I chose the Brimnes bed because I have no space in my bedroom. So the place I had left I did not want to give it to a night stand...

And then also budget wise... giving more than 5€ for a table so my BlackBerry could sleep tight? Nooo...

I just screwed Lack shelves on either side of my bed... simple but really convenient, cheap and space saving!


~ Caroline C, Brussels Belgium

Materials: Malm 3-Piece Headboard and Lack Tables

Description: I installed the Malm headboard ($199) without the Malm platform bed since I wanted my bed as low to the ground as possible. Extending the shelves out created a wall-to-wall headboard across the room.

I created an extension of the headboard up the wall using matching Lack tables ($10 each) attached with industrial strength velcro ($15).

In order to allow access to the outlets behind the bed, I took the table legs and more velcro and created a recessed ledge behind the bed leaving a small space in the middle for cords.


The ridge stops short of the end of the headboard on each side to allow for more hidden cords and the installation of a rope light in the ridge which will sit behind the headboard and illuminate it.

~ Dusty Fohs, Santa Cruz, CA

Materials: Rykene bed, particle board, hammer, saw, drill, staple gun, cotton fabric, burlap, 8 wooden buttons, an old mattress pad (or foam cut to fit your headboard), strong thread, extra long doll needle

Description: My boyfriend and I were tired of our old Ikea Rykene headboard. We wanted something modern and naturalistic and came up with this ecofriendly project. We used burlap as our fabric, old wooden buttons and an old mattress pad that was headed for the dumpster.

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Materials: RETUR waste sorting bin

Description: In our bedroom there's a lack of space beside our bed. I have spent a lot of time figuring out a solution for a bedside table.


Then suddenly I saw the RETUR bin and with a little time and creativity I made it fit into our bedroom.

I used wallpaper, decorative plastic and goldcolour.

See more of the Retur bedside table.

~ Helene Langborg, Sweden

Materials: Expedit shelving unit, saw.

Description: If you have ever purchased the IKEA Mandal bed with its really cool storage drawers, you know that they only offer the Mandal wall-mounted headboard combined with the adjustable shelves as a possible nightstand. I prefer a nightstand where I can discretely hide things away.

Step 1) Get the single (1x5) Expedit shelving unit and cut it in half. The cut will be ugly and the inside of the Expedit is cardboard, but this will not be seen in the final result. If this really bothers you, you can purchase wooden veneer tape at a hardware store to cover the bottom cut.

Step 2) Mount each half of your Expedit shelving to each side of the wall next to your Mandal bed. Make sure to use proper wall-mounting brackets that will be screwed into the wall studs or that use drywall anchors. In this case, I also used the Expedit drawers and anchored them to the wall as well.

You can use any of the Expedit accessories that IKEA sells to give your nightstands the storage options you require.

~ Nicholas, Montreal, Canada

Materials: Hopen Bed, Plywood, Batting, Fabric, NailHead Trim

Description: We wanted to make an upholstered headboard for our Hopen Bed.


First step, after measuring the size of headboard that you want, lay out 3 layers of batting on the floor and cut the measurement leaving about 4 inches on each side to fold over. Staple all the way around pulling as tight as you can.


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Materials: Two, white, wooden Ikea storage bins, dark stain, hinges, screws, glass knobs (optional), and contact paper (optional).

Description: We have a relatively small apartment and we are always looking for ways to store our "stuff". There was an unused space in our bedroom and two wooden Ikea bins taking up space in our closet and viola, our Ikea hack was born. I planned to make a side table out of the bins. It would turn out to be a lot cheaper than buying a brand new one and more my style anyway.

First, I took apart the bins and removed the back wooden panel. I replaced it with a large piece of cardboard, which I covered with Magic Cover contact paper. Then, I put the bins back together. I stacked them, one on top of the other and nailed them together. Then I painted the panel I removed with a dark stain I had lying around the house. After it dried, I used some left over hinges to screw the panels onto the front as doors. I also made use of two magnet hinges I had to keep the front doors closed. To finish it off, I affixed two glass knobs to the front.


Because I didn't use a drill, it took me more time than I thought totaling five hours. I would urge all others to use a small drill to pre-drill the holes for the screws, but you can also do this with some screws and a screw driver like I did.

See more of the bedroom side table.

~ Janina R. Williams, Chicago

Materials: Kura bed

Description: My son and I live on very little space, so I wanted to make a bed for both of us that didn't take up too much space.

I bought a Kura bed, painted it white and removed one of the panels of the bed in order to fit an 140x200 cm mattress instead of the original 90x200 cm. The new mattress is much wider than the original, so I had to make new bed rails - I painted them blue. Below I put several bookshelves for my son's toys, as well as a lamp and glowing stars under the bed, for him to watch when going to sleep.


I painted the end of the bed with magnetic paint and on top of that paint to use chalk on. I also made curtains from Ikea fabric, so he can close them and have a nice little "cave" in there!

Now I sleep on top, and my son underneath - as a benefit all his toys fit under the bed, so I saved so much space!

~ Liv, Denmark

Materials: FJELLSE full bed, stain, piece of pine, L brackets, drill, screws, screwdriver

Description: I needed a bed, was on a budget and hated everything on Craigslist. For under $100 I got a bed a like that I think looks great.

The FJELLSE full bed was on sale for only $49. I picked it up and skipped the $20 slats and got a free box spring from Craigslist.

The headboard with the bed is ugly in my opinion and so I wanted to cover it up. I saw some hacks for this style of bed, but most of them were padded headboards. I wanted something rustic. Originally I was going to purchase several planks of wood and stack them on top of each other. I found a 2'x 8'x1/4" piece of wood at Home Depot and had them cut it down from 8' to a couple inches under 6' which would be the length of the bed. This piece was $27.99 and listed as "shelving" on my receipt, though it was just in the general lumber area.


We also purchased to packages of L brackets to use to affix the headboard to the bed. You can see how we did in the photo. My dad was also concerned about it holding and adding a screw on each side through the posts of the bed.

In terms of assembly, we assembled the bed like the instructions, only adding the piece of wood to the bed at the beginning after we assembled the headboard. We had measured the box spring and mattress to know how much higher on the headboard to place the lumber too (about 12" with a standard 9" box spring).

The unfinished pine also screams IKEA so that also needed fixing (note: I originally tried using a spray on stain. Horrible. Wound up using old stain we already had that had a finish to it. Would have saved about $20 had this goof-up not occurred!). This was also done days before we assembled as it took awhile to dry with the rain. We also didn't bother staining the parts that wouldn't show, like the midbeam.



I feel like the end product doesn't look IKEA at all!

~ Sharon, Long Beach, CA

Materials: Noresund Bed and Bomull Curtains

Description: I have a Noresund Bed an I was tired always of having lots of pillows and quilts for my back, so I can read in bed without hurting my head on the metal frame.

The wood is fixed on the metal frame by cable connectors.


Then I measured the size for the eight pieces and cut the foam rubber in their size.


I cut the Bomull curtains to fit around the foam rubber and had another piece of square wood each.

Then I took one of the square wood piece, do the square foam rubber on it and covered it all with the fitting piece of the curtain. It's only fixed on the bed with a feltglide each.

Finished.

Reading in bed is much more comfortable now.

~ Tia, Germany

Materials: Fjellse bed, staple gun, mattress pad topper, fabric

Description: I wanted to create a substantial guest bed on a major budget. I began with the IKEA Fjellse bed, cut up an inexpensive foam mattress pad topper, stapled it to the backside of the frame, and stapled fabric over it. The fabric I used was an IKEA curtain panel that was leftover from another room. I think it definitely upgraded the very cheap looking bed!


See more of the upholstered IKEA Fjellse bed.

~ Amanda, Michigan

Materials: MOSJO, BESTA extension, VIKA AMON, LACK

Description: I wanted to create a custom headboard for our bed which would fit nicely underneath our bay windows. Since you can never have enough storage the ability to lift up the top and dump winter duvets, extra pillows inside would be even better!

The basic idea was to take two TV stands (the MOSJO and the BESTA extension) which are the same depth but different width's and rotate them 90° so that they become storage boxes. Then custom cut a table top to fit on top of them. The addition of a LACK shelf mounted vertically to the edge of the BESTA provided a sturdy headboard to lean against. Everything was available in the same Walnut finish except for the MOSJO and this was going to be hidden at the back, lucky!


The only additional thing I did was to cut down the shelves that came with the BESTA to make them about 2" deep and screw them to the sides of the cabinet before attaching the LACK bracket in order to make the edge thicker and provide better support to the shelf.


See more of the custom headboard storage

~ Oli, Brooklyn, NY