Month: February 2017

Do you have Pottery Barn taste but a flea market budget? Kitchen renovations can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars, but you can hack your way to Pinterest-worthy design in a weekend with a few IKEA basics and a little elbow grease. Here are 12 projects to get you started.

1. BILLY BOOKCASE ISLAND

On her blog Golden Boys & Me, DIY genius Courtney Affrunti shares how she turned three IKEA Billy bookcases into a gorgeous kitchen island. She fastened the bookcases together using screws and topped them with a butcher block countertop. Add decorative siding (Affrunti used bead board), molding, or doors to give your new kitchen focal point some personal flavor.

Buy from IKEA: Billy bookcase ($50), Ekbacken countertop ($99)

2. KALLAX SHELF ISLAND

For their IKEA-hacked kitchen island, Minneapolis-based home reno duo JP Strate and Liz Spillman (The Rehab Life) used the Kallax shelf as their base. They then sanded and stained plywood to create a custom base, backboard, and countertop.

Buy from IKEA: Kallax Shelf ($65)

3. FAUX MARBLE COUNTERTOP

A photo posted by krlbrands ??? (@krlbrands) on Jan 23, 2017 at 11:06pm PST

Prefer the look of marble to wood, but can’t afford Carrara? Stick some marble-patterned contact paper on your inexpensive IKEA shelf for an instant upgrade.

Buy from IKEA: Hyllis Shelf ($15)

4. UPGRADE YOUR JOKKMOKK TABLE

A sleek dining table with hairpin legs could cost you nearly $1000 from a trendy furniture store. On her blog Acute Designs, Regina Morrison shows how she made one for herself for under $300 by adding some hairpin legs she bought on Ebay (you can also find them on Etsy) to a $150 IKEA table.

Buy from IKEA: Jokkmokk Dining Set ($150)

5. RIMFORSA PLANTERS

A photo posted by Hilton Carter (@hiltoncarter) on Feb 2, 2017 at 5:06am PST

Create a striking accent wall or in-kitchen herb garden by repurposing IKEA’s Rimforsa container holders as planters. The Rimforsa line includes two sizes of holders, a hanging rail, and glass containers. If you want to do some comparison shopping to save a few bucks, you could purchase discount glasses or cups separately to place in your holders.

Buy from IKEA: Rimforsa Holder ($11) and Containers ($17)

6. VURUM WINE RACK HERB GARDEN

A photo posted by Shawna (@sevenofstars) on Jan 22, 2017 at 6:16pm PST

For another clever herb garden option, turn the $10 Vurum wine rack on its side, mount it on your wall, and add your own glass vases.

Buy from IKEA: Vurum Wine Rack ($10)

7. KALLAX SHELF BAR

The cubed Kallax shelf is a favorite of IKEA hackers for a reason—it’s just so versatile! The Kallax’s four cubbies make stylishly displaying your bottles, glasses, and barware simple. The Everygirl’s Alaina Kaczmarski transformed the simple unit into an expensive-looking bar by adding metallic legs (she used the Estelle legs from Pretty Pegs, but you could easily paint simple wooden legs found at any hardware store for a more budget-friendly option). Use wheels instead of legs and add a rail (like the Finrop) and your bar is now a cart.

Buy from IKEA: Kallax Shelf ($35)

8. CHILD’S LEARNING TOWER

A photo posted by Anja Keks (@keks_dose) on Feb 1, 2017 at 7:45am PST

Combine the Bekväm and Oddvar stools to help your tot safely reach the kitchen counter. The Oddvar doesn’t seem to be available in the U.S., but you can find directions and dimensions for adding your own plywood railing here.

Buy from IKEA: Bekväm Step Stool ($20), Oddvar Stool (£7)

9. DECORATIVE PAPER SCROLL

A photo posted by Kristin (@kjrobson) on Jan 31, 2017 at 1:46pm PST

Wall-mount the Mala tabletop paper holder for the perfect place to leave family notes, make grocery lists, or let the kiddos scribble while you cook.

Buy from IKEA: Mala Paper Holder ($8) and Drawing Paper Roll ($5)

10. STACKED BOWLS

Keep your counters tidy with this space-saving storage unit created using three Rundlig bowls and the Hilver cone-shaped leg. When entertaining, fill each level with different chips or sweets for easy grazing and an eye-catching display.

Buy from IKEA: Rundlig Serving Bowl ($13), Hilver Cone-Shaped Leg ($25)

11. LEKSVIK CUP RACK

A photo posted by lealiveblog (@lealiveblog) on Jan 28, 2017 at 9:53am PST

Sometimes the best hacks come from finding unexpected uses (or places) for common items—no tools required! Move your Leksvik rack from the entryway to the kitchen and you have a great place for storing mugs, teacups, or pots and pans.

Buy from IKEA: Leksvik Rack ($13)

12. TOWEL RAIL POT LID HOLDER

Similarly, move a towel rail into your kitchen and you have a perfect place to store your pot and pan lids. Install the rail inside a cabinet or pantry door to keep them within reach but out of sight.

Buy from IKEA: Balungen Towel Rail ($15)

Lots of cities select a cute, cuddly animal as their mascot, but the Indonesian city of Pontianak, located in Borneo’s West Kalimantan province, may take the opposite approach: According to Mashable, local officials are thinking about erecting a giant statue of a female vampiric ghost, in honor of the evil spirit the town is named after.

For those not familiar with Indonesian folklore, the pontianak—also known as kuntilanak—is the vengeful spirit of a woman who died in childbirth or while pregnant, and has returned to Earth to prey on the living. Tourism officials think that a 330-foot statue of the ghoulish phantom would attract visitors to Pontianak, after noting the popularity of similar public works in other Asian cities, The Jakarta Post reports.

For example, Singapore has the Merlion—a statue of an animal with a lion head and a fish body. The head symbolizes the lion that a mythical Malay prince is said to have encountered upon his arrival to the island (he named the region “Singapura,” or “Lion City”), and the tail symbolizes the city’s origins as a fishing village. Meanwhile, Kuching, Malaysia is filled with large cat statues; they reference the city’s name, which is derived from the Malay word for “cat.”

Mock-ups of the statue have been making the rounds on Facebook, and Indonesia’s Public Works and Public Housing Ministry reportedly told tourism officials that they would contribute funds for the project if the city council gives it the go-ahead. However, Pontianak’s giant ghost statue isn’t a done deal just yet.

The Straits Times reports that locals have formed a protest group against the statue, arguing that a giant ghost statue would be, well, pretty creepy. Group representatives have met with city council members, who’ve reassured them that the ghost statue is only in the planning stages at this point, and that they’ve heard no official word from government higher-ups.

“It’s only an idea,” said council official Irwan Suhandar, according to the paper.

[h/t Mashable]

In the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, thrill-seekers can opt for a hardcore hair-straightening experience. As Reuters reports, local barber Ramadan Odwan styles his customers’ hair smooth using a blowtorch—and people are lining up to reap the benefits of its burn.

For 20 shekels (around $5), customers can receive a haircut and have their strands fire-straightened. “People have gone crazy about it,” Odwan told Reuters. “Many people are curious to go through the experience and they are not afraid. People here love adventures.”

Odwan isn’t the only beauty professional to offer extreme salon services. One barber in Milan burns the ends of his patrons’ hair with candles; in Madrid, there’s a barber who trims tresses with a samurai sword. Still, Odwan may be the only stylist in Gaza to use flames instead of a flat iron.

Odwan coats customers’ hair with a protective liquid (he won’t reveal what’s in it) and uses a blowtorch to apply fire in short intervals.

“I control how long I apply fire, I keep it on and off for 10 seconds or 15 seconds. It is completely safe and I have not encountered any accident since I started it two months ago,” Odwan told Reuters. We’re crossing our fingers for him (and his intrepid customers).

Check out Reuters’ story for more pictures of Odwan in action.

#AWANInews Hottest cut of all – Gaza barber wields blowtorch https://t.co/oyBPfVF56s pic.twitter.com/I4YD8dvlHc

— Astro AWANI (@501Awani) February 10, 2017

[h/t Reuters]