The End of An Era: Ikea Discontinues EXPEDIT (Sort Of)

You know that shelf we all have from Ikea?  I swear, I cannot think of one person that I know who doesn't have one. You know what I'm talking about, it's the ubiquitous cube shelf that you fit baskets into or use to store your record collection. Yes, that one. Ikea is killing it off, and when I read the announcement the other day, I have to admit that I felt a tinge of nostalgia for all the EXPEDIT's I've put together (albeit in a frustrated rage).  Sure, the veneer chips, and the shelves can sag with time and weight, but for so many reasons it's still the perfect piece of furniture, especially if you have kids. The truth is, Ikea is actually replacing the EXPEDIT with something that looks almost exactly like it. According to Gizmodo, the new KALLAX will have the same interior dimensions with a thinner outer edge, which will vastly cut down on the amount of wood needed to produce their most popular shelf. They're doing it to save trees. Still, I'm a little sad to say goodbye to my old friend, if only in name, so I gathered together some of my favorite Ikea EXPEDIT hacks to date. If you have one lying around, and I know you do, here's some inspiration...

EXPEDIT Doll House (source unknown)

EXPEDIT credenza/ sideboard

Craft/cutting table EXPEDIT hack

Room divider and hallway storage EXPEDIT hack

Reclaimed wood fronts and log storage EXPEDIT hack (source unknown)

Reshuffled shelves and wall mounted EXPEDIT hack (this I might have to do)

Bench seating EXPEDIT hack

Changing Table EXPEDIT hack

Down Under Cover

8 years ago, I bought my first real furniture, albeit from IKEA.  I chose a giant dark brown leather KRAMFORS sofa and coordinating massive chaise for my then tiny craftsmen living room in Berkeley. Structurally they have held up remarkably well, but the leather was defective and finally ripped open on the chaise last month, only exacerbated by the barrage of army men and dinosaurs that have been exploring the tear.  

I am equal parts practical and fickle.  I've been wanting to replace them with a lighter, textured fabric sofa. At the same time I feel like purchasing all new living room furniture is a little ridiculous considering the beating they'll be taking over the next 5 years. I still like the lines of the KRAMFORS, and they are really comfortable, plus they've filled out our open space living room perfectly. Up until now, recovering them has not been an option. Reupholstery wasn't cost effective. I did find a company called Bemz that makes tailored covers for specific IKEA sofas, but they don't fit over leather versions.  Then I found Comfort Works, an Australian company specializing in IKEA covers, that makes special sizes to accommodate leather versions. 

I ordered a set of "Nomad Grey" heavy cross-weave covers for both pieces. I've finished the chaise, which took about an hour to install, including removing the base to get the fabric perfectly taut. So far, I'm really impressed by the quality of construction and I've achieved the tailored textile look without reupholstering or investing in new pieces. Win win.

 

 BEFORE

AFTER

 

 

Dipped Docksta

We got Ikea's DOCKSTA table for our kitchen nook when we moved in 4 years ago, because it was functional and looked more expensive than it's $179 price tag.  Two kids later it has taken one hell of a beating.  The base and leg are made from a heavy duty plastic, and the top from an acrylic fiberboard. Chairs slam, feet scuff, forks gouge, food stains. It has been looking like the junky floor sample found in the cast-off section by the check stands. I was ready to part ways and get the next best thing from CB2 (no Knoll for me).  Then the dipped leg craze started up.  I was seeing wooden spoons and chair legs and vases all with a pretty dipped paint coat.  Could I do this with the DOCKSTA? A wipeable color on the base would solve all my problems. I decided were I to go for it, I would need to give it a little more finish than a dipped look. Borrowing from that school of thought, I decided on a geranium color for the base and a soft white for the table top.  Embarrassing before photos and tutorial below, first, here's my color inspiration:

I dragged the table outside and cleaned it really well, removing all the stuck on cereal and mud.  You couldn't tell, but it was clean. I took the top off and proceeded to prime both pieces with a spray primer starting with the tabletop. When the top was set, I sprayed the backside and started in on painting the base with color. 

before: paint scraped off of sides and table top, bottom scuffed.

I applied three thin coats of a semigloss enamel to the base (I didn't want it to be too shiny) leaving 2 hours in between each coat.  For the table top I used a high gloss enamel which required more dry time. I am going to give the table top a few more days to completely dry before applying a low VOC sealer to make sure it can take another beating. For now, check out the clean and colorful detail shots:

A Small Wonder

When I made the kids play table from a LACK end table and a bargain kitchen table top, I had visions of miniature bentwood chairs completing the look.  After spending a few days testing it out, I soon realized that the kids needed to be able to walk around it, and I had to revise my plan.  Unfortunately this meant little stools, and I decided that IKEA's MAMMUT stools would make sense.  They are pretty boring, I chose white so that I wouldn't have to add anymore color to the room.  Today when I was reorganizing my office I found a roll of woodgrain contact paper and had a thought.  10 minutes later the MAMMUT's are not so boring and also not neon green.  I think this could also be cute using red contact paper with circles cut out to look like toadstools. 

Panyl Me Happy!

I kind of had to share this find. I scooped it from Apartment Therapy's Marketplace. As the proud owner of a few of these EXPEDIT storage systems from IKEA, I have long wished for a way to make them cool.  Mine are filled with overstuffed "guy" bins that house talking action figures. They scare me in the middle of the night when walk by to get a glass of water. I'd been thinking about ditching the shelves until now...Made from architectural vinyl,the self-adhesive panyls come in every color of the rainbow, including wood grain stains. You attach them to the doors and drawers for EXPEDIT and other IKEA storage systems.  www.panyl.com

LACK Luster

I am an avid follower of Apartment Therapy, it's kind of like design porn for me, and it's a great alternative to staring at facebook updates when I'm avoiding a pile of laundry.  At years end they do "best of" lists, and today they posted one on best Hacked, Upcycled & DIY projects of the year.  Number one on the list was the LACK hack. For those of you that don't know LACK, it's this little square end table sold for about $10 at IKEA.  I recently did my own LACK hack.  I've been needing a multipurpose table (trains, legos, late night wine fueled Trivial Pursuit tournaments)to be kept in the living room, therefore not painted with a charming train scene and also not something that costs more than my couch.  I found a brand new 48" table top in the cast off section of IKEA for $5.  It's a solid table top (heavy).  I attached it to a matching birch LACK table using heavy duty foam tape, paired it with some classy white stools for munchkin seating and voila.