Decent Standing Desk for less than $20

Materials: IKEA Lack Side Table, 2 Spruces 2x2, 1 Spruce 1x2, Acrylic Paint

Description: For standing desks lovers, this is a practical one for laptop or other uses for less than $20.

First, price breakdown (in Canadian Dollars):

IKEA Lack Side Table ($10)
2 Spruces 2x2 ($4)
1 Spruce 1x2 ($1)
Acrylic Paint ($1)

Second, steps:

1. Cut the 2x2 spruce to the desired height (1 meter for me to rest my elbow flat on the top for comfortable and healthy use)

2. Drill holes on top of the new legs to allow the original two sided screws to screw in

3. Assemble legs on table top exactly like the original legs

4. Based on the measure between two legs, cut the 2x1 spruce

5. Drill holes for the joint screws between legs.

6. Attach the supporting 1x2 spruces and screw them in

7. Paint and wait until dry

Done!

~ Ammar, Ottawa, Canada

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Simple Lack Ottoman

Materials: Lack coffee table, Capita legs

Description: I love the new SODERHAMN ottoman, but right now is out of my budget (250 dollars for an ottoman? what?!) so I came up with this, which is basically another approach to a LACK/OTTOMAN hack you would find here, the only difference is that I used the 35" x 21" coffee table instead of the little one.

The instructions are the same as other ottoman hacks, the only difference is that I didn't use spray glue because the foam will stay in place when you staple the batting.

Costs:
Lack table $10 used from Craigslist
Capita legs $10 I was lucky enough to found them at "as is" section.
Fabric $15 (I got 1 1/2 yards, you can use the rest for cushions covers)
Foam $ 15
Batting/Dacron $ 8

Total $58

Now, if you live in US consider yourself lucky because I'm sure the material costs are cheaper than here in Canada.

~ Aurea M, Vancouver, BC, Canada

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Granite Coffee Table with EXPEDIT Wall shelf and Lack granite top sofa table

Materials: EXPEDIT Wall shelf, BLADIS Baskets, FIXA Stick-ons, Lack sofa table

Description: Simple 'Hack'. I was looking for something to support a granite slab for a coffee table which I got from a granite supplier 'bone yard' at a 75% discount - $150. I found the IKEA EXPEDIT cubes which were the perfect height and used the BLADIS wicker storage cubes for magazines and remote controls.

Also by placing the cubes on two corners this allowed for leg room under the table in the corner of the sectional. I also used the FIXA stick-ons to protect the cubes. Total cost of IKEA products $75 - total $225. Interior designer friend said it would sell for $1,000 at a high end furniture store.

I paid only $60 for this sofa table sized beautiful granite piece and in looking for a way to support it I ran across the IKEA LACK Sofa Table $30 - perfect fit - $90 total. An interior design friend thought I paid at least $500 for it. Oh yes - I put IKEA FIXA Stick-on floor protectors on the bottom of the granite to protect the table top.

~ Robert Youngberg, Denver

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Stereo System with 4 Bland Matt bowls and 2 Lack Shelves

Materials: The Loudspeakers: -4 Blanda Matt 28 cm Bowls -2 full band 4" speakers -4 binding posts -6 drawer knobs -Stuffing material ( optional ) -Electric wire. The Amp and Preamp: -2 30 cm Lack shelves -Amp board + 220Vac/12Vcc power supply -Stereo potentiometer 2 x 20 Kohm - Binding posts, RCA connectors, blue LED + R 820 ohm

Description: I'€™m talking about a pre-amplifier, a power amplifier, and 2 loudspeakers (music source: my MP3 player).

The loudspeakers were built by using 4 28 cm Blanda Matt bowls.

The power amplifier is fit inside a 30 cm emptied Lack shelf.

The passive preamplifier, a simple 2 x 20 Kohm stereo potentiometer to regulate the music volume, is fit inside another 30 cm emptied Lack shelf.

You can find step by step building instructions for loudspeakers here.

file : casse monovia semplici, economiche alto WAF.doc ( one way, simple, cheap, high Wife Acceptance Factor loudspeakers )
Sorry, it'€™s written in Italian, but is full of pictures ;-).

Amp and preamp here. (this time in English!)

Thanks a lot to IKEAHackers site for giving me inspiration.

~ Luca, Monza, Italy

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Low Cost Home Theater Speaker Stand

Materials: Adils Leg, Lack Side Table, Laiva Shelf, Stolmen end fitting

Description: Being an audiophile and living in rented spaces can be quite a challenge. Drilling walls to hold your heavy speakers can be quite a challenge. After trying out a few low end stands that did not fit the bill and multiple return trips I was almost ready to plunge on the Stolmen, until I ran into Ikeahackers!

Inspired by the posts in the AV section, I set out to make my own stand and it came out well within Budget.
Laiva Shelf - AUD 5.00 (Holds the speaker)
Adils - AUD 5.00
Stolmen - AUD 5.00 (Comes as $10 for 4, need 2 per stand)
Lack Side Table - AUD 10.00

Instructions are simple - Screw the Adils on the Lack Side Table. This makes the base (wide enough so that the speaker does not topple over.

The Stolmen end fitting is mounted on the Adils and screw in the Laiva Shelf.

Make sure you have a good measuring tape and hand held power drill/screw driver.

Sequence:
Mark the end points on the Laiva Shelf
Fix the speaker mount at your desired point on the shelf.
Bolt on the Stolmen end fitting
Screw the Laiva Shelf on the Stolmen end fitting
Fix the Adils base on the Lack Table
Screw the assembled leg to the Adils base.

~ pkumar, Australia

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No Lack of sunglasses...

Materials: Lack table, drawing pins, a thick thread, hammer, pencil, ruler, and lot of sunglasses

Description: What will you do with all of your sunglasses when summer is coming? If you have an extra Lack, you can use it as a cute way to store and display them! I just used the base, legs off, working on the back, just in case I need my table back..

First I drew with a pencil and a ruler a kind of path, just to stay geometrical. Then I pinned the drawing pins at the intersections of this path, aside mostly, but some in the middle, too. Just use your thumbs, Lack's wood is very soft.

Next step is to create a geometrical pattern using the thread. I chose a yellow thick one, but you can use any colour and any kind of thread, a fish one will work as well.

Do that twisting the thread under and around the pins, while you keep them still with a finger, and go creatively in any direction.

Once you like what u see - the more the better, also because it will be stronger - fix the thread with a knot and hit the pins with the hammer,so they won't move and, use the pattern you created to hang up your sunglasses.. or whatever you like! Tadaaaa!!

~ laura, rome

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Lack Table Corner Shelf Hack

Materials: Lack side table, Ekby Stodis, screws, drill, screw driver, raw plugs

Description: Start by cutting a Lack side table top into quarters.

Next screw on the brackets as seen in the photo.

Mark up the bracket placement on the wall, drill the holes and put in the raw plugs in.

Finally screw the shelf in.

~ Lewis, essex

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Modern guinea pig cage

Materials: 4x LACK coffee table

Description: This is our new Cage made of 4 Lack coffee tables and some nice LED features :D

~ Lydia, Hamburg

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Sofa Surround Lack Hack

Materials: Lack shelves & end tables

Description: Wanted the Lack look, but needed shelves to hold mostly books - too heavy for the flimsy Lack wall connector.

First picture below shows 4 feet Lack shelves cut in half. For some reason IKEA doesn't make a 2 feet long Lack... Note the paper reinforcement is pushed in on one to make room for the ledger at one end. It pushes in easily with just finger pressure.

Second picture shows 1x2 ledgers screwed to the wall to hold the outboard end of the shelves. I would have liked to hit a stud, but had to use plastic wall anchors instead.

Picture three shows the shelves starting to go up. Inboard end is supported by black-painted 5/8" x 7 1/4" MDF (courtesy Home Despot). Two 1 5/8" drywall screws into each shelf end - be careful not to overtighten - you're only screwing into about 3/8" MDF at the end of each shelf. The bottom "shelf" is a Lack end table sans legs.

Picture 4 shows one side of the unit complete. I did use the IKEA supports on the long top shelves - shelves still had to be cut to length, and mounting the hardware to line everything up took VERY careful measuring.

I think it still has the Lack look, and so far hasn't collapsed under the load. :) I do have to warn visitors not to sit on the end tables! One interesting tidbit - the space between the two long top shelves was tight at installation, but has since opened up about 1/8". Obviously Lack shrinks! For a perfect fit you'd probably need to let the shelves acclimate for a week or so.

~ Jim Potter, Ottawa, Canada

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LACK dog house

Materials: 5 LACK tables, elbow joints, wood screws, saw, carpet

Description: Needed a new dog house for my living room. The LACK tables ended up being the perfect size to make a dog house for a smaller dog. I attached the walls from the inside using elbow joints and wood screws. I carpeted the inside on all sides then I used a shag carpet on the floor for some extra comfort.

~ Tom, Sacramento

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Lack Coffee Table with footrest

Materials: $29.99 Lack coffee table, 1x2 wood, foam, upholstery fabric, staple gun, screws

Description: I wanted a coffee table that I can rest my feet and still be able to use the table for drinks.
The $29.99 lack coffee table was the perfect dimension for my u-shape sectional. Started framing a 16x16 square for the center.

Then stapled the fabric to the frame on one side, turned it over and attached frame to the table with screws. Glued the foam (already cut to size) around the frame to the top of table. Screwed wood pieces to bottom of the Lack table so the fabric will be stretched over and stapled down.

~ Chenda, Gilbert, AZ

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Mother and son Lack table

Materials: Lack table

Description: 2 6mm mdf boards, side 18mm mdf and inside also 18mm mdf strips. All glued and nailed. Cut out the space for the original Lack table. Old Lack legs shortened by 20 mm were used for the legs of the bigger table. Have fun. It's easy to make.

~ gerard rhebergen, the netherlands

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Double Lack Hack

Materials: 2x Lack coffee table, Circular Saw, 4x angle iron with holes, black spray paint

Description: Our old Lack coffee table was a little bit worn-out, so we kept looking for a new table that would fit into our U-shaped couch. It turned out that tables from Ikea or other stores did not fit so perfectly or were much more expensive.

So we bought a new Lack and thought about a way to make it look a little bit less "standard". As the old Lack had some dents but was still useable, I cut its top in half with a circular saw and used the two halves as table-legs. I connected the legs with the table plate with some wood plugs and attached two angle irons in the corners to give it some more strength.

Finally the inner side of the legs (the former underside of the table plate) had to be spray-painted black and the lower shelf needed to be shortened a bit to fit between the side plates.

The new side panels are a little bit longer than the original legs, what i appreciate because the original Lack sometimes was a bit too low. Now it has the right height and you need to take a second look to recognize that it's "only" a Lack :-)

~ Thomas Krechel, Germany

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From a Lack table to a sweet little stenciled one

Materials: Lack side table cedar wood strips, stencil, wood stain, paint

Description: I picked up this lack table with an idea to re-purpose it but I had no idea how. Then I remembered this technique of gluing wood strips to make a new top. I got cedar wood strips, cut them to size. I glued them to the top, I painted the table white. I stenciled the raw wood and stained over that. Voila! Sweet little table.

See more of the stencilled Lack table.

~ Melissa Aldana, Pompano Beach, Fl

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Dinner Table and Desk - Cheap and Easy

Materials: 1 Lack Coffee Table, 4 Vika Legs, 2 Lerberg Trestle

Description: We wanted a nice looking dinner table like the Torsby one, but we didn't want to spend 159 on it. The Vika system is cheap but the table tops are very narrow, not so comfortable for dinning. We decided to buy the Lack coffee table (118 cms x 78 cms) and 4 Vika legs (now Godvin).

The bottom shelf that comes with the Lack table, we used it as a desk, we just bought 2 Lergberg trestles.

Costs in CAD;
- Lack coffee table 39.99
- 4 Vika legs 40.00
- 2 Lergberg trestles 20.00

Total for a dinner table and a desk = 99.99 CAD

~ Am19

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