A Norden kitchen island

Materials: One Norden item and some Franklin chairs

Description: I was looking for an island in my kitchen which is not separate from the living room.

As I'm not a billionaire, was searching a cheap solution...
As I already have a Norden item from Ikea, the size of it was too small for me, and I wanted it to be able to sit 6 to 8 persons. I also thought it would look better if it was closed at the back.


So, I just removed the top of the Norden table which was 42x188 cm and found a bigger countertop which was 90x200cm.

Then, I closed the two sides and the back of the item with white panels, and added a foot for added stability.

I use then with some Franklin mid sized chairs (63cm high)
Et voila!

~ Jean fi, France

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Norden Table becomes Interactive Art Table

Materials: Norden table, paint, clear varnish, plastic pipe clip, permanent maker

Description: The plain wooden Norden table in our kitchen started to look boring after a while, so we decided to repaint it and to turn it into an interactive art guestbook.

We first painted the table white, then sprayed stencil portraits of our friends on the surface. Finally, we applied three layers of clear varnish to seal the table for everyday use.

On the side we mounted a plastic pipe clip to hold a permanent maker. The idea is that all our guests may write their name and some personal greetings on the table, just like in a guestbook.

See more of the Lack art table.

~ Kane, Braunschweig, Germany

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Norden Sideboard hacked into bathroom vanity

Materials: NORDEN Sideboard, vessel sink, faucet, marble countertop, RIBBA frame, custom mirror

Description: I remodeled my small bathroom on a budget - it was pretty difficult to find a shallow vanity (only 16" deep vs standard 21"+). The Norden sideboard fit the bill perfectly, offering lots of countertop space and some storage shelves on the bottom - for only $149 and a little bit of DIY.

before

I started by assembling the skeleton of the sideboard and figuring out that I wanted to only use the lower shelf. The middle shelf would get in the way of the plumbing from below the sink and faucet. I also trimmed about 4" off of all the legs to make the countertop a more efficient vanity height (typically 32" max).

I ordered an inexpensive vessel sink (also shallow) and faucet online, then traced and cut the hole sizes they required on the top counter.

The next challenge was trying to make the 2 drawers still usable, despite the plumbing going right down the middle. There's a support bar underneath that I got rid of. I also cut down the sides of the drawers to make room for the pipes. I also screwed some nicer looking drawer pulls over the open-style handles (they were pretty ugly to begin with). However, with a jigsaw and some wood glue I got them sized down and usable.

The countertop fabricator easily cut the holes for the sink and faucet and caulked the marble on top of the Norden tabletop, which provided some good support. The bullnose covers up the Ikea tabletop so all you see is marble.

I also changed my medicine cabinet door to a custom cut mirror inserted into a black Ribba frame. With some hinges and magnets it works great and matches the black color of the vanity!

I am so happy with the way this hack turned out - it was fun conceiving the idea and seeing it through!

~ Jeffrey Y, United States

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Kitchen Table from Counter Top

Materials: Numerar Countertop & Norden Dining Table

Description: I purchased 2 Numerar solid birch countertops and 1 Norden dining table. I cut the width of the countertops down to 22" each side, but cut to the nearest block size. So one ended up about 21.5" and the other was about 22.5" so the seam looked natural. Next I cut the length to 70" to make it comfortable for 2 people to sit on each side. I used a biscuit jointer to glue the 2 halves together to create the full table top.

I cut the ends to a 48" radius. First by cutting the arc with a scroll saw, then finishing the cut with a template and a router. The template is just .188" hardboard, but its much easier to cut and sand the template to a perfect arc and use as a template for the router, than to try to cut a perfect arc on the table. The arc came out flawlessly on both sides.

The countertop come well oiled and I wanted a very light colored top so it took quite a bit of sanding to get all of the oil off the top and bottom.

Once that was done, I pulled the tabletop off the Norden dining table and put the legs onto the bottom of the new table. I needed longer stringers between the legs on 2 sides so I used one of the long cut off sections from the original counter top and sliced it down the middle to get qty 2 - .75" x 2.75" x 57" pieces to replace the short stringers with these long stringers.

I finished the table top off with several thin coats of low gloss tung oil and it looks beautiful, perfect size, nice solid wood quality and for less than $300.

~ Daniel Tagtow, Austin, Texas, USA

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What's a kitchen without an island

Photo: IKEA.com

Materials: Norden Sideboard, Varde Countertop, Drill, Saw (table or circular)

Description: I have a decent sized kitchen with a poor countertop layout. I combined the Norden Sideboard with a Varde countertop that overhangs to give me a kitchen island with seating. This is something that is sorely lacking from the Ikea lineup.

Here's how:

Assemble the Norden Sideboard as the instructions say but skip the step instructing you to install the top.

Photo: Varde - IKEA.com

Cut the Varde countertop to approximately 48" length. Exact length is up to you depending on how much side overhang is desired. Option: If you can find it in stock, get the Lagan beech countertop instead which is less expensive and the perfect length.

From here there are two ways to mount the countertop. The easiest would be to simply use some L brackets from underneath and nobody will see them. Just be sure to drill pilot holes and don't drill too deep!

I chose the harder way: replicating the mounting holes from the sideboard top on the new countertop. I clamped the sideboard top to the countertop, with the bottoms of each facing up. Using properly sized drill bits with a stopper to not go too deep, I drilled through the sideboard top and into the countertop. This allowed me to utilize the wooden pegs and cam locks/screws to mount the countertop the same way the original top would be mounted. If you do choose this route be sure to do this in the climate that it will exist as to not have wood expansion/contraction issues. I did this in a workshop on a humid day with temperatures nearing 100 degrees. When I went to mount the top in my climate controlled kitchen the holes did not line up very well at all.

The final step would be to add some nice drawer handles, or perhaps some hooks for utensils... anything to make it work for you!

~ Brian Hunt, Richmond, VA

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