Worthy Mentions of 2012

Though they did not make my shortlist but I love these amazing hacks as well. They are among the most interesting, functional and well-crafted in 2012. Hope you like them as much as I do. Here goes:

Condo Perfect baby changing table - collapses to hide behind a door, flips open for a full sized changing table.

Lack shelf into coffee table - Great new use of the ubiquitous shelves. And nothing is wasted.

Besta photobooth - Out of the box, out in the field. And it takes photos.

Expedit reshuffled - Just a little tweak but it made the Expedit so much more gorgeous.

LEGO dining table - Two of my favourite brands together. Love, love.

A serious table for kids - Adjustable table for the would-be Frank Lloyd Wright.

Customised glass splashback - Kitchen magic from Rationell glass shelves and wallpaper.

Remove control storage Lack - A hack every home seriously needs.

Blanda Matt sings - Sexy speakers with all the right curves.

Work in a Box - Opens into a workstation, closes to hide everything.

Mandal LEGO storage - A fabulous storage system and so easy to do.

Space age TV - Because I love The Jetsons.

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We have it! The KNUFF transformable coffee table is the IKEA Hack of 2012

Updated: 20 Jan
The votes are in and a big congratulations to imchaser, creator of the Knuff transformable coffee table! It was a clear winner with 25% of votes, while the Frosta X came in second with 14% and the  Expedit extension next with 13% of votes. The Trunk Bar edged over the Karlstad sofa for fourth place with just 2 votes. What a close fight.

Thank you everyone who voted and made your choice known. Like one commenter said, we did have a bounty of good hacks in 2012 and it was a tough to choose just one. In the end, the originality and creativity of the Knuff hack won the day. Kudos, imchaser.

Prezzies! Yay!
Bragging rights aside, the winner gets to play with PANYL and their hundreds of colors and organic, life-like woodgrains.

The winner gets a choice of either:
a) A fully customized ODDA 3-drawer dresser (including the actual chest, which be will prePANYL for the winner using their newest custom "HackPack" concept. (This prize would be USA only).

b) $200 in PANYL gift certificates, which could be used towards merchandise and global shipping at PANYL.com.

If you're unsure what PANYL is, check out their website.

Till next year!

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Vote for the IKEA Hack of 2012.

Every year, this is one of the toughest decisions I have to make - shortlisting my 10 favourite hacks for The IKEA Hack of the Year poll. Trust me, it is awfully hard to choose just 10 from so many clever, beautiful, useful and crazy hacks.

I thought about segregating the poll into 2 categories, as some suggested last year but decided not to. Let's keep things simple and focused, alright? After all, it's the best IKEA HACK that we want to crown.

Nevertheless, in the following days, I will be posting some worthy mentions - hacks that didn't make the shortlist but amazing, nonetheless. I'll also highlight some re-purposings/embellishments that are just too good to go unmentioned.

So, without further ado ... I present my top 10 favourite hacks of 2012 ... (in no particular order).


Tipsy over this trunk bar

Leather, metal and booze. What's not to like? This is the best bar hack I've seen. Two Besta units, leather, castors and some pretty clasp did it. Well done, Csaba. See more.

Sofa so good

Susanah designed a box frame around the Karlstad to transform it from meh to marvellous. I would buy this in a heartbeat if IKEA made this version of the Karlstad. See more.

X-treme makeover for Frosta

Andreas made 3 eye-popping hacks with the Frosta stools. I went back and forth between the X and the Z before deciding on this one for the top 10. The X could work as a shelving, a cat tree or even just as wall decor. See more.

A sexy catwalk

I've seen many cat-____ (fill in the blank with litter, tree, box, etc) but none as sleek as this one by Jason. The very pedestrian Hyllis shelving units were cut up and made model material. See more.

Knuff said
 

imchaser's coffee table was one of the most surprising hacks of 2012. Knuff magazine holders and a rotating artist stool make a beautiful combo. Better yet, the "table top" configuration can be changed by rearranging the magazine holders. See more.

Expedit extension

The Expedit is one of the most hacked range in IKEA. I love what Marie did to hers - the very pretty doors and super smart pull out counter top. Extra work space when you need it. See more.

Work out of a box

Enough of thinking out of the box. Brilliant work can happen inside a box too. Ian proved that with his roll away home office made from a IKEA steel kitchen work table. See more.

One for the guests

When space is a premium, hacks like Lynn's day-bed to full-sized-bed hack takes the cake. Such a simple, yet well thought out and executed solution to a common problem. See more.

See it in print

Charles' hack does not look pretty and perhaps many won't understand this or hack it. But as far as drawers go, this is the most innovative use of one that I have seen. See more.

Got to LÖVA this

A bed canopy, in Anke's hands, takes flight. I love how whimsical it is. See more.

That's my list. Which should take the IKEA Hack of the 2012 title? Tell me by clicking below.




Voting will end 16 January 2013 at 11.59pm (EST time).

And, the winner gets a prize from PANYL.com

PANYL, one of our site sponsors, is giving away their fantastic products to the winner of the Ikea Hack of 2012. PANYL is not your grandmother's contact film but a technological marvel, with hundreds of colors and organic, life-like woodgrains.

Better yet, PANYL is giving the winner a choice of either:
a) A fully customized ODDA 3-drawer dresser (including the actual chest, which be will prePANYL for the winner using their newest custom "HackPack" concept. (This prize would be USA only).

b) $200 in PANYL gift certificates, which could be used towards merchandise and global shipping at PANYL.com.

Visit their website for more ideas and inspiration.

Start voting before time runs out.

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