Watch them bloom in semi hydroponic orchid pot hack

I was looking at buying specialized hydroponic pots for growing orchids “semi hydroponic” (not immersed). I realized IKEA had the ODLA pellets (growing media) much cheaper than my local garden center.

Then, I saw the VACKERT containers and realized they could replace the specialized pots if they were placed in an attractive bowl.

This orchid semi hydroponic hack lets me grow them the way I want, in a very attractive manner. It makes the orchids easier to care for since watering is done less often. Also since our humidity is often lower than is good for the orchids, the large surface area of the bowl give it lots of evaporation around the orchids.

IKEA items used:

• VACKERT decorative votive holder
• TIDVATTEN bowl
• ODLA grow media

Other materials and tools:

• Orchids

Semi hydroponic orchid pot hack instructions:

Wash ODLA grow media in a strainer to remove dust.

Remove all dirt, moss, etc from your orchid’s roots. It is easier if you soak the roots briefly.

Place enough ODLA media into the VACKERT container until you reach the second set of holes. You want the roots to be above the water line, so you will immerse the VACKERT between the first and second set of holes.

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Related: The easy way to start a hydroponic garden

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Hold the orchid so its base is just above the rim of the VACKERT container and the roots are dangling above the ODLA media. Begin to add ODLA media into the spaces around the roots until you’ve filled the spaces up to the base of the plant. You might have to shake it to help the ODLA settle into place. You should leave any air roots outside the VACKERT container.

Set the potted orchids into the TIDVATTEN bowl and fill the bowl with water until it reaches just above the first set of holes in the VACKERT.

Water will keep the ODLA media wet through capillary action.

Add water as it evaporates to keep the level the same.

Every 2 weeks or so take the potted orchids to the sink and runs some room temp water down through the ODLA media to remove any accumulated salts. This is also a good time to wash out the TIDVATTEN bowl and refill with fresh water. Before placing the orchids back in the bowl, water them with some weak orchid fertilizer and let them drain briefly.

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Related: How to grow food at home with an IKEA hydroponic system

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Place them back in the TIDVATTEN bowl and check the water level.

How long and how much did it cost?

About $20 for a bowl and three containers. It only took about 20 minutes.

What to pay special attention to?

Don’t let the orchid roots touch the water. They may grow down into the water but they will have acclimated to that by then.

~ by Andy

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Go big! Dress up your wall bookcase with a mural

One thing I’ve always wanted in my ideal house is a library. I love to read, but when I first moved out of my parents’ house years ago I gave away most of my book collection. It simply wasn’t practical to move it around and try to fit it in apartments and houseshares.

My husband and I bought and moved into an incredible house about a year and a half ago. While we don’t have a dedicated reading room we do have a large windowless wall in our living room. It’s ideal for a wall bookcase I can fill again, now that we’re here to stay.

We originally selected FINNY over BILLY because it’s much cheaper. That ended up being fortuitous as BILLY would have been wider than the mural panels come shipped and this idea would’ve been prohibitively difficult for me to execute.

IKEA items used:

• FINNBY bookcases

FINNBY bookshelf | IKEA.com

Other materials and tools:

• Peel-and-stick wall mural [the one I selected was the largest size available from wall26, an Amazon seller. It’s 100″ x 144″ and comes in six pieces]
• Towel
• Box cutter/razor

Optional:

• Furring strips
• Paint
• Drywall screws
• Nail gun

How to add a mural to the backing board of a wall bookcase

When we moved in we set up three FINNBYs for the books I had. But as I have collected more they stopped fitting. It was time for more shelves. I’d originally planned to add them one at a time, but I saw someone else’s hack for fabric or wallpaper as a background and was intrigued.

My one concern about eventually lining up seven FINNBYs in a row was how heavy all the black might look. Backing the bookcases would be a good way to keep them from feeling so dark.

Because I would have such a wide space to work with, I wanted to use it to its full potential by doing a mural instead of just a contrasting color or consistently repeating pattern. (Another thought I had was painting each of the backs a progressively lighter shade for an ombre effect, but I’m glad I went with this.)

I ended up selecting a deep space starry sky design, in part because I loved the blue/purple colors (and they weren’t so bright they’d ‘fight’ with the vividly colorful rug we have in the living room), but also because the more abstract pattern wouldn’t require me to be too precise in my application.

FINNBY bookcases are ideal because they’re just a little narrower than the widths of the available mural panels. However, they aren’t as tall, so you’ll need to make some editing choices as to which part of the image you want to use.

Applying the wall mural

Because our wall would fit seven bookcases but the mural comes in six panels, I opted to cover the center five and leave the outer two black for symmetry.  This hack would probably be optimal with six bookcases in a row. (But we didn’t want to leave a larger portion of the wall empty than needed. And I didn’t want to sacrifice my future book space!) Having an extra mural panel also gave me some peace of mind as I did have to trim and install one panel into an already-built bookcase. So having a spare in case I borked was reassuring.

It was my first time installing these sorts of vinyl panels. I’ve only done small decals in the past. But it wasn’t too bad. And it was easy to get rid of the few air bubbles I accidentally made. Just poke the bubbles with a pin and flatten them back out.

I watched a couple videos on YouTube that were very helpful. I would peel the backing off a bit of the top, line up the whole panel how I wanted it. Then, use my towel-holding hand to press the vinyl down side-to-side. Next, slowly peel the backing further while continuing to seat the vinyl with the towel.

After sticking the panel on the entire back I trimmed away the excess from the edges. Then built the bookcases as per usual. (Used an electric screwdriver and a nail gun instead of the IKEA hand tools to save some time). We lined up all the completed bookcases against the wall before lagging them in as we did have to shim a couple of them off the floor for them to square up well.

Outlet access points

If you have outlets in the wall you still want to use, measure and cut the access holes from the bookcase back panels first.

My husband masterminded measuring and cutting the access holes for the outlets. He also swapped them to USB outlets before we put in the bookcases as he knew it would be extremely difficult if he ever wanted to do it later.

He did slightly misalign his first outlet hole. But we rotated the bookcase back to try again as the hole ended up covered by the vinyl panel anyway so people only know it’s there if I tell them. (Like I’m now telling everyone, apparently. Sorry!) You can see the “oops hole” in the upper left corner, taunting him.

Oops hole

But once the vinyl is on, it’s invisible. Sha-sha-sha-sha-shaaaaaa!

Oops hole covered!

Add furring strips to the wall bookcase

As we have rather tall baseboards, we used furring strips of the same 1/2″ thickness painted black to keep the bookcases parallel to the wall. From the side, the bookcases appear notched for the baseboards as well, which gives them more of a built-in look.

We also made ‘frames’ and nailed them to the wall around the outlets for the outlet access holes to rest against.

The furring strips are also great because we used them using the included brackets to attach the bookcases to the wall. We just sank two self-tapping drywall screws per bookcase – one on each side – through the bookcase backing and furring strips right into wall. We were careful to position the screws behind the horizontal bookshelves so they don’t show. It’s easier than the included IKEA brackets – no ladder needed – and everything feels very secure.

How long did it take?

All in all, the project took about a full day of effort for me. About a half a day for my husband, who painted and trimmed all the furring strips to length as well as prepping the outlet holes and setting up a clear workspace for me. Then, he shimmed and lagged the bookcases into the wall when I had everything assembled.

He’s not even really a book person and was a bit skeptical when I tried to describe what I wanted to make. He could tell how excited I was about this so he put in the effort too. Because he’s awesome. (Times are approximate as the work was spread out over the course of a week, and do not count the visit to IKEA which is of course an adventure in and of itself.)

Materials ran less than $350 total. Seven FINNBY bookcases at about $30 each, $100 for the mural, plus hardware and furring strips and paint, none of which are particularly spendy.

Wall bookcase with mural all done!

I absolutely love how this turned out. And now that my husband can actually see what I was trying to describe for himself he’s been won over too. As my slowly re-growing book collection doesn’t yet fill all the shelves, the mural helps them not look so empty.

It brings another dimension and layer of interest to the room, and when my dad – a custom home architect – saw it in person he loved it so much he’s trying to figure out if he can pull off a similar wall in a home he’s currently designing. The wall bookcase mural is the first thing anyone sees when they come through our front door, and when visitors come in it’s generated more than a few wow moments.

~ by Melissa Ng

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#138: Was Ikea Not “Good Enough” For Our Home’s Kitchen?

Hanging wall lamp from whimsy paper pendant light

This hack is for the folks who don’t like reading the IKEA instructions and don’t need to read instructions. We made a pair of bedside hanging wall lamp from the KRUSNING paper pendant light.

They took a while to do, but worth it.

Materials for hanging wall lamp:

• KRUSNING lamp shade for each side table
• KRUSNING lamp shade x 2 for the ceiling light
• HEMMA Cord set, white x 2
• SEKOND Cord set, white textile
• EKBY VALTER Bracket, x 4
• 2 IKEA plastic plants in vase
• Paint
• Wall fixings

You’ll need some tools to do this! Electrical tools, wood tools and a bit of creativity.

We doubled up the ceiling lamp with 2 KRUSNING shades to make it a little fluffier in appearance.

As for the hanging wall lamp, we used a pair of EKBY VALTER brackets. Together, the brackets are wide enough to hold the lamp socket. First, we drilled holes on the brackets for where the wires should go. Then, we used a hole saw to cut out the hole for the lamp socket. Then, screwed the bracket to the wall using the appropriate wall fixings.

The side table lights looks light the shades could be flowers extending from the plants on the table.

Done properly. You should not see the brackets.

Don’t try this hack unless you can use a drill, wire an electrical socket, and screw a screw into the wall. Painting the bracket also required.

Please Note: That we found it tough to match the left side table shade to the right side table shade and ended up going through a few shades before getting it right. Luckily, IKEA had them at 50%.

Voilà! Our bedside hanging wall lamp with a touch of whimsy.

~ by Stu

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You may also like these hacks with the KRUSNING paper lamp

#1 KRUSNING paper flower decor

The KRUSNING is sold as a “cloud” lamp shade. You are supposed to be able to create your own unique design by crumbling the paper layers into different shapes. The KRUSNING is lovely as it is but I decided to turn it up side down and give it the appearance of flower. See more of the paper flower decor.

#2 KRUSNING in watercolour

I’ve had this IKEA 17-inch KRUSNING floating around my room for nearly a year just waiting for me to decorate it. Finally, it’s done. See the paper pendant light in watercolour here.

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This BILLY celebrates with one-of-a-kind cane doors

Cane furniture is definitely here to stay. I first saw Kathryn’s BILLY hack with cane webbing doors on Instagram. When I reposted it, I captioned it saying we should petition IKEA to make this style of doors. Quite a few hands shot up. I’m not alone in wanting cane cabinet doors.

BILLY | IKEA.com

Kathryn received a BILLY bookcase as part of IKEA UAE’s BILLY 40th anniversary celebration. It stood beautifully styled in her living room for a while but she had a “nagging itch to do something a little more spectacular with it”.

She’s always loved cane furniture and missed out on the IKEA STOCKHOLM 2017 cabinet when it was released two years. Since then, she has been searching for a similarly affordable alternative without success.

STOCKHOLM 2017 cabinet | IKEA.com

So went this BILLY arrived in her home, her second chance had come.

Kathryn considered using existing BILLY doors and actually purchased the doors for this purpose. But the glass is very tightly fitted between the panels of wood/MDF that make up the door. She thought she could smash it out but on closer inspection, she figured that retrieving all of the glass from inside the crevice would be painful and quite tricky.

Additionally, you would require some sort of beading (not sure if that is the correct technical term) to hold the cane properly in place. You could probably staple gun it but it wouldn’t leave a neat finish. Besides, it needs a consistent tension across the length of the webbing to keep it nice and taut.

Cane furniture carpentry

That was when she decided it was a job for a carpenter.

The carpenter used MDF board and spray painted the doors in his workshop for a perfect finish. He primed and painted the bookcase for me too. For the open panels in the doors, he used a roll of cane webbing. They are held down on the inside with staples and a small strip of wooden beading for tension and support.

The result is just spectacular.

See more of the BILLY cane webbing doors on Kathryn’s blog, House of Hawkes.

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Hackers Help: How to smaller bed base into MALM bed?

I’d like to find a solution for my bed. I’ve a mattress and a bed base with legs of 190 x 150 cm, not from IKEA. It is a good one and I don’t want to change it.

I’m looking at the MALM bed frame from IKEA, but the size is different from mine. I would like to find a good solution to fix my bed base and mattress on the MALM bed frame.

Has anyone solved this problem with a MALM or with another bed frame from IKEA?

Thanks in advance

~ by Michele, Ibiza

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Hi Michele

The MALM high bed comes in 160 x 200cm. If I were you, I would just stand the existing bed base at the center of the MALM bed frame. It will, however, leave a 5cm (approx. 2.5″) difference all round. You did not mention the height of your bed, but I assume the MALM bed frame can cover the structure.

One way to cover the gap would be to upholster the bed frame to give it a snug fit. With your bed sheets, linens etc, the gap would not be noticeable.

If the legs from your existing bed base are too tall and you want to remove them, you’ll need your bed base to rest on the long steel bracket. This MALM bed assembly video shows the galvanized steel bracket that hold the LUROY slats. With the protrusion, you may be able to barely rest your bed base onto it. Unless you go and measure, it’s hard to know for sure. If it doesn’t, you can try installing longer angle brackets to hold up your bed base.

Another way to go would be to cut the MALM bed to size. But it’s a hard one to resize and I won’t recommend it. If you do shorten the side planks, you would have to recreate all the mounting holes, which is a complicated and precise process. Unless you get someone who has some work working skills and the right tools to help you. (And that someone would tell you it’s easier to buy lumber and make a bed frame from scratch. :-))

The NEIDEN bed may be easier to cut down to size. But I think it does not look much different from what you already have.

Lastly, since you already have a good bed base and mattress, why not just dress that up instead of trying to fit it into an IKEA bed? You could upholster the base, add a pretty headboard and I think it should last you a few more years till you’re ready to upgrade to an all new awesome bed.

Let us know how it goes.

Jules

 

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