Ikea
by Matt Burns on October 30, 2009

I’m a sucker for clever desks and organization objects. Sometimes you don’t need a massive Pottery Barn desk to email your parents pics of the kids. All you need is a place to sit and two little shelves from Ikea. (and some handyman skills)

by Doug Aamoth on June 22, 2009

ikeaAn enterprising young man studying abroad in Russia has turned a run-of-the-mill strainer from Ikea into a Wi-Fi super antenna using little more than the aforementioned strainer, a marker, and SKOTCH tape.

by Doug Aamoth on May 28, 2009

guitarAfter hearing Brad Paisley say that a Fender Telecaster “is nothing more than a cutting board, a baseball bat, and strings,” Zachary Custom Guitars decided to put that idea to the test — minus the part about the baseball bat.

by Doug Aamoth on April 30, 2009

ikeaIn case you hadn’t heard, Ikea is on the solar bandwagon. After pumping $75 million into various environmentally-sustainable initiatives, we’re starting to see products trickle out. Aside from solar-powered garden lights — which have actually been availalbe from numerous companies for a while — you can also pick up a $20 solar desk lamp.

by Nicholas Deleon on March 5, 2009

What’s that dumb joke, something about “why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway”? That logic doesn’t really hold up when you’re looking at something like these solar-powered garden lights. They’re IKEA’s first such “solar” products, which means we’re in for a treat in the upcoming months as more and more goodies trickle out.

Ikea getting into cheap solar panels
by Doug Aamoth on August 15, 2008

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Everybody’s favorite gigantic furniture store filled with flat-packed boxes is getting into solar panels. Cheap ones, too. Ikea is apparently getting ready to pump $75 million into "as many as ten companies in five different areas: solar technology, energy conservation, water saving products, alternative lighting, and new product materials,” according to TreeHugger. The goal of Ikea’s solar initiative is to be selling the “cheapest, best” photovoltaic roof panels to its stores within the next four years.

Ikea trash-can light tent
by John Biggs on February 22, 2008

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Light tents are great for taking pictures of gadgetry and small pieces of meat. This light tent uses a fniss trash can from Ikea, a halogen lamp, and a camera mount. You shoot through the bottom of the can to get a nice, soft light over entire object. It’s about $50 cheaper than most other light tents and it’s snowy in the Northeast today, so why not do a little DIY?

Project Page

MAME cabinet enclosed in Ikea table
by Peter Ha on November 19, 2007

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I’ll tinker with my X-Arcade once a week, but certainly not as much as I thought I would. I like playing Golden Tee, but setting it up on my TV is a pain. If only my coffee table had Pac Man readily available. Eric certainly knows what I’m talking about and his Ikea MAME table is fantastic. It plays Ms. Pac Man, but that’s besides the point. It’s even better because it doubles as a dinner table or what have you. Pull the leaves apart and the MAME is revealed. It has a 15-inch LCD and Happ Controls wired to an Ultimate I-Pac. Pretty sweet, huh?

Flickr [via BB]

Ikea Prefab Housing: The Instruction Manual is Four Pages Long
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by John Biggs on April 4, 2007

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While I’m not sure if they’re including a hex key and cheap screws with these houses, it’s an idea whose time has come. Looking around right now I notice almost 90% of our furniture is from Ikea and, if given the land mass, I’d build and install one of these BoKlok housing cubes in a second.

Unfortunately, you don’t pick these up out in Elizabeth, New Jersey and install them on top of your co-op. Instead, Ikea is selling these custom apartments for about $200,000 in the UK. The homes are almost completely pre-fabricated and each block gets an apple tree — something the whole block can take care of, apparently.

Want one? Enter the UK Ikea lottery. The houses are meant for folks making $30,000 to $60,000 and there’s no word on U.S. availability. Bummer.

Welcome to Ikeatown [Guardian via BoingBoing

Ikea Slabang Alarm Clock Good For Waking Up, Abuse
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by Vince Veneziani on February 23, 2007

Sometimes getting back to basics can be good in the world of design. This simple, yet effective Slabang alarm clock from Swedish home store Ikea has a special yellow rubber shell to protect it from falls, throws, and for when you use it as a bottle opener after 12 beers.

Slabang comes with all the basic alarm clock features plus the ability to record seven seconds of audio via a built-in microphone. Personally, I recorded the chorus of Hilary Duff’s smash hit “Wake up”. It makes me feel all warm inside. Visit an Ikea, plunk down $13, and it’s yours.

Ikea’s Slabang alarm clock [Boing Boing]

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