Narrow STÄLL bar By: Nathaniel

Materials: STÄLL shoe cabinets (both the taller deeper 3-comparment one and the shorter and shallower 4-compartment one) plus EKBY JÄRPEN wall shelves and EKBY VALTER brackets

I wanted to put in a nice home bar in my living room, but have very little space, depth-wise. When I was looking through the IKEA store several months ago, and happened across a STÄLL shoe cabinet, inspiration struck!

The 4-compartment STÄLL shoe cabinet, at only 6 inches deep, is good for narrow bottles, even very tall ones. In the photo showing an open compartment, you can see the very tall bottle of St Germaine all the way at the right, for instance. The 3-compartment STÄLL shoe cabinet, at 12 inches deep, is good for handle-size bottles.

When assembling the STÄLL shoe cabinets, I omitted the feet entirely and instead rested the whole bottom of the cabinets directly on the floor, for stability. In the 3-compartment STÄLL, I also omitted the plastic middle separators inside each compartment (which would normally divide each compartment into two rows), to allow enough space for large bottles.

For the bar surface, I used EKBY JÄRPEN shelves and EKBY VALTER brackets, and screwed on some stemware racks to the bottom of a higher shelf for more storage.

Success!

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/QnqPx9 From Nathaniel

Design*Sponge Moving Sale + Best of The Web By: Grace Bonney

One of the greatest things about working online is the way it allows you to communicate with people halfway across the world. But over the past few years, our team has started to miss collaborating with (and talking to) friends and artists in person. We all watched with excitement when our friends opened Makeshift Society in San Francisco and a part of me was tempted to pack us up and move west to join a collaborative space that would allow us to interact with the people we write about and admire. Web designers, writers, photographers, illustrators all working in one place sounded like a dream, but we were on the wrong coast. Until last week.

Last Friday, Makeshift Society Brooklyn officially opened their doors just a few subway stops away from our houses. We were thrilled to be a part of their Kickstarter effort (that’s Amy and me on the left!) and I was delighted to be involved with their advisory board when Rena and Bryan were planning where the space would be and how they would go about adapting this space to suit Brooklyn’s needs. As the opening date drew closer, I floated the idea of working in a larger collaborative space to the rest of our team. We talked and everyone agreed that having a space that allowed us to be around and work with other people would not only be an exciting change of pace, but a great way for us to expand our sources of inspiration and open doors for collaborations we might not have otherwise imagined. So last week we decided to take the leap and join.

Almost immediately I feel like I have a whole new lease on our working lives. I hadn’t realized how much I was holding on to our office as something we “should” have, rather than something we wanted to have. I was able to find an incredible film company that shared our love of design to take over our space and I feel good knowing it will be in great hands. So, to get the space ready for them to move in, we’re hoping to find new homes for the office furniture and decor we no longer need. Unlike our last yard sale which was mainly about re-homing photoshoot props, this sale will include larger furniture (sofas, chairs), lighting, rugs and storage that we no longer need. We’ll be selling our Revive PDX sofa, our large pink Blu Dot desk, storage containers, filing cabinets, Chippendale-style chairs, artwork and books that we don’t have room for in our own homes. Makeshift will have all of this for us, so if you’re in need of pretty things to brighten up your space, this is the time to visit. The details are in the announcement above and below. We hope to see you there – and around Makeshift if you’re in the area! Thank you to all of our neighbors in the Pencil Factory for being such great friends over the past two years. xo, grace

Makeshift Photos above by Kelli Anderson

• A Manhattan Icon (Russ & Daughters) gets a new neon sign. This video is fascinating and gives neon artists some very well-deserved respect and attention.


• Tiny Hamster eats two burritos. I know this sounds silly. And it is. But it’s also adorable.


• Vietnamese Motorbikes and the Amazing Things They Carry. Now that’s efficiency.


• Inspiring Exteriors at One Kings Lane. Oh, to have an ivy-covered home.


• This is what a holographic iPhone might look like. Holy awesome.


• 17 Amazing Met Gala Accessories at Vogue. Hello, top hat.

• Must Reads: Let it Go: A Closet Makeover, D*S Radio: How We Define Ourselves as Creatives, A Day in The Life: Shelley of Vitrified Studio, 10 Second Studio Tour: Coral & Tusk Pop Up Shop, 14 Florists to Follow on Instagram


• Recipes: Wild Apple Magazine’s Gluten Free Waffles, DIY Outdoor Luncheon + Two Delicious Salad Recipes


• Biz Ladies: Giving Meaningful Feedback, Profile: Urte Tylaite of Still House


• City Guide: 24 Hours in Baltimore with Andrea Pippins


• Before and After: A Basic IKEA Cabinet Gets A Stylish New Look
  


• Sneak Peeks: A Home Designed to Rival a Hotel, A Little Rustic, a Little Romantic with a Lot of Southern Charm, From Melbourne to Brooklyn: a Textile Designer at Home, Ramona: A Sister Bar Finds Its Home In Greenpoint
  


• DIY Projects: DIY Projects from Washi Tape 101, Peg Wall


• Wise Words: Billy Baldwin, Benjamin Franklin

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/RvRdpK From Grace Bonney

Hairpin-leg table from HEMNES dresser top By: Gina Wagner of TheDailyB.net

30 minutes and $16 is all it took to make this hairpin-leg table/art desk for my kids’ playroom.

Lately, the kids’ art projects have been taking over the whole house. Everywhere I step, there’s evidence of coloring, cutting, gluing, painting, folding.

I love it. And I hate it, because it’s EVERYWHERE. Marker scribbles on my desk. Scissors on my favorite vintage dresser. Crayons and scraps of paper on the floor.

So I cleared out a corner of the playroom to make a dedicated work space.

For the table, I scoured the “As Is” section of IKEA and snatched up the blue table top (I think it was it a HEMNES dresser top) for $4. I drilled a few holes and attached 18″ metal hairpin legs that I found at a hardware store for $12.

It’s sturdy and functional, and stylish enough that we’ll use it as coffee table after the kids outgrow it.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1odFIkl From Gina Wagner of TheDailyB.net

Wise Words From Benjamin Franklin By: Maxwell Tielman

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1iwTsmM From Maxwell Tielman

Built-in-Ribba-lighting-Stave-mirror By: Daniel, Madrid

Materials: Ribba picture lighting, Stave Mirror

I do love large mirrors, moreover if I can afford them. So when ikea dropped the price of the Stave mirror I couldn’t resist buying one. Then, walking through the store, I saw the Ribba picture lighting on sale at 9.99€ and I though, would it fix on the mirror?

Well, of course not, but let’s give a try.

-The Stave frame it’s too big for the Ribba light gap (sigh)… But you could manage to put it at an angle that allows you to secure it with the drills that come with the light.

You can stop at this point if it is enough for you. However, I wanted a “built in” light on my mirror, so:

-Take off the switch at the top of the light (it is easily removable). Then join the wires of the leds to the wires of the power transformer (Attention: you must preserve the order of the wires, if not, the light won’t work)

-Perform a hole at the side of the frame to place a new switch. I bought one on banggood.com for 0.69€, and a month of shipment (second sigh).

-Now, there are two ways to end:

–First one is to install the switch after the power transformer, and then plug the transformer.

–Second one, which I chose, is to install the switch before the power transformer, so when the lights are off, this awful high-pitched whining sound that comes from the transformer, when it’s plugged, disappears. So, disassemble the plastic box of the power transformer and solder the correct wires to the transformer circuit (I can assure you, it is tremendously easy).

-Glue the wires through the interior side of the frame to have everything neat and clean.

-Perform another hole at the bottom frame of the mirror for the main wire, so when the mirror is hanged doesn’t disturb.

-Hang the mirror on the wall and plugged it or install it directly to your home electrical circuit.

And now you have your own built-in-Ribba-lighting-Stave-mirror!

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1l6s276 From Daniel, Madrid

Ikea Doubledesk Workspace By: Alexander Heimbuch

Materials: Alex, BILLY, LACK, LINNMON

The hack is a combination of a workspace and a build in computer case in the Alex base units.

You can find a detailed description on my blog.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1ouuWDo From Alexander Heimbuch

After the Jump: How We Define Ourselves as Creatives By: Grace Bonney

This week was the first episode of After the Jump (my weekly radio show about the creative community and running a creative business) in our new time slot: Wednesdays at 1 pm EST! I’ve been craving some more critical feedback on the structure of my show, the recording details and overall on-air performance, so I was happy to grab a new slot that lets me work with Heritage Radio Network‘s executive producer, Jack Inslee every week. He always has great tips and ideas for me to help improve the flow of the show and make it stronger, so I’m thrilled to be working with him again. I also have the pleasure of leading into my wife Julia‘s new show, Radio Cherry Bombe (about women in the food industry), so if you’re looking for more great radio, you can stay tuned to Heritage Radio at 2 pm for more inspiring women on air.

This week’s show was inspired by graphic designer, artist, baker and blogger Jessica Reed. After bumping into her at the Greenpointer‘s fair, I was impressed to see she had “fill in” business cards for herself (those are her cards above) that allow her to change her job description whenever needed. During her day job at Penguin she works as a graphic designer, but she also sells embroidered book covers and has self-published a fantastic Baker’s Appendix. Unafraid of embracing her skills and interests across many creative platforms, Jessica is a great example of the way modern creatives are starting to proudly declare their multidisciplinary status. Her cards made me curious and moved me to reach out to other people in our community who work in different parts of the art and design world.

Art director, stylist and blogger Susan Brinson is one of my favorite members of the online design community and recently left a corporate job to pursue a more multidisciplinary career. Along with her husband and business partner William Brinson, Susan works on exciting photo shoots and creative projects that have her wearing many different professional hats, from styling and directing to writing and social media coordination. I’ve always admired her confidence about her work and ability to handle so many different areas of her job with great skill, so we sat down together today to discuss a few key questions:

• Do job titles matter in the same way anymore?


• How do you find the confidence to “own” a multidisciplinary career?


• What should young designers or new business owners focus on when trying to join a multi-talented creative community?


• How can we embrace wide-ranging job titles and descriptions as an opportunity?


• How can we prevent ourselves from being taken advantage of when we can offer many different skills to one employer?

Susan’s insight and advice – especially when it comes to embracing your skills, continuing to learn and maintaining confidence – were so inspiring to me. No matter what your job is now (or jobs, plural), finding a way to continually learn, grow and embrace (and find value in) your multi-faceted skill list is a crucial part of being in any professional community. From finding the confidence to describe your job and skills in a work situation to using experience in different fields to explain why you are the best fit for any position, this discussion is one I’m fascinated by and eager to hear more about from all of you. Thanks so much to Susan (and Will!) for joining me this week and thanks to all of you for listening! xo, grace

LISTEN: You can download the podcast on iTunes here, or stream it here on Heritage Radio

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1s7eb1m From Grace Bonney