apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What's the wall unit's name?

surplusj - it looks like the ikea expedit. i have one, too, and it's the best!

It's a good idea, but the falling piles of clothes look too messy for me. But then again, I'm the kind of girl who sorts her canned food by height, so...

I just purchased this same unit for the same reason, except I used wicker baskets instead.

I got mine on clearance for $74 bucks. Already put together. few scratches taken care of by using furniture crayon.

Expedit is good but Akrobat was awesome!!! I have my beloved shelf set from the late 90s and I wish Ikea never phased them out...simple cube shelving with no trendy flourishes.

Of course, I could easily make my own since it's just square shelving, but nothing beats the fun of driving back from Ikea and fiddling with L-wrenches afterwards.

The cubes of the expedit are also perfectly sized for vinyl records.

I have my clothing on similiar open shelves right now and it drives me crazy. If i'm not extremely careful to fold and place everything neatly it usually tumbles out. I can't wait to get a real dresser.

I just got my PFD and I have part of it earmarked for one of these units! Mine, however, will be used for books, DVDs, and scrapbooks.

While I love it, I still have to say Be careful with the Expedit, it is very heavy. When we first got it, it slipped out of our hands...yah 2 people ('cuz by heaviness) fell, and CRUSHED 2 of my bf toes...OUCH!!

I use wicker baskets too. Lovely, just lovely :)

IKEA also sells drawers and doors for the Expedit units now. There are also several options for wicker or plastic baskets that fit perfectly in the cubes.

This might help prevent the clothing piles from falling over and creating visual clutter, while still offering a lot of shallow-depth storage space without taking up any additional space in the room.

I don't consider this a repurposing really, since the unit is supposed to work as storage. Agree that more baskets would make this look a lot neater.

yeah, i dont get it, what is repurposed?

Third on the not sure how it's reappropriated bandwagon. I've seen the Expedit used in many store displays for clothing (as well as everything else under the sun).

But I umpteenth the Expedit-love. Makes my little grid-happy heart sing (I have three). I like to tell people they're an investment -- the prices for them at IKEA keep going up, and they seem to maintain their value on Craigslist.

Yeah, that's not repurposing, I agree.

Wanted to say they are also GREAT room dividers; they distinguish different spaces amazingly, provide double-sided strorage access, and don't close in a space the way something solid would.
I currently use one in my very small bedroom with my low bed on one side (reading lamp, books and magazines occupy lower shelves, on a level with my mattress) and have my computer/work area on the other side (supplies, files in hanging folder boxes and other books are on higher shelves, facing this area.)

Additionally, the lamp I have on the "bed"side is one of those rectangular, frosted glass Ikea things, and when put in the middle of one of the shelves, provides great, glowing, indirect nighttime lighting to both sides of the room.

Can you tell me the name/maker of that purplish/blue paint color in the bedroom pic? I really like it.

I think I remember P2 having these in his apartment, except his sweaters were folded much more neatly :) ...not that I'm an AT devotee or anything.

Anyone try to put casters on an expedit? I'm itching to add some to mine, but I'm also afraid of the bottom of the shelf not being strong enough to support all that weight on the pressure-points the casters would create. I know some of the similar shelves from other stores have casters, but they may be constructed better.

Shawn, I can tell you that the sides of the Expedit are hollow. I accidentally put a mallet through mine. The edges might have a solid frame though, so small casters at the corners could work. I can't find it on the website, but I'm pretty sure that I saw either a Lack or Expedit shelf with casters at Ikea last week...

Also, see the wheels and comments on this Flickr pic:

http://flickr.com/photos/gogoetchunk/506949533/in/set-72157600237468004/

The clothing out in the open like that hurts my brain. It looks messy and it would collect dust like crazy.

We have the smaller (2x4) unit in our bedroom. We have it lying down on the long side, and I'm blessed with a neat-freak boyfriend so the clothes on there (all his) are all lined up like soldiers on parade. We (ok, I) use the top for books, a lamp and other minutiae.

When I first ran across the idea of using it for clothes (the first smallest/coolest contest), I thought it would be a good idea to put some sort of bar across the top of the unit and hang curtains to hide any potential mess.

I have one of these (the 5x5 version) and I have had casters on it since I bought it over 3 years ago. It was no problem putting them on since the bottom piece seemed to be pretty solid. I use mine as a room divider so it is fairly full with books, storage, wine rack, photos, etc. (Yes, I join you all in the IKEA love).

One thing to keep in mind is that it is a HEAVY piece of furniture. I thought I was being all smart and crafty so I would be able to move it so easily... Well, it does move, and easier than it would if it weren't on casters, but I don't think I would attempt a move across the room.

I put fairly heavy duty casters on it. On one end and in the middle I put the non-swivel casters on and the other end has swivel casters.

I say go for it!

Still gotta say- if your gonna "rePurpose" something, there needs to be a shift from what that items original manufactures use/intent was...
Kinda like this:
an IKEA Hack that I created for my girlfriend from an EXPEDIT bookcase.
http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/shelving-storage/ikea-hack-randys-girlfriends-bookshelf-016441#comments
or
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/01/expedit-grande.html

ManofSteel--I completely love what you did with that expedit. In fact, seeing that I went and bought one.
Unfortunately, though, I can't do what you did with it.

I agree that the clothes look a little disheveled here. I have the expedit in my dining room holding wine glasses, decanters, photos, as well as some books.

The West Elm canvas storage boxes fit well in the expedit, which makes for a great place to hide receipts, papers, and other things I just need to stash somewhere.

I remember seeing these on their house tour, and really liking the lanterns on the top of the bedroom piece. So I went out and bought a lantern from Ikea, popped the cord/bulb in, and realized that there was no way to safely light it because the bulb ends up dangling against the shade (being round and all). I gave up and just left it up there, but since these photos came up again maybe it's a sign I should ask: anyone have any ideas on how I could prop it up?

I agree -- this isn't repurposing, and this definitely looks sloppy. I've done something similar in my bedroom, with a cheaper, graded-width Ikea shelf, and it only ever looks tidy right after I do laundry. Otherwise, things get pulled out, pushed aside, tossed on top. Luckily though, it's behind my closet door, so it's partially hidden most of the time since my closet door is usually open. The next time I go to Ikea, I'm getting some shelf boxes, and that's what the people with this unit should do, too.

Ikea also sells plastic boxes for the expedit. We use one for our daughter's toys on a bottom shelf.