apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I just have to second the praise given to the Expedit-I have 2 of them in my apartment-it it has really made studio living MUCH more pleasant. Not only do they serve their function as bookcases, but they are wonderful room dividers and make my 1-room apartment feel like it has nooks. HURRAH!

I have a question for Expedit owners who use it as a room divider. How do you treat the "back"side, especially with books or other things that don't look as nice from the other side? Thanks!

Cool! Now I want an Expedite.

This is exactly what I have been looking for! I have been thinking of using the Expedit as a room divider and of course the Ikea site says that it needs to be secured to the wall. Wondering if anyone has used it has a divider and how you secured it?

I have two -- on 5x5 and the other 2x4 -- and neither are secured to the wall. (Except some minor assembly frustration on the big one) We haven't had any problems. i LOVE them and have been looking to spiff them up.

we're getting the 2x4 to use as a partial room divider, i can't wait to hear what other people say about these!

I have 2 5x5's. and neither are secured to the wall. Haven't had any issues!

@ showing....the side of my Expedit that shows the 'less attractive' side of my books is that side that encloses my bed in a little 'nook' and you can't really see it unless you are in the bed or coming from the bathroom/closet area. I have left it as-is in order to let light flow through and it doesn't bother me at all. I put small treasures here and there as well so it doesn't feel like a back, neglected side.

i'm staring at the 5x5 right now in my office. it holds so much, but was a pain to build myself, plan on having a lot of room, a hammer, and patience. It's not secured to the wall at all, and it's fine. but i'm guessing on carpet you might have trouble, or on uneven flooring.

I've been planning on getting the 2x4 for home. put it horizontal and use it for a bookcase in the bedroom and maybe eventually put a smallish lcd tv on it.

we often don't goto ikea since if we goto michigan it's out of the way on the already long trip to see my parents and up to chicago it takes too much time out of the day when going to the city so the dog isn't alone for too long. i looked at having it shipped and i don't know if the system glitched or what. But it said that it would cost $285 to ship it... it seemed a bit high... i'll just have to wait to get it.

er240 - We had one at our old place (sadly had to sell when we moved), and did not have it secured to the wall. It does not need to be secured to stand, but it is a danger if you have small children who may try to climb it (it could tip over onto them). I think Ikea says just about all of their furniture needs to be secured to a wall for this very reason.

this flickr group has many great pics of expedits!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/539895@N24/pool/

I had considered getting an Expedit for a wall divider in my studio apartment but because of my limited budget, I ended up taking the backs off of two regular bookshelves and using them instead. I have a short, long dresser up against it on the "bedroom" side for extra support and also lean framed pictures and other litte things against the back side of the books to make it look better.

We have the Expedit 5X5 at home as a vinyl storage solution. We hated our old low vinyl bins and this was worked great so far. Since the records are pretty heavy we used every other cube and filled the others with some books and knick knacks. We never secured it to the wall but we did brace the back corners to help with the weight.

I've been using a 2x4 Expedit turned on its "side" as a low room divider, separating my studio desk from my living room area... I love it, I can store and hide so easily and it doubles as a work surface because it's about the same height as my desk.

My problem isn't a climbing child, it is the world's most curious cat! I have this vision of her hopping and the expedit crashing to the floor.

Unless your cat is huge, as long as you have the thing weighted with items, it shouldn't be a problem. If you're worried, just make sure the bottom has something heavy on it.

I've received so many complements/comments,
on this IKEA Expedit Hack I created for my girlfriends Condo-

.......http://www.kramerdesignstudio.com/images/repurposed/fullsize/image_13_full.jpg
That it made it onto my website...

(I still want to do a All White version Floor-to-Ceiling Version- as a Room Divider, and obscure/Modify/Hack some of the back Panel(s) using Corrugated Polycarbonate (Corroplast â„¢).

er240: my cat has claimed the top of these shelves as her hang out and we've never had a problem. She's only about 7 pounds but she jumps on and off it all day long and I've never seen it wobble. She jumps from the top of a chair onto the top. I think the only way this would tip is if you had a 40 pound child climbing the front as if it were a jungle gym.

ManofSteel--
That looks great!
Did you have the base custom-built?

er240: My cat jumps up on mine too, and he's fairly large. So far all's well. The books seem to keep the thing in it's place just fine. It might be different if it were lightly filled.

I've got three Expedits. I love them. Super-easy to assemble and they hold their value as well as any piece of cheap furniture. I bought my 4x4 on Craigslist about three years ago for $50 and now see them selling there for $100. It's held up through two moves. I also have two 4x2s, both turned on their sides. One holds recycling in boxes also from Ikea, which is great since in Minneapolis, we have to sort (cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles, newspapers, cardboard, magazines, paper, and paper bags (which we transfer the recyclables to when we take them outside).

I have a 4x4 in my studio apartment and use it as a room divider. I don't have mine secured to the wall, (it seems like no one does) and it's fine on the carpet. I don't have kids or pets though. Ikea provides the hardware to secure it to the wall though, and it's pretty simple and discreet, whether you are putting it flat against the wall or as a divider. You secure it the same way in either instance. The shelves are wide enough for me to put the spines of all my books facing out both directions, so it looks good from either side. If I had it against the wall though, I'd definitely try out some sort of backing - good idea!

bepsf
Thanks!

Yes- I did have the base Custom made
(more specifically, "girlfriend" "had the base custom-built" ....
by ME!
ergo, the "handle" of
Man-of-Steel.....

http://www.kramerdesignstudio.com
http://www.kramerdesignstudio.com/images/repurposed/fullsize/image_13_full

I have 5. Three have LPs and I use the record covers to fill the back of the squares (Earthquake wax holds, with no damage) on two of them that are room dividers.

The other ones hold books on both sides, so that there's no unsightly view, just spines. I'm really careful about matching up the heights, so that one side doesn't tower over the other. (Does this make sense?)

I like the elusive black/birch combo best.

The wallpaper, baskets, & wooded boxes really help to warm up the stark white in the 1st pic.

Speaking of Expedite hacks...is it possible to paint the Expedite and have it look good? I've got a 4x4 birch and, although I really love the Expedite design, I'm regretting my choice of birch.

Anyone have experience painting these? How did it go?

I put two of them to use in my last place in Chicago. They were perfect! I left a couple of the vertical sections out on the top shelves to accomodate my audio equipment.

Sadly, I had to part with them when I moved into my teeny tiny studio in NYC.

I heart mine, and would like some varation on them always!
I have the 5X5 which is a beast to assemble due to it's size. you must be able to lay the whole thing down completely flat while you assemble it. Mine is not secured to the wall. One side is full of books and the other holds all manner of kitchen gadgets. My fridge door often slams into it and i've never seen it wobble, with all my stuff i estimate is weights 6000 lbs.

The steel legs are a great clever hack, i too have often thought of painting mine. i got it in brown/black and now dislike the dark shade.

This has all reminded me of my idea of using the 2x4 to make benches for my kitchen nook.

Or rather i'm looking for the traby bench, hooray ikea!

As a room divider, I also *love* Ikea's Lack book shelves. They are nice and tall - more than 6 feet, 2 inches - which draws the eye up. In addition, the shelves are thicker than Expedit's, which makes them look more substantial.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40103628

My shoebox apartment is currently divided with them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25342331@N08/2383313139/

I've got a 4x4 (love, love love!) and as for the "unpleasant" side of books... the shelves are wide enough, at least for most of my books, to store two sets.

One row of books faces out one side (non-fiction, if you must know) and the other (fiction!) faces the other. Very helpful, as it means it's lovely room divider from *both* sides...and I can store all my books.

...and tchotchkes...we mustn't forget how well it stores those!

I had a 5 x 5 which my husband and I painstakingly built. But then when we moved... we couldn't get it out of the apartment!! So sadly... it was left there... =/ Hope the new tenants enjoyed it!

They're a pain to take apart, but not hard. I bought only one new, and the others on Craigslist. I don't know why anyone sells them, but their loss, my gain.