Flickr Finds: Heather's Spice Rack

We were very impressed with this Ikea cabinet, modified to expand the kitchen storage in Heather's home. What's remarkable about the clever hack is how it acts as a transitional piece between the kitchen and living space.

We're not sure what all the components are, but the finished design includes two closed cabinets, a phone and note station, utensil holder, napkin dispenser and a place to tuck away magazines. Nice!

Image: heather_mcnabb

Comments (5)

what items did you modify? i looks awesome! can you tell us what you did? what pieces you used?

posted by Oneformybaby on March 2nd 2009 at 8:01pm
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it looks like Ivar!

posted by rouquinne on March 2nd 2009 at 9:03pm
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It is Ivar.

posted by anaximander on March 2nd 2009 at 9:15pm
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I'm sorry, but I have to be negative. I love IKEA hacks and have done a few myself. I also love utility in design as well, but this piece is just not attractive. I'm repulsed by it due to it being setup facing a living area.

It needs to be finished or painted or decorated in some fashion.

posted by Thomas on March 3rd 2009 at 2:39am
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Hi everyone
My husband and I are so happy that our little project got noticed by Apartment Therapy.

To answer the question about the components, yes the base unit is an Ivar from Ikea. The add-on was made out of poplar and birch plywood, which we picked up at Discount Builder's Supply. It has a really nice grain.

I helped Martin design the hack based on what we needed to store, mainly a lot of spices and as many of the often-used kitchen utensils as we could manage. The picture doesn't show it, but the stove is just a few feet away, directly opposite the spices. It's really handy to have everything within reach now. He cut the individual pieces, I sanded and gave everything several good coats of clear poly, then we assembled the pieces with nails and screws and attached it to the inside of the Ivar supports.

We've had the Ivar for several years, so I'm not sure what we paid for it; including the pegs for the utensils and the towel rack, the whole add-on cost about $50. The side walls hide most everything from view when you are in our living area, although the towels do tend to stick out a little.

Living in a rental apartment that's about 800 sq (yet mysteriously came equipped with 2 bathrooms) has really been a challenge- thanks again for the encouragement AT!

Heather

posted by renter379 on March 3rd 2009 at 10:01pm
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