Artful Expedit

Jules Yap·
Secondary Storage
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Ikea%2BHacker%2BSubmission Expedit%2BStraight on 755629

Materials: Ikea Expedit Bookcase, 4 mm screw eyes, 1/2″ cup hooks, 12×12 canvases

Description: I love my Ikea Expedit bookcase but I wanted to hide some of my unsightly clutter (like ratty library books and student papers waiting to be graded).

I painted five 12×12 canvases with some DIY “art” and affixed them to my Expedit with screw eyes and cup hooks, so the paintings act like swinging doors.


Install was simple:

Ikea%2BHacker%2BSubmission Steps 758738

1. My Hubby & I measured where the hooks should go, marking the measurement on tape instead of the shelf.

2. We installed the hooks using pliers, then removed the tape.

3. We added two screw eyes to each canvas – carefully measuring the distance each time because the canvases aren’t 100% uniform.

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Ikea%2BHacker%2BSubmission Close%2BUp 762398

The “doors” easily swing or come off to access what is behind, but hide the clutter and general ugliness that lurks behind perfectly. And the whole project cost less than one Ikea Expedit door.

Ikea%2BHacker%2BSubmission Expedit%2Bat%2BAngle 756699

See more of the artful Expedit.

~ Tanya, Canada

Jules Yap
Latest posts by Jules Yap (see all)

24 Responses

  1. This is fantastic! We own way too many Expedits and I’ve been trying to come up with a better solution to hiding clutter than $25 doors on an $80 shelf. I’m an artist too so this is a perfect solution! And I love the suggestion of themed ones for the holidays. It would be fun to have the kids to some finger painting/abstract art too and display it this way too.

    Reply

  2. Agree this is an awesome hack. Saw your original post on the Townhouse blog and left a comment there as well. Wondering if anyone has any experience using Panyl’s ikea finishes to decorate an expedit. I’m thinking about it, but can’t find any reviews.

    Reply

    1. I did not use panyl’s (which I find very expensive- just my too cents) but I decorated an old brekke wardrobe and an expedit plus a lot expedit doors with decoration/ furniture film? (I don’t know the exact English translation for it)- it looks awesome and is a really cheap way to pimp up old/ damaged or just furniture in the wrong color!
      I used film with nice wood decor- looks really noble!

      Reply

  3. Indeed, a very practical idea. Well done, Tanya.
    Your solution is far more efficient, than the usual storage boxes, especially for those needing repeated access to the stuff within Expedit’s “cells”.

    It is a great way to infuse the Expedit with the owner’s personality.

    I live in Europe (Romania, mostly and France) and I am glad to see so many Ikea “hackers” on other continents, as well.

    Reply

  4. I bought my screw eyes and cup hooks at Lee Valley (leevalley.com). They have Canadian, American and International versions of their site. Not sure if they ship this product, but it is carried in stores. Packs of 100 pieces are only a couple of dollars.

    If there is no Lee Valley near you, try hardware/tool/home renovation stores. Craft stores were of little help to me when I was looking for these.

    Good luck 🙂

    Reply

  5. I’m having a horrible time finding silver/stainless hooks. Everywhere I look are all bronze. Where did you get yours?

    Reply

  6. WOW! Now that I see it, I ask myself why I didn’t came up with a solution like this for myself, instead of buying more and more of these expensive doors. I love this, because it’s such a simple solution!

    Reply

  11. Thanks for the positive feedback! I loved reading everyone’s comments.

    To answer a question, the canvases were a 7-pack at Michael’s ($30, minus 40% with a coupon), but most craft supply stores should carry them. They can even be DIY’d. Then I painted the abstracts and chevron with acrylic paint (easy clean-up).

    Happy painting!!

    Reply

  12. I’ve been pulling my hair thinking of how to hide those cubes without shelling out so much money for the inserts… This is such an AWESOME idea!

    Reply

  13. This is simply brilliant!
    I will do this for my EXPEDIT, and the canvases will be painted by my 2-year old daughter 🙂

    Reply

  14. I’ve never particularly wanted an expedit….until now! Beautiful, and even more important, BRILLIANT idea. There are so many ways you could go with this!!

    Reply

  20. Love the idea, the canvases are interchangeable so you could make up some themed canvases to put up for special occasions like Christmas, Valentines etc. Love this hack, well done 🙂

    Reply

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