Hacker Help: Containers for Markor

Jules Yap·
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Materials: Markor: horizontal piece with 5 across, 2 up/down square openings

Description: I bought the Markor horizontal bookcase (with 10 square openings in a 2×5 formation) a couple years ago, but I never found good containers for it. The squares measure: 13 1/8 high x 13 1/8 wide x 12 5/8 deep (although we could go a little deeper if they hang out the back a little, but I would prefer a good fit).

Anyone done an easy container hack for this? Please share what you’ve done? Or even if you just have a good idea that you have not done, but think will work. I’m having a total mental block on this and would appreciate the help. Thank you!

P.S. Sorry, I cannot get a good picture because it is in a tight hallway space.

~ Elizabeth, US

Jules Yap
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30 Responses

  1. I used the shiny white Lekman box but turned lengthwise. sticks out 3/4″ but looks fairly good. Ive also used the fixed baskets that fit perfectly. Im now going to overhaul the unit as I dont want clutter.

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  2. At this point, unless I get another great suggestion, I have it narrowed down to 3 options (will list them with pros and cons in case anyone is interested or anyone in the same situation is following this :))-
    (1) Komplement baskets at Ikea – Love that they are washable and it sounds like the fit would be good. However, checked online and my store has none in stock with no anticipated arrival date … will be calling.
    (2) Itzo bins at Target – Good fit around, fun colors, and on sale this week. Not washable and a little deeper than unit, but not by a lot.
    (3) Making fabric bins – Great links posted to online instructions that don’t look too hard and I love the ability to pick my own fabric, make them the exact size, and even make them machine washable. But the fabric cost and time could add up.

    Thank you for all the great ideas and links! I’m still open to new ones at the moment and would still be very interested in hearing about what others have done with this unit in their homes. I am very pleased and appreciative to have some good options for mine. Thank you!

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  3. We’ve found that you can machine wash the Komplement baskets, but we always drip dry. I just measured the Komplements we have in our Markor and I’m not sure if the basket size has changed–if you measure seam to seam, my baskets are slightly smaller than the posted measurements on ikea.com–but since they are soft-sided, when they are in use they are larger from edge to edge. We bought our Markor and Komplements at the same time, since I knew from my exhaustive pouring through the Ikea catalog they would go together. Maybe buy one set and then return them if they don’t fit? At any rate, we are very happy with the Komplement/Markor combination and get many compliments from visitors on the set-up, which is where we store all our outdoor clothing and bike helmets.

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    1. Thank you so much for this information. That sounds like a really good solution. I can just measure the display at Ikea to see if the measurements would work okay, but it sounds like the basket’s flexibility would make them work as long as it was close. Thank you!

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    1. You got me with the machine washable! 🙂 I noticed the product description says handwash, but you’ve found they do okay in the machine? That’s great. Does the 13.5″ depth dimension work as the width in the Markor? Then it would fit almost perfectly. It’s a little more than I’d hoped to spend, but for something machine washable, especially if it can fit the other direction so the depth does not stick out, I might have to do it.

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  5. I’ll have to work my way through looking at each of these, but I did want provide a clarification on the measurements. I forgot to say the measurements were in inches.
    Converting it to metric using onlineconversion.com —
    33.3375 cm high x 33.3375 cm wide x 32.0675 cm high

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  6. I’m using the baskets from Ikea– the shallow ones that come flat and you pop open and add bottom. They are ony a few inches tall so they work great. Not sure how big of a basket/bin you need. Good luck!

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    1. Any idea the product name? Thanks! Or if you could say the color(s) and material, I could probably figure it out. The only thing that comes to mind is Skubb. Could that be it?

      Ideally, I’d prefer something that fills the height, but some tall and some shallow might work really well too.

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    2. I had to find the name- the Branas. Except I am using the shorter of the options- and I don’t see it on the website now. If I remember correctly, the taller basket fits on the bottom shelf but not the top. It’s been a while but I went through a similar storage issue with the piece. Now I am using the shorter basket for toy/game/kid storage and it works because we can easily see what’s in the basket and can reach in for things.

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    3. Thank you for posting more about them. They look like they’d look very nice with the piece. Although I don’t think it’s what I’m looking for right now, you all have helped compile a really nice list of options for this piece here now for others in the same situation (or if my use changes in the future ;)). Thanks and Happy Hacking! All the great ideas on this site are inspiring. I hope to do some real hacking in the future myself.

      Reply

  8. I had the same problem with finding DVD storage for my dark brown Expedit system. I found these nice feathergrain bins at the Container Store. The small size fits EXACTLY in the space, and I can stack the boxes on top of each other with just the tops of the DVD’s showing in the lower bin. I was worried about how it would look, but it actually looks okay with the boxes stacked. Plus the feathergrain pattern looks really good with the dark brown.

    http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10020375&N=&Ntt=feathergrain

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  10. The units you’ve used are kind of confusing to me (I am used to the metric system and can’t quite understand which mesuring units you are talking about), but I think I’ve seen this shelving system somewhere using DRÖNA boxes, have you checked those? they are quite inexpensive and easy to cover with a different fabric 🙂

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    1. I like the look of these. — How tight is the fit? Do they have to get squished to fit? Could a child use them? Thank you!

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    2. Tried one and the fit around is fine. It is a little deeper than the unit, but not by much and I see they are on sale this week.

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  14. Thank you, Maggie. I already looked through all the Expedit options I could find before posting this (unless there is something new that’s just in stores). They have some baskets that are closest in size, but I’m on a budget and that would cost $150-170 (or $75-$85 for half) for something that doesn’t fit quite right (plus I find baskets to be the least useful and hard to dust … I like sleek and practical :)). I’m hoping to find another option or an easy hack or at least I want to try for that first. 🙂 But thank you very much for your suggestion. I understand it looks like they’d work before looking more closely because that was originally what I had thought too.

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  16. Excited to see my post and that there are already comments. Thank you to those who posted!

    Anonymous1 – Will look at Target today.

    Anonymous2 – That’s what I thought too and my plan for the piece. However, the Expedits’ depth is 15 3/8″, almost 3″ deeper. And even the Lekman box that is only about 2″ deeper than this piece stuck out and didn’t look as nice as I’d hoped. That may be the best I can do, but I wanted to try for something sleeker, if you know what I mean.

    TracyKM – Intriguing. I’m not much of a seamstress, so it depends on the skill required. Any links you’d recommend?

    Thank you all! (Please keep the comments coming. :))

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  17. If you know someone who can sew, there are lots of free tutorials on line for making your own fabric boxes. Lined with craft interfacing, they are quite stiff! Best of all, you can choose fabric to match your decor.

    Reply

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