5 Clever IKEA Hacks to Steal From a Danish Home

You might recall the name Puk Munch Sjeldan from my feature about a tiny Copenhagen apartment that's big on handmade design a while back. That apartment is now occupied by her daughter Luna, so the Dane has turned her hand to her own home - transforming it room by room into a wonderful living space. Dating back to 1904, and located in the suburbs of the Danish capital, the family home is full of fun, quirky pieces, pops of colour as well as books and art. But it's Puk's IKEA hacks that really caught my eye! Here are five ideas to feel inspired by: 

1. Designer Table

Puk added a 90 cm x 190 cm sheet of plywood (painted white) over an existing GÖRAN table using angled metal brackets to transform a budget fold-away piece into a sturdy designer table! 

I couldn't see any hacks in the sitting room area - but knowing Puk there are no doubt some lurking somewhere. I couldn't resist sharing a couple of pictures all the same, as it's so unique! Love the blue 'bold stool' by Moustache in particular, how about you?

2. PAX wardrobe with customised doors

A friend of mine pointed out that the issue with IKEA wardrobe doors is that they never extend all the way to the floor (which would give them a much cleaner look). Puk solved this by adding her own, longer ones, using plywood cut with a circular saw (you can also ask your DIY store to do this for you). She matched the holes with the original PAX wardrobe doors so that she could reuse the hinges. See more details about the hack here. 

It may not be an IKEA hack - but I can't tell you how important it is for your neck and back to ensure your screen is at the right height when you're working from home. I love how Puk has used a stack of books to give her laptop a lift! 

3. Striped stool 

Puk took 30 minutes to transform a little FROSTA stool into a designer seat using a layer of foam / polyester batting, fabric and a staple gun! See all the steps in her Instagram 'DIY' highlights on instagram if you'd like to know more.  

4. Bed with storage

Puk and her beau used the IVAR 3-drawer dresser to create a bed with oodles of built-in storage. Looking at the DIY steps in her Instagram highlights (you can also find a tutorial on YouTube here), it's one for the more hardcore DIYers among us, but it's fun to know it's possible with a little work! 

No DIY hack to be seen here in the bathroom (that I know of), but it's always nice to share more of someone's home for inspiration! 

5. Hallway storage

I spy a set of four MOPPE storage chests mounted on the wall to create a larger storage unit that's also slim enough for narrow spaces. Perfect for all those bits and bobs like keys, wallets etc! You could also paint them to match your walls so they really blend in. 

Did any of these DIY IKEA hacks catch your eye? 

I love the table - GÖRAN is only around 40 euros and a piece of PLYWOOD / MDF is also very budget friendly. Such a great idea! 

You can see more of Puk's home and discover more IKEA hacks / DIY ideas over on her instagram. 

Feeling creative? Here are a few other ideas: 

5 DIY Projects to try during quarantine 

Before and after - a Swedish kitchen gets a DIY make-over

A cosy autumn trend and the world's most simple DIY IKEA hack! 

Vi ses imorgon! 

Niki

Photography: Puk Munch Sjeldan

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Small Space Living: A Delightful Danish Apartment In Calm, Earthy Tones

We've woken up to wonderful sunshine here in Malmö today. But I won't be fooled into thinking it's spring, there's a vicious wind out there I can tell you! So instead, my mind is turning indoors - and I'm kicking off the week with a virtual tour of Sarah's delightful 46 square metre (495 square foot) 'lejighed' (apartment) in Copenhagen. Sarah's home is located in a salmon-coloured building dating back to 1884 in the beautiful, leafy district of Frederiksberg. The relatively compact, yet stylish and calm living space has been minimally decorated with a strong focus on recycled and sustainable furniture. Think earthy, neutral tones, a blend of open and closed storage solutions and lots of art. Oh, and don't miss the music corner! 

Sarah has recently installed the lovely rack in the kitchen, by sustainable Danish furniture makers We Do Wood. This unit is particularly great for making extra use of vertical wall space (I bet it feels lovely to touch too!). 

How great are these rails? A quick search led me to danish brand Ferm Living - available here. They provide extra kitchen storage while adding character. Love these! 

You'll often see these beautiful radiator covers in older Scandinavian houses (seen here in the corner). They're great - not only do they cover unsightlier, or even wonkily installed radiators, they also provide an extra surface for display.

Note - always check with an expert before covering a radiator obvs (speaking from experience, since the ones in our summer cottage would be lethal if they were covered!). 

These cube-shaped wall mounted shelves from Montana are extremely popular in Denmark for good reason! If you have a wall that can hold it, wall mounted furniture creates a wonderful illusion of space and helps to give a light and airy feel. These shelves in particular are a perfect height for displaying decorative items like the iconic Stoff Nagel candleholder*.  

Special nod to the gallery wall. Is it just me, or are Danes great at these? Try Curated Copenhagen (including one-of-a-kind art) or The Poster Club* for similar prints. 

Every home should have a music corner like this, don't you think? I'm imaging the sweet sound of music gently floating out of the open window and filling the street with life. There's something so wonderful about summer in the city, don't you think? Or maybe that's just the Londoner in me! 

Glass tables with a built-in shelf are brilliant. My parents have one too and they are perfect for storing your favourite coffee table books while keeping them in sight, close to hand and dust free! I'm a big fan! Maybe not so practical in a family home though with kids around (those little handprints!).

Originally, many of these Frederiksberg apartments were built without a bathroom, so the owners have had to make use of tiny closet spaces to recreate them. Bags on hooks equal instant extra storage in a bathroom that's feels like a bit of a squash and a squeeze and has limited storage.  

The iconic 'Hang it all' are great for small hallways since they don't take up much room and yet have a load of hooks in one place. 

So many lovely ideas here - for big and small homes alike! Is there anything that stood out to you? 

Feel inspired by other small spaces in this archive. 

On a separate note - in honour of International Women's Day, I'll be sharing a feature in my instagram stories this evening which includes some of the Scandinavian women I truly admire in the design world. I hope they'll inspire you too! In the meantime, here's to all the strong woman out there - may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them. 

Wishing you a wonderful start to the week! 

Niki

Photography: Sarah / @detlaksefarvedehus - shared with kind permission

*This post contains affiliate links

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Small Space Make-over: A Teen Boy's Bedroom

Children's rooms are always fun to renovate as you can go a little more crazy, but when they start to hit their teens it's time to reign it in again and create something a little more grown-up. My stepson Albin, is 16 and spends a fair amount of time in his room (sometimes I think I hear him talking to himself but he's actually gaming against friends (in my mind, gaming is still Horris Goes Skiing on a ZX Spectrum circa 1984 so you can understand why this gets confusing!). When it comes to interior decorating, Albin has a fairly laissez-faire approach (understatement!). As long as he can sleep, study and play on his computer / watch football, tennis, baseball or WHATEVER is scheduled at the time, he's as happy as Larry (I'm still wondering who that is?!). Despite Genevieve Jorn and I being give free reign to design his room (which measures 7.7 metres square / 82 square feet), we were keen to ensure the look reflected his personality, run items from my wonderful make-over sponsor Danish homeware brand Nordal passed him, and ensure he had everything he needed!

 

Teenage Boy's Bedroom checklist*

Bed + reading light
TV and gaming console
Shelving for books
Storage for sports equipment
Desk with task light + drawers
Clothes storage

*according to Albin!

Inspiration

Photography: Bettina Holst / Coco Republic / IKEA

Floor plan

I really wish I had a 'before' picture (totally forgot to take one) but if you can imagine all white walls, no shelving and a slightly ripped poster stuck on the wall using sellotape you're on to something!

 

The tour

A 200 cm bed perfectly fitted the width of the room - with enough space for a TV, placed on a narrow wall mounted shelf, at the end. Layers of textile in the form of cushions and a rug (all Nordal) and the blue-grey wall colour (S 7010-R90B Ambience by Nordjö) helped to add a cosy feel. 

Simple wooden shelves were painted in the same colour as the wall and mounted higher up for extra storage. Gen and I love a corner gallery wall (remember this one?!). This ensemble includes a Happy Mondays print, and an old drawing by Albin. He can easily add to the gallery over time too. A wall-mounted reading lamp helps to light up the corner after dark (in a small room, wall mounting items help to free up floor space).

From left to right: Satin Pothos plant from a local flower shop, and grey and blue cushions with lovely fringed edges, a patterned rug and lampshade from Nordal.

Since Albin is often at his Mothers he doesn't tend to store a lot of clothes at ours, so we decided to do away with the wardrobe to create more floor space. A clothes rack (from IKEA) with storage underneath works as a great replacement and doubles up as a bedside table.

We couldn't place the desk in front of the window because of the big radiator. However, it still gets plenty of natural light in the corner. Right now a big palm adds a splash of colour to the corner of the room but we could add a wardrobe in it's place if needed. PS Loving the tassles on the rug!

I found the desk chair in a local second hand shop (imagine how excited I was?!)- it's originally from Hungary, and perfect because it's still relatively ergonomic (it swivels and the height can be adjusted). As you can see from the picture, I still need to sand down the seat and re-varnish it - Gah! Where does all the time go?!

My sister took the framed picture of Albin, the man and I many moons ago on a beach in Falsterbo. I love it as it was such a happy, sun-kissed day. There's a good chance we might just be replaced with a signed picture of Zlatan Ibrahimovic imminently though! The Nordal library lamp was moved up from our sitting room. 

And here he is, looking pretty happy with his new room, I must say...

... and perhaps wondering why I swapped his Malmö FF poster for an Arsenal one (out of shot) - kidding, England was a much better match!

I hope you liked the make-over as much as my stepson! In case you're looking to do something similar, here are a few of the items we picked:

1. Library table lamp
2. Dark blue cushion cover
3. Black wall lamp
4. Cotton quilt bedspread
5. Fabric lamp cover
6. Graphic canvas carpet
7. Natural cushion cover

*Find a webshop stockist near you here (Europe only).

If you are wondering about anything else just give me a shout in the comment section below and I'll do my best to help!

Come here for a home tour? You might like to check out the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian home tour archives.

Have a lovely day!

Niki

Photography / shoot styling: Niki Brantmark, Interior design direction / styling: Genevieve Jorn. 

This make-over was made possible with the help of Nordal. All design, styling and words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that make fresh content possible.

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And the winner of the fab felt storage baskets are....

Congratulations to Cynthia Lions and Heather Milner! Please send me a mail with your address and we will organise shipment. Thank you to everyone who entered  - don't forget you can still get 10% with the code MSH10 up until 8th October (ships to USA and canada).

To celebrate the May day spring bank holiday (oh yes!), I've teamed up with Scandinavian inspired interior design store Blackthumb, and Sne Design - a young Norwegian brand with a passion for designing functional, playful and timeless products to offer you the chance to win one of two (yes two!) prizes - a Hoop or Lagre felt storage basket in a colour of your choice with fab leather handles. Oh how I wish I could keep them for myself! It only takes a sec to enter, find out how below.

These new Hoop baskets are a fantastic functional felt storage basket with leather handles, making a stylish addition to any space in your home. Baskets have a feature color on the outside and light grey felt inside. Designer: Christine E. Sveen. - See more at: http://blackthumbdecor.com/product/hoop-felt-storage-basket/#sthash.iUzY485X.dpuf

How to enter:

1. Visit Blackthumb and Sne Design and take a look around.

2. Comment below which item from their shops you like the most and why.
3. Let us know if you'd prefer to win the Hoop or Lagre basket. 

And that's it! The competition is open to everyone until Sunday, 3rd May 2015, Midnight GMT. The winner will be announced on the evening of Monday 4th May 2015 so make sure you pop back to this post to see if you are one of the two winners!

Oh and Blackthumb and Sne Design are offering all readers 10% off with the code MSH10 up until 8th May (ships to US and Canada only). 

Terms & Conditions

You must be age of majority in your country of residence. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur. Only 1 entry per person. 

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Blackthumb and Sne Design.  

Have a wonderful spring bank holiday! 

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77

The Handmade Home of a Danish Architect and Carpenter

Yesterday I was wondering around a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) store in search of a tool and I found myself mulling over how good Scandinavians tend to be at fixing things around the home - and how this has inspired me over the years. The truth is, a lot of things that require attention are relatively simple to fix - and it can feel really empowering to get out a tool box - saving yourself time and money in the process. 

But architect Mette Kirk (@kirkarkitektur)and her husband Henrik Balle - a carpenter at Silkeborg Byg go design, have taken DIY to a whole new level. The talented pair have renovated their 1935 house in Aarhus entirely by themselves - even creating the kitchen cabinets, bathroom storage and other units from scratch. Ready to feel inspired? 

The entirely unique kitchen cabinets in white and wood were designed by Mette to capitalise on space.

Wall units like this wooden one designed by Mette and built by Henrik have become increasingly popular in Denmark lately. My Copenhagen-based friend Caroline Bahrenscheer recently launched a beautiful version for cups, available here. 

The dining space is filled with fab Danish design pieces including wishbone chairs, BT001 pendant lamp, and a Formikami table lamp.

A beautiful parquet floor from Hørning Parket has been laid throughout the house. 

This style of built-in cabinetry (made by Henrik) is ideal for small bedrooms as it makes use of every inch.

I love the built-in bedside table nook - such a clever addition! The lamp is the Louis Poulsen Ring Crown.

Henrik also built the wooden bathroom cabinets (look at the detail!) - which add a wonderful warmth to the space as well as gallons of open and closed storage space! The loo is from Ifö and the floor was found at Flisegalleriet. 

What an inspiring home. 

It would be so useful to be able to whip up incredible cabinets and storage units at whim, don't you think? And of course, Mette's eye for design is simply wonderful too! 

Do you have enough storage in your home, or has Mette and Henrik's house inspired you to add more? 

Perhaps more importantly, how much do DIY do you do? Are you the type to get out a toolbox if something needs fixing or do you prefer to call a handyman? I've learnt to dabble (although Per does the majority!) - but we're on nowhere near the level of building incredible units like the ones in this home!

Would you like to feel inspired by other architect's homes today? Here are some lovely ones: 

A Swedish architect design her own home

The calm home of a Swedish architect

An architects serene home in Copenhagen 

Have a great start to the week friends!

Niki

Photography: Mette Kirk, shared with kind permission

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