Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Expedit Ideas for Every Room


Like many Ikea fans, I was shocked to hear that the iconic Swedish retailer was discontinuing the uber-popular Expedit. Fortunately, all is not lost. The Expedit 2.0, aka Kallax will roll out in April.

Expedit on the left, Kallax on the right.
The two systems are very similar. The main differences are that the Kallax does away with the distinctive chunky border, has slightly rounder corners, and is supposed to be more scratch resistant. The interior size of the cubes are the same and all the boxes and accessories for the Expedit will still fit the Kallax.

The nice thing about the change is that it that the slightly smaller trim will significantly cut down on the number of trees Ikea uses produces the units. This tree-hugger loves that. But my slighly-OCD tendencies drove me to Ikea this weekend to buy the last two Expedits I wanted for my craft room. I'm sure we will purchase a few Kallaxes (Kallaxi?) in the future, but at least my craft room closet will have Expedits to match my Expedit craft table.


I love how perfectly the Sterilite bins fit in the Expedits.


Here's a quick peek at my craft room closet organization in progress.




I've started a Pinterest board with some of my favorite Expedit uses and hacks. Take a look at some of my favorite ideas for using Ikea Expedits around the house.

Nursery
I wish we would have thought of using an Expedit in our son's room when he was a baby. What a creative, versatile changing table!

Expedit changing table via Little Lovely
Child's Bedroom
I could see our son loving this Expedit storage bed. What a great way to store all his books!

IKEA Expedit storage bed
Expedit Storage Bed via Meredith at Ikea Hackers
Any Bedroom

We actually have Ikea Hopen drawers for nightstands in our master bedroom, but I love the idea of using the Expedits and saving a lot of money!

Affordable Night Stands via Free Sylin Beth (Update: the site has since been deactivated)
Closet

Make the most of your closets with an Expedit and a few bars. 
DIY Custom Closet via I Heart Organizing
The same idea works in a walk in closet, too. 

Kevin Wilson via Ikea Hackers
Kitchen

Make your own kitchen island or bar with an Expedit and a table top of your choice. 

Ikea Expedit Kitchen Island
Kitchen island via Decorating Insanity
This command center is a creative way to make a corner work for you. 

Family Command Center via Iron & Twine
Pantry

I just love the look of this walk-in pantry, especially how the Expedit makes a shelf.  I would use that for my appliances.

Pantry via Mel 'N' Rob's Knockdown Rebuild
Speaking of appliances, how cute is this appliance storage idea?

Cubby Organization
Appliance storage via BHG
Dining Room

Add legs to an Expedit for a simple home bar or sideboard

Ikea Expedit as Home Bar-use the 4 not the 8 and add a wine fridge and floating shelves above...and the black/brown color
Home bar via Live Creating Yourself

Living Room

Technically, I don't think this example uses Expedits, but I have my eye on a variation of this idea in our basement living area. Instead of books, we'll use the shelves for DVDs and board games.

01sofa4-28-09.jpg
Sofas with Shelving via Apartment Therapy
Bathroom

Did you know you could use an Expedit as a linen closet? Why, yes you can!

Expedit linen closet by Live Creating Yourself
Foyer/Mudroom

Expedits have long been uses as room dividers, but I this rendition is really creative. 

Expedit as foyer via Apartment Therapy
If you have a little more room, Expedits can create an organized mudroom.

Photo credit: IKEA catalog
Laundry Room

Find more storage room in your laundry room by hanging an Expedit above the counter.

Achieving Creative Order: Laundry Room--Before and After
Expedit laundry shelves from Achieving Creative Order
Here's another way to organize the laundry area. I actually have this idea pinned for our son's book nook when we are ready to turn it into a desk area.

IHeart Organizing: Reader Space: Creative & Compact Laundry Storage
Laundry Room Revamp by Six 2 Eleven
Exercise Room

Expedit shelf in the exercise room
Expedit TV stand for a treadmill via I Heart Organizing (Note: the original post with this photo seems to have been taken down)

Craft Room/Office

Of course, I'm partial to my craft room, but lots of people have found creative way to use Expedits in their work spaces. I just love this desk.

Rambling Renovators: Getting Organized #office #ikea  Home office for 2...nice set up for one wall of your craft room with work table in center...
Desk by Rambling Renovators
And here's a smaller version of my craft table with space for a chair. 

20120628-224121.jpg
Craft table via Mama.ie
Playroom

This is one of the first images I ever pinned on Pinterest. I love this idea for a play area. And if you don't have an Ikea in your area, you're in luck, because these shelves were made at home, courtesy of Ana White's tutorial

2x4 Console Cubby Shelves
Console height cubbies by Ana White
My little guy prefers dogs to dolls, but this Expedit doll house is adorable.

Dollhouse by Land of Nod
Do you share my love of Expedit? How do you use Expedits in your home?


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6 comments:

  1. Absolutely love all these ideas - especially the Command Center and storage bed! I've been making plans for my basement to be finished and trying to decide if I should budget for built-in shelves and storage...but I could totally do a lot of these myself for less. Thanks! Busy moms need spaces to stash stuff! Found you on HDYDI Link up and will surely be back for more great ideas!

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  2. Love these ideas - especially the Command Center. Busy moms need places to stash stuff - and I am amazed by your organization! Well done. Found you through HDYDI link-up and will definitely be back to see what's new!

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  3. These are all such creative uses for the Expedit, which I totally adore BTW! I really like your craft room table, too. I have used Expedits in my craft room, in hubby's Mancave, in the guest room and several closets. I'm a scrapbooker, so that was what initially drew me to the Expedit. I think it is one of the most useful pieces of furniture I've ever seen.

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  4. I love my Expedit! It's in our living room with our son's play area set up in front of it. The bottom row has canvas boxes filled with his toys, the 4 cubbies along the diagonal are for books (his on the bottom two rows, ours on the higher-up rows, and the rest of the cubbies have canvas boxes for all our stuff. Pretty much everything for our entire apartment is there (we have a tiny apartment and not much stuff). I love all these ideas you shared and will definitely be using some elsewhere in the house!

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  5. I love love love Expedit! I was worried then when I first read your post - so glad they're just going 2.0 and not getting rid of it completely.

    We have a horizontal one under the window in our playroom, for toy storage come window seat, and then a couple of uprights along the wall. We also have a 2x2 in the hallway under the coat rack that we use for shoes.

    Your craft table is lush - I wanted one of those but we just don't have the room. I'm inspired by the pantry one though as we're just about to do our pantry makeover!

    Great post (I found you via HDYDI) and I'm off to pin it right away!

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  6. Love these ideas!! Thanks for linking up at Take it on Tuesday!
    ~ Betsy @ Romance on a dime

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