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.

We also have a large Expedit in our master bedroom. 

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!

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. 

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?

Appliance storage via BHG

Dining Room

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

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.

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.

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.

Laundry Room Revamp by Six 2 Eleven

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.

Desk by Rambling Renovators

And here's a smaller version of my craft table with space for a chair. 

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. 

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?

Linked to:
Craft-O-Maniac * Crystal & Co. * DIY Dreamer * Feeding Big * Fluster Buster * Home Stories From A to Z * How Do You Do It * The Idea Room * Just Us Four * Kiddie Foodies * Krafty Cards, Etc. * Moonlight & Mason Jars Link Party * Practically Functional * Romance on a Dime * Sew Can Do * Sew Many Ways * Tatertots & Jello * Val's Quilting Studio * Will Cook For Smiles

Lights, Appliances, Door Levers and Oopses.

Made a quick stop at the house today after MOPs to see what was going on. Jim was hard at work with the lights. The dinette chandelier is up, though we'll wait to let the capiz shell strands down until after all the trim work is done in there. We don't want anyone breaking anything.

Oops. Someone forgot to check the photo settings.

Wonder how long it will take to unwrap all these strands?

This is what the West Elm Capiz Shell Pendant will look like with the strand unwrapped. Two thoughts: 1) HouseofHepworths is really cool blog. 2) West Elm has this fixture on sale for much less than we paid for it. Bummer for us.

The in-law lights are all in now:

The main light is another Casablanca Claremont from Tuesday Morning.  We need to replace these candelabras with CFL daylight bulbs.

Another Maxim Malibu light for the in-law closet. We put the four-light flush mount here, which is makes it quite bright. The three-light would have worked well. But, we just read that as we age we need 30% more light, so I'm sure we'll appreciate the light as we age.

Upstairs, the light above the tub was installed.

 

And we're getting closer to having our master vanity lights up. The electrical set up was a little off so Jim had to make an adjustment. (oops #1)

Oops #2 gave me a slight heart attack:

What's wrong with this picture?

Turns out that our appliance vendor sent the wrong size microwave drawer. The Sharp drawer version is available in 24" and 30" versions. We ordered a 24" and received a 30". After collecting my jaw from the floor, I took a picture to send to Niels, MAS was quick to make it right. Our 24" microwave drawer will arrive on Monday. Crisis averted.

At least the ovens went in without issue. I think the black looks just fine with the dark cabinets. We just could pass up the bargain of a top-of-the-line clearance oven in black for less than a middle-of-the-line oven in stainless. 

The Jenn-Air convection oven has dehydrating and proofing functions, plus an internal thermometer.

3-year-old floor model + this teeny tiny scratch = $2,000 off a double oven we'd only dream about at full retail.

The pantry freezer was unwrapped and put on the move-alls. It'll be slid into place after the feet of the baseboards is put in the pantry this weekend. The freezer is larger than I thought in person. I'm going to love the space, but I'm also happy that we aren't finishing the pantry right away. Now we'll have a few months to see how we really use it and then have Joe put the custom shelving in.

Finally, Chris has been busy installing our door levers.

Tomorrow is an exciting day: my quartz countertops finally go in. Really!

Move-in day is 16 days away!