de Jong Dream House: linen closet

Showing posts with label linen closet. Show all posts

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.

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

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.

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.

IHeart Organizing: Reader Space: Creative & Compact Laundry Storage

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.

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.

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

Friday, April 20, 2012

House Tour

This post will be a bit of a work in progress as we continue to unpack and make our house a home. Funny story: for most of the build, I (Jen) have been taking the daily progress photos. I'm blessed enough to stay home with our son, so daily (or twice daily) trips to the new house were a big par to how we spent each day. When the house was finally complete, Niels spent the day with D at the house to be on hand for the final inspections and blower door test. I was in our apartment, packing like a mad woman. In between inspections and playing trains with D, Niels forgot to take photos of our completed house. Oops. The next day the house was full of boxes and we missed our window. It seems to be a family tradition of our house to forget one big thing in our projects. We forgot to hire a videographer for our wedding, which will be one of my the greatest regrets of my life because my brain injury has robbed me of making long term memories. My only "memories" of my own wedding are the actual photos we have. I have no "moving picture memories" of the day. Sigh.

So, we're moving ahead with the next best thing. Photos of the room as they are completed. Of course, we fully expect each room to change and transition over the years, but for now, I have a goal of having each room, at some point--perhaps not all at the same time, but at some point--looking "staged." I have staged my last two homes and received kind compliments that I did a better than average job. Where "staged" before has meant, "anyone would feel at home in this room," now it means, "we feel at home in this room." I look forward to making our house a home that feels like us. It's a big project, but there's no deadline and I've got nothing but time.

Here's how the house looks today:

Exterior: In need of a little landscaping...