A few things that most parents come to know within a short period of time: Ikea furniture is pretty generic, but extremely inexpensive; kids collect a lot of stuff within a short period of time; even the largest home seems to suffocate without enough storage for all of the important pieces of paper with scribbles on it, tiny toys and dress-up paraphernalia.
And then, you start reading Ikea Hacker.
The site is entirely user-driven, with most posts being ‘hacks’ Ikea shoppers have created out of pieces from the as-is section, regular furniture and nuts and bolts from the hardware store. Even better, posts usually contain before and after photos, and often, step-by-step instructions. If you’re at all creative about interior design, this site will have you running to the nearest as-is pile, with a list of inspired ideas.
Take a look at this Ikea hack, a toddler-sized loft bed, with built-in storage and stairs. It’s similar to what I plan to do for my daughter’s bed, once she graduates from her toddler-sized one. But I have a few changes…
In the original hack, two of the same Trofast organizers were used for storage, to raise the bed to loft-status, and to provide a staircase. They gave only 12 buckets for toy storage. I say nay! I want more storage! In fact, I want so much storage, that all of my daughter’s toys and books and stuffed animals and craft supplies will fit within the same square footage as her hypothetical twin-sized bed.
The ‘stairs’ make me nervous, so I’m going to replace the descending organizers with another from the Trofast line, so it’s the same height across the tops. This also gives room for at least six more storage buckets.
To allow her to get down from the bed, I’ll stash a ladder behind one of the organizers at the foot of the bed, and also find a slide that I can rig up to side.
I plan to use the space underneath the bed to house three Apa storage boxes, for dress-up clothes, sports gear and stuffed animals. But not just as they come – I’m going to screw casters to the bottoms, allowing the boxes to just be pulled out and pushed back in.
But I still have to store the books. Fortunately, since I won’t be using the graduated Trofasts any more, I should have a flat surface on each side of the bed, upon which pink spray-painted wicker baskets full of books should fit perfectly.
And that’s how I just mentally made 98% of the things my daughter owns fit within 22 square feet. Now, for the closet…
Photo: Ikea Hacker