Category:

Furniture

How we Reinforced our Ikea Drawers

by Jessica March 26, 2015

So we currently have an Ikea dresser which has held up very well considering we bought it used. We have wanted to build ourselves some real wooden bedroom furniture,but for a while we didn’t know where we would be living or how much room we would have whenever we did get a house. So, now that we have a house, we still plan to build ourselves new bedroom furniture. However, our current set still functions very well, so we haven’t really gotten to that point since there are so many other things that are a higher priority for us. Our ikea set is made with particle board which has held up well, but the drawer bottoms are a cheap thin almost cardboard type material. So even though I don’t put super heavy stuff in it, over time it does tend to sag. So, we started looking up a way to fix it without having to get rid of the dresser. Some tutorials pretty much show building a new drawer and attached it to the existing face frame which would be doable,but just overkill for how much longer this dresser might actually last us.

March 26, 2015

Blog Furniture Home Organization Slideshow Tutorials

My Standing Desk for $50

by Jessica July 28, 2013

I have been having weird issues with my back/shoulder. No pain, but I noticed a while ago that one shoulder was higher than the other. We were pretty sure it was from the type of purse I was carrying. So I switched to a messenger/cross body purse so it wouldn’t get worse. Two months ago, I started going once a week to this spine care specialist/chiropractor(all of the hospitals and physical rehab places only refer to him). Anyway, he looked at my shoulder and said it is an easy fix because there is no damage yet,but if I had waited 20 years or so, I would have needed rotator cuff surgery which would have been painful, long recovery, and expensive. So he did tissue massages to loosen the muscles so they can start going to the right places, gave me exercises to do at home, and told me the best thing I can do is get a standing desk at home. He said the purse did a little,but mainly it is sitting at a computer which go figure I do all day. He said that when you stand your head weighs about the equivalent of 10 pounds and your back, neck, and shoulder muscles all go back and forth maintaining balance. He said when you sit, your head shifts forward and your head weighs the equivalent of 25 pounds and it is only your neck muscles that get the strain. He said this is why so many people have a lot of neck strain among other health issues from sitting all day. I don’t have that issue,but with bending forward and using my mouse with my right hand, the right shoulder was slowly starting to turn in. It will slowly fix itself with a standing desk since your posture is different when you stand. We were worried about going to a chiropractor because we have been to some who never have an ending date they just always want you to come back and pay even if you don’t need it. So luckily, I am already down to once every two weeks, and next month it will change to once a month, and then only when I feel like I need to go. So, I am happy we decided to have me go just in case because we are trying to take care of ourselves as preventative maintenance.

July 28, 2013

Blog Furniture Home Tutorials

Our New and Improved Dining Set!

by Jessica January 5, 2011

Grant and I said we weren’t a huge fan of the chairs,but they are chairs. The chairs natural coloring goes well with the green on the glass, but “we” as in I decided that a different color was needed. I bought framed art from Ikea as well, and so we decided to match that.

January 5, 2011

Blog Furniture Home Organization Tutorials

Our Library Shelves

by gswarfield March 14, 2010

So, We are about to embark on a non-straight-wall-shelf-hanging adventure. This is at our apartment, and it is the only area we could think of to use for book storage.

We are on the third floor, so this is the only are in our apartment that has aÂ higherÂ peak.

Here is the other side where we would like it to wrap around above the door.

Here are some pictures that Grant showed me after I got home, So, I donâ€™t know why or how they did some of the what they did. So, bear with me!

Grant and Simon were such troopers! I hope that Simon didnâ€™t feel like he was only here to help us get stuff done in our place! He was an amazing help though! Here you can see their stack of my table and chairs so the lazer level could sit on there for the lower of the two shelves.

Here you see the bottom shelf completed when I got home from work on day one. Donâ€™t ask me why they did the bottom shelf first, but it all worked out in the end!

On day two, the bins were added so that the level was the right height for the higher shelves.

Here you can SimonÂ on his ladderâ€¦ Iâ€™m not sure what he is doing,but yeah, you can see how the shelves are held up.

Here you can see the ladder criss cross that they used on the cornersâ€¦ Yeah,Â doesnâ€™t look like the safest,but as long as my shelves go up and no trips to the emergency room, I donâ€™t care how it is done.

The Shelves are now completed! They look GREAT!

The lower shelf are my fantasy books, and then some of the good literature that we own.

So, you can see how it goes around the corners.

Here is the view you would get if you sat on our couch and looked up or toward our kitchen. I am so happy with how they turned out, and I guess I will just have to get some more books to fill them up the rest of the way!

We used Lack shelves from Ikea found here.Â http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60103750/#/40103751

We didn’t hit as many studs as we wanted, so we used these hinged dry wall anchors which we bought from Home Depot to make everything more secure.Â http://www.todayshomeowner.com/images/article/wall-anchors-2.jpg

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

March 14, 2010