there’s nothing better than emptying your pockets as soon as you get home after a long day, but we find that we leave little piles of change, keys, and bills all over the house unless we have a designated place to put them. this ubiquitous wooden magazine holder from ikea turned out to be the perfect catch-all shelf for our stuff, and all we had to do was put a coat of stain on it, turn it on its side and mount it in the corner of our entryway. problem solved! CLICK HERE for the full project and instructions or just click “read more” below.
happy crafting!
derek & lauren
here’s what you’ll need:
wooden magazine holder
stain and/or paint (optional)
two screws and two washers
1. paint, stain or decoupage your magazine holder (or leave it plain)
2. pre-drill two holes for the screws and mark your wall where the screws will go, making sure they are level.
3. mount your box to the wall, using washers so the screw heads don’t sink too far into the wood.
4. if you’ve got an outlet nearby, you can even charge your cell phone or ipod by snaking the cord through the hole in the front of the box.
77 Comments
amazing! love it and can’t wait to make it happen in our home so thank you!
Amazing…. That’ s genius :)
great idea! you should post it on ikea hacker… there are some amazing projects on there, all of which involve stuff from ikea!
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/
this is so clever! I love it, what a great easy project.
Smart!
that is really, really smart. and looks great, too.
This is amazing! So simple and so genius. I wish the cleveland area had an Ikea.
Clever!
So clever!
how clever and adorable!
Very cool– a series of these would be great in a child’s room to store books!
Great idea, a quick weekend project!
i am GOING to do this. so great!
This is awesome!! I’d love to see a hook or two off the bottom of it – to hang a purse and/or umbrella from.
Derek and Lauren are so clever and inventive, I love it!
That is just the most clever thing!
f’n brillz.
Genius!!!
I like how a simple switch in perspective makes the magazine file into something completely new.
Do you think it could withstand a bit more weight? It would be perfect for my tiny bedroom where we can’t fit a night stand between the bed and the wall. I could put a little lamp and clock on there.
wow :) what an awesome idea!
amazing!! What a great idea!
Any tips on where to get a good, sturdy magazine holder?
D&L you’ve done it again. Another great project. Thanks for sharing.
Annelies – you might be able to use it as a night stand if you mounted it on a stud or used drywall anchors to attach it to the wall.
awesome idea! it looks so rustic and chic, and so cheap!
Very cool – idea !!
Pure genius!
this is great – i was just thinking about putting a pretty shelf in the bathroom for soaps and such and this would be perfect.
Some of the best ideas are so simple—thanks so much !!
You could also put your mobile phone cord through the hole giving it a reason and then it’s also a charge stand!
so simple. so clever! Love it.
genius!!!
WAY cool. To be honest, the asymmetry would probably bother me, only because it’s such a recognizable object (at least for me, my dad has like 20 billion of these) BUT it’s a great idea for someone who doesn’t have the hangups I do, OR to apply to another similar object.
Love it.
This is wonderful and looks great! Did you submit it to ikea hacker?
Often, the simplest solutions bring the most satisfaction! I love your “think outside of the box” adaptation of this ready-made, yet appealing object.
For our catch-all, we use a hefty, square woven basket, repurposed from a foodie gift basket we received as a wedding gift. Since we’re a bit “hoard-y”, I want to install one of these as well! Just need to find a corner…
the first word that came to my mind was GENIUS.
Great IKEA hack! (If this isn’t on the ikeahacker site, I’d be very surprised.) So simple.
Thats a cool, unexpected adaption! Its great.
genius.
Fabulousness meets ease! I have been blog-stalking on a regular basis and absolutely love, love, love!
cute! now i wonder how i can incorporate this…
genius idea!
We all need that place to put our stuff when we come in the door. Good easy project!
Absolutely love it! I just found my weekend project.
Brilliant!
Anyone have any ideas for mounting this with little damage to the wall? In other words.. Anyone have any ideas for mounting it in an apartment?
oh, get out! I am so excited about this. With drawers underneath my son’t bed he can’t have a night stand so this is perfect!
no way – that is one of those head-smacker ingenious ideas. I happen to have several of those and am SO going to make that shelf. thanks a hunk!
what an excellent idea!
Very good idea, nice work
I love this idea! And I know exactly where I’m going to install this in my home.
this is why i love you guys. the idea was so simple but it’s so fabulous!
awesome.
What a great idea! I’ve been having trouble finding a solution to the end-of-day-pocket-miscellania issue and this also gives me an excuse to go to Ikea!!
This is brilliant I am very impressed it actually makes a better looking shelf than you can normally find – thinking of using it for a telephone shelf – love it
why don’t I ever think of these cool ideas!
Great! Just the solution for our TINY bedroom in lieu of bedside tables!
what a clever idea! I love it.
Great idea! I’m going to do this in my laundry room. I’m drilling small holes along the bottom edge to hang my husbands dress shirts on while I’m folding :D
this is FABULOUS!! and the shelves are only $5! I think I’m going to buy several and stack them flush on top of each other or perhaps space them out a bit…
I LOVE THIS! i want to paint them bright colors and place them throughout the house–also, stack a few in an unused corner. this is the very best kind of art project–tremendously useful, utterly handsome, and it inspires all kinds of uses and variations. thank you so much for sharing so many great ideas and designs with us. maybe we can all send you photos of our completed versions of your great idea.
This is fantastic! I actually have several of these at home, used far less creatively. For anyone who doesn’t live near an IKEA – you can go on line http://www.IKEA-USA.com to find your item and you can shop by phone (800) 434-4532.
this is so very neat. i love it.
this is awesome… i wish i had a corner at my entry way
awesomeness!
absolutely wonderful idea!~
Fantastic!
You could even attach one of those metal butchers hook type things to use as a coat hook.
This is absolutely genius! Just what I need to avoid creating clutter, and it is so cute. Can’t wait to try it at home.
SPxx
this is one of those genius why didn’t i think of that things!
GREAT IDEA! I like the idea of doing a vertical row of maybe 4 or 5, one for each day of the week (?) ….homework….etc, and maybe color coding them……..but, for the person who asked about mounting to a damaged wall in an apartment, one idea may be to mount a series of these or even one of these to a large peice or two of pegboard , because you can use the peg board to possibly hide those damage spots, distract with some other color if you want and accent with some additional hooks, etc….for keys..??? just brainsorming….
I think these would make adorable floating night tables in a tight space. They could be painted a complimentary colour, or stained!
GENIUS!
this is amazing!!!!
I am making one of these today. What an awesome idea.
You know, looking at that made me think of something else you could add to it.
What if you took a wine cork and pushed it into the hole? That way you could hang a tote or maybe a dog leash or something off of it as well?
All I can say it this is pure genius. Perfect way to use a typical item in a different way that is just as functional as the original intent of the product.
Love. Love. LOVE! im thinking about stacking them with a little space in between for more space :)
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