Hacker Help: Varde Base Cabinet into an Breakfast Bar Island

Materials: Varde Base Cabinet, Countertop TBD

Description: I moved into a small apartment and am in need of more storage and counter space. I decided that a kitchen island with storage and 2 overhands would be best so it could double as my kitchen table and desk area.

I am planning on buying the Varde base cabinet: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30158391 and installing a counter on top.

My question is, since the Verde is not attached to the floor, do you think it could withstand a countertop with an overhang on the back and right side? My concern is that if you are sitting on the long side of the bar that if you put pressure on the overhang that the unit would tip.

Also, do you think the material would make a difference, a lighter formica verse a granite when it comes to tipping?

Above is a rendering, ignore dimensions and drawers. Assume the cabinet/ base is the Varde...it illusrates the overhangs.

Would love any help!

Thanks!

~ Keara, New York, NY

***

Hi Keara,
Here is a Varde kitchen island that may give you an idea of what is achieveable. Any input, anyone?

~ Jules

Tutorial - How to Make an Upcycled Gift Bag / Box

Love the punched trim she added. She even stamped the tissue paper. Very nice!

Upcycled Gift Bag / Box Tutorial at Joyful Living
"It bugs me sometimes the way so many things get thrown away. I made this cute little gift package out of a cereal box. This could be made and used for any gift giving occasion baby, birthday, etc..." Read more

Tyger, Burning Bright

Link Scroll down for today's pictures & links. Tyger, Burning Bright Could this be the essence of magical realism? Dreamy, mesmerizing, brilliant... Produced by Guilherme Marcondes, of "Trattoria", Brazil; based on a well-known William Blake's poem: Link Today's pictures & links: Walk Like a Dinosaur Spotted on the way to Mount Rushmore, South Dakota: (image credit: Matthew Franklin Jenkins) ------------ Jungle Tree Island Tomás Sánchez is one of the most important and celebrated living Cuban artists. Some of his work is marvelous surrealism: (art by Tomas Sanchez) ------------ Snub-Nosed Monkeys A golden snub-nosed monkey is nicely "dressed" in heavy fur, helping it to endure chilly winters of China's highland forests (photo taken in Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve, see more here): (photo by Cyril Ruoso National Goegraphic) ------------ Mixed fresh links for today: China develops train that can go faster than an airplane - [wow tech] Pictures of Brisbane Flood, Before and After - [extreme weather] Those Fearless Cleaners... - [wow pics] Synaesthesia: Seeing Colors Created by Music - [interesting] The Eggventures of Eggbert - [funny art] Yellowstone just took a deep "breath" - [supervolcano] What will go off first: Yellowstone, or this supernova? - [ot both at once] Recycled masterpieces: scrabble tiles, USB drives - [design] Blobitecture! - [bulbous forms, pics] Japanese Secret stash Furniture - [cool design, video] World's Smallest Tank? - [wow video] Bus Driving Over the Waterfall - [wow video] Very well done: 1965 "premake" of UP! - [fun video] Car Parts City - [cool video ad] How to Turn Your Closet Into an Office - [design] ------------ Dark Roasted Blend T-Shirts are here! Buy them here! This is a joint project between Neatoshop and DRB - this way we ensure the best shopping experience, and will continue to come up with cool Dark Roasted Blend designs throughout the year. ------------ Power to the Happy! (original unknown) This is happiness before paying the bills... ------------ Your Brain in Chrome Wonderful sculpture project by Linda Bakke, Norway: There is also a crazed tractor thing, stumbling around: (images credit: Linda Bakke) ------------ Who owned those antique gold false teeth? Martin Codina will pay you some money, if you can provide additional info on this ornamental undertaking... Read more here: (images credit: Martin Codina) ------------ Drink in moderation! (image credit: GoldenWreckedAngle, Worth1000) ------------ 1960 DiDia 150, owned once by Bobby Darin ... and after him, by Luke Skywalker? (image credit: Classic Metal) Gorgeous design by Andy DiDia, possible inspiration for the Luke Skywalker's flying car? ------------ The Largest Supplier of Office Equipment In The Midwest Stock up on some larger-than-life office supplies (Okay, this is actually a shot from the filming of The Incredible Shrinking Man, 1956) (image credit: Allan Grant, via Life Magazine) ------------ Gorgeous Art Nouveau Postcards from Germany Fantastic finds from the antique bin: (images via) ------------ Random, totally random Are there traces of Starbucks logo in here, or did I just have one espresso shot too many? - (art by Uno Moralez) ------------ "Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent-free in your head" READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE -> Share Tweet Share->

When iMac goes to work

Materials: 1 LACK Wall shelf unit, 1 LACK Wall shelf, 2 CAPITA Bracket, 1 DALFRED Bar Stool

Description: First of all it's necessary an iMac 27"!
If you are looking for a workstation comfortable and elegant, suitable for a small space, this is the solution for you.

You only need a Lack series, especially a wall shelf unit, a wall shelf and brackets.

I choose black version but there are many more..

I worked on the ground to assemble shelfs and brackets. Then I put in vertical and fix to the wall.

At last, I placed very carefully the iMac, mouse, keyboard, hd and I sat on the stool.

It's done!

PS. Ikea garants 3kg for shelf, so I prefer to fix 2 staff under the iMac's shelf.

~ Piritea, Italy

Tutorial - How to Make a Potato Stamp

Great reminder - Improvise!

Potato Stamp Tutorial at Meremade
"After his December birthday, Mr. P. had oodles of thank you cards to write. When I asked how he wanted to decorate his cards, he said, "with Star Wars stamps." Sadly, I had to break it to him that we don't own any Star Wars stamps.

In the spirit of crafters everywhere he said, "we can make one!"..." Read more

Personalized Kura Bed fit for a Princess with Playhouse Underneath

Materials: Kura Bed, wooden letters, wood cutouts, bunk bed curtain, paint, canopy, SMILA BLOMMA wall lamp

Description: We wanted our 4 year old daughter to have a bed with stairs leading to a loft to sleep and space underneath to use as a playhouse.

We bought a Kura bed, painted it 3 different colors. The trim is painted light pink, the smaller panel in front is fuchsia and the longer end panel is purple with pink slates. We added a princess canopy on top. We attached cutouts on the front panel and added wooden letters to the front panel with the words princess and her name. We made the bottom a playhouse by attaching a bunk bed curtain with working windows, curtains, and doors on the bottom of the bed using double-faced adhesive velcro and placing a pink SMILA BLOMMA wall lamp for her to use when she reads her books is hanging out in her "house" as she calls it.

See more at of the Kura bed with Playhouse.

~ Adrian and Leslie-Ann, Northern Virginia

Mandal Nightstand Hack

Materials: Expedit shelving unit, saw.

Description: If you have ever purchased the IKEA Mandal bed with its really cool storage drawers, you know that they only offer the Mandal wall-mounted headboard combined with the adjustable shelves as a possible nightstand. I prefer a nightstand where I can discretely hide things away.

Step 1) Get the single (1x5) Expedit shelving unit and cut it in half. The cut will be ugly and the inside of the Expedit is cardboard, but this will not be seen in the final result. If this really bothers you, you can purchase wooden veneer tape at a hardware store to cover the bottom cut.

Step 2) Mount each half of your Expedit shelving to each side of the wall next to your Mandal bed. Make sure to use proper wall-mounting brackets that will be screwed into the wall studs or that use drywall anchors. In this case, I also used the Expedit drawers and anchored them to the wall as well.

You can use any of the Expedit accessories that IKEA sells to give your nightstands the storage options you require.

~ Nicholas, Montreal, Canada

Tutorial - How to Make a Ruffly Girl's Apron

Adorable!

Ruffly Girl's Apron Tutorial at Dandelionlady
"I love making aprons, and my girls expect their fair share of the sewing. So I made up this quick pattern for them. They love to go to the store and pick out a fat quarter to have made up into something for them. I'm showing the more advanced version, with pockets and ruffles, but if you're looking for something really quick and cheap, you can skip all that and it makes up in less than half an hour..." Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Cross Stitch Fabric Collage

What a beautiful way to finish off a cross stitch project!

Cross Stitch Fabric Collage Tutorial at Sherry's Simple Blog
"I think I may have another addiction (as well as altering matchboxes that is!) - fabric collages!

This post follows on from the previous one where you'll see I've made 3 of these collages in not as many days!

Here's a brief summary of how I put the 'Daisy Cottage' fabric collage together.

Start off with the cross stitched cottage..." Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Ribbon Shirt

So very cute!

Ribbon Shirt Tutorial at Therapeutic Crafting
"I found this skirt on clearance at Babys R Us, but there was not a matching shirt to go with it. Well, I wasn't going to let that stop me:) I got 1 yard of ribbon and a plain white t-shirt..." Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Floral Vase Arrangement

Oh wow! Beautiful! Learn how from an expert! Great tips!

Floral Vase Arrangement Tutorial at Spider Flower
"I thought the easiest and most effective project to start with would be a vase arrangement with lots of help from branches I picked up from around our back yard - after a really windy weekend!

Small branches and twigs help space out and hold the flower design. You can fiddle and tweak as much as you like and they will stay in place without having to start over again if you're not quite satisfied with the look. As you can see I've used quite a lot of them for this arrangement..." Read more

Tutorial - How to Make a Gathered Neck Little Girl Dress

Cute and so easy!

Bhami Dress Tutorial at Love for Sewing
"Have you ever gotten used to an idea so much so that you do it over and over? I have. Classic gathered jumper has been my favorite for so long, until I figured out how to do a peasant style dress with the bare minimum work. The results have been fabulous..." Read more

Eye candy: The white kitchen

Minimal hacking but wanted to share Edina's gorgeous white kitchen. Love it. ~ Jules

Materials: LIDINGÖ furniture

Description: The lower cabinets furniture Lindingo run, they were nut-colored sheet. To be a little different so we took them to other handles. We put wallpaper on the wall and glass, stainless steel, took over the stove. The hood and upper shelves of the corner shelf, the whole upper part we have prepared and equipped for it. Became a large and beautiful countryside but modern kitchen.

~ Edina Kukla/Kisflanc, Budapest

Tutorial - How to Make a Kid's Valentine Crown

How sweet!

Kid's Valentine Crown Tutorial at Hippos and Dinosaurs
"Today I am going to share with you my number one go-to gift for little girls. The Felt Crown. It is so easy and is so quick to whip up several at a time..." Read more

Shoe cupboard

Materials: Faktum, Rationell, Abstrakt

Description: Where to do go with all my shoes? We used the empty space underneath the stairs to build a shoe cupboard from kitchen elements, and added a shelf and doors on the top to make space for boots. It holds three pairs of shoes per drawer.

~ Anne Vogt, Zurich, Switzerland

Tutorial - How to Make a Tissue Paper Valentine Card

Cute!

Tissue Paper Valentine Card Tutorial at Naptime Crafters
"Send someone special a bit of handmade love...the secret behind these super simple cards- freezer paper & tissue paper
ah... cheap and easy. perfect..." Read more

The Biggest Ships in the World (DRB Series)

DRB Series Link Can't rock these boats... only stare at them in stupefied amazement What some of these ships may lack in finesse (though most of them are technological marvels), they make up in sheer unadulterated SIZE. Enjoy the fascinating facts and wide-format images in this highly popular series: First, The Biggest Ships in the World series proper (which we will be updating as new humongous vessels come along): Biggest Ships in the World, Part 1 Freedom Ship - a futuristic dream that may just come true Biggest Ships in the World, Part 2: Supertankers! Knock Nevis/ Jahre Viking - big ship with a big story Biggest Ships in the World, Part 3: Cargo Ships Huge Container Ships Harass Small Tugboats Other DRB articles about particularly huge and amazing ships: Rare Look Inside the Largest Crane & Container Ships A world record weightlifting in its class. 1600 metric tons. Japan's Biggest Floating Crane Like some Godzilla monster, the giant crane looms over the city; easily lifts bridges and submarines The Last Victorian Leviathan Steam Ship An Iron Monster, framed by white sails and black smoke Giant Iceberg Aircraft Carrier Strange Dream of a Frozen Navy The Ultimate Moving: Troll-A Gas Platform Immense Troll Tower to Move & Conquer! Share Tweet Share->