Minimalistic floor-to-ceiling climbing post for cats

Materials: STOLMEN post + mounting fixtures, sisal rope, small shelf, HESSUM doormat

Description: Because cat furniture is the ugliest around and my friend needed every inch of her small apartment, I came up with this minimalistic climbing post.

The shelf was on the wall already. The parts I needed cost about 60 euros.

Steps:
1) I had to buy the 40 meters of rope in four 10 meter pieces. If you can get the rope in one piece, it will help you much. If not, then join the pieces to get a one long stretch of rope. I used a technique called splicing (splicing links here) and got pretty good results.

2) Remove any cats from the room where you are about to install the post.

3) Cover the shelf with HESSUM doormat so the critters can get a good grip. Cut the mat to size and attach it with small screws. Install the shelf to the wall.

4) Install the STOLMEN post next to the shelf.

5) Attach the rope to the bottom of the post using the STOLMEN mounting fixtures. Start coiling the rope around the post. Use gloves, keep the rope tight and give it a few hits from a hammer on every 5 rounds or so to make it tight.

6) When you reach the top, use another STOLMEN mounting fixture to attach the rope. You can use cable ties to attach the rope temporarily.

This hack can be easily extended by installing more shelves to the wall.

Longer version of the instructions and more pictures here.

~ Ilka, Helsinki, Finland

Hol Cat Litter box with Sliding Top

Materials: Hol Storage Cube (Large), floor sliders, hardware, plastic cat box, mat, trash bag.

Description: OK folks, just like a lot of cat litter solutions, this one is intended to:

1) Get that nasty box of Cat poop hidden: we live in Boston's Back Bay and have limited space in our wee little apartment.
2) Save space by making something functional, in this case a place to put a couple of houseplants.
3) Keep litter contained, instead of all over the floor. This is huge. Our cat likes to dig aggressively, scattering litter everywhere. What a mess, and required constant sweeping and vacuuming to keep up.

So, here's what I did:

Click to read more>>

Bedroom Litter Box

Materials: Stolmen Chest with 2 drawers

Description: We share our bedroom with the cat's litter box, which is the only suitable space in our apartment. I came across this site a few months ago and was inspired to make a hack that would hide the box and allow us to use the space above it. There were a few obstacles:
- the size of our Littermaid Automatic litter box (25"x20") - larger than many others.
- I wanted a drawer so that I could clean it easily without having to pull out the litter tray.
- I wanted something inexpensive, enclosed and attractive for a bedroom.

The Stolmen 2 chest drawer is $100, very large and seemed perfect for our room. I wanted a nicely finished hole for the cat so I purchased a interior small pet door from the pet shop for $19.

The hack was simple. We cut a hole that matched the pet door in the top drawer, assembled the unit according to the directions except that we attached the 2 drawer fronts, sides, bottom and backs with metal brackets (hardware store)and only put in 1 drawer bottom.

It's been about a month and we are very happy. We ended up using a standard deep litter box as we were having trouble with the automatic one and this one seems to work better for our cat.

This site is amazing. Besides this hack I have made a coat rack from the Stolmen similar to the vertical pot rack posted here. And I've refinished a Rast dresser (stained and new knobs) to store our gloves and hats by the door. My 10 year old son is also a big fan. He has asked me to add a Lack shelf as stair to a cat bed above the Stolmen chest (seen still in the box in the pictures).

~ T. Anna, NYC

Ikea Expedit Three-Story Hamster Habitat

Materials: Expedit 5-by-5 bookcase

Fred is probably the P. Diddy equivalent of Hamsterville, with a 5x5 Expedit megahome all to himself. Katja, Fred's dotting owner, removed dividers on two "floors" to create large spaces to stretch Fred's short little legs. She also decorated the space with hamster luxuries like wooden ladders, bubbly cork goodness for Fred to dive in and play.

See more of the Expedit Hamster mansion. [via Pawesome.net]

~ Sonia Zjawinski

"Très chic" Kitty Litter Bin Obscurer

Materials: BESTA shelving unit + BESTA glossy swinging door, basic litter bin, dishwasher mat, PetSafe Big Cat Door, optional deodorizers

Description: This our a take on Jon's "Flaren stealth cat litter box" also listed on the site. His version's great, but since our space is a bit smaller and we have an ultra fluffy cat we needed an alternate solution since the enclosure-within-an enclosure concept didn't pan out too well (poo on fur = not a good thing!)

Step 1: Bore a hole into whichever side of the shelving unit you'd like. This is all a matter of preference. For us the left side of the unit was best.

Step 2: Install a pet door that suits your cat's size. We used the PetSafe Big Cat Door since our cat's quite large and fluffy.

Step 3: Place bin inside. Deodorizer (baking soda and homemade activated charcoal bag) additions are optional, but seems to reduce litter bin odour significantly.

And that's it! The unit does a great job hiding the litter bin and giving Taro some privacy while he does his business, and even though the litter bin odour isn't completely eliminated the set up reduces the smell quite significantly. Happy Hacking!

~ Jeremy Y., Mississauga ON Canada

Stolmen Scratch post

Materials: Stolmen post and hooks

Description: Scratch post from stolmen post, small trees, carpet, a large plastic barrel and some other scraps. (Also featuring kitchen worktop, shelf brackets, copper water pipe and some old textile and a huge amount of sisal rope and glue.)

See more the Stolmen Scratch post. (Google translation here)

~ Selma, Norway

Dog chair

Materials: Gulliver

Description: A stool for my dog King made of the Gulliver chair. A very simple switch and the stool becomes a dog.

~ Jo Klaps, Brussels

Hamster-Villa above TV

Materials: Bonde

Description: In my Bonde-furniture now lives our little Hamster "Hämpfelina". I took out the shelves and everything else. Then I fixed windows of plexi-glass and installed everything for a playful hamster-life! We have now a lot of fun to see the hamster run around!

~ Carola, Switzerland

Puppy Proofing for Small Spaces

Materials: Ikea Hol Storage Bench

Description: First things first, I must give full credit to the original version of this in 2008, but who completed the answer for my dog crate situation in 2011.

My partner were awaiting our new arrival (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy), and we knew from the very beginning that we wanted to crate train him. But, as we live in a one bedroom flat, we didn't want to buy one of the huge metal crates that would look hideous in the corner of our relatively small living room. We thought about all sorts of options, and ended up googling 'innovative dog crate' into google and eventually found this fab idea on Ikea hackers.

We bought an Ikea Hol storage unit and when assembling it, we left off the lid and one end. We bought three small bolt locks from our local DIY shop and a piece of timber to reinforce the base. We screwed the locks onto what would become the front of our crate (two at the bottom and one at the top), and nailed the timber width-ways across the bottom of the unit.

Unlike the original hack, we decided not to nail the lid of the unit down so that it didn't come off, as by keeping it flexible we had not only a lockable crate, but also a puppy pen. 

To avoid the base of the unit becoming soiled/wet/wasting away/chewed, we stapled some spare carpet down, remembering to leave about 1 inch spare by the front of the crate so that the door can lock properly. We then covered this in a cut up plastic bag, which we stapled down on top of the carpet. This stopped the carpet becoming messy and acts as a waterproof layer in case the pup should tip up his water bowl/pee. We chose a strong plastic bag that was thin enough to be able to go over the edges of the base, and underneath so that any other fluid would flow out and not stand a chance of ruining the base. Finally, we lined it with newspaper for house training.

We are ecstatic with the results, and everyone who has seen the result cannot believe this is a dog crate. It fits in perfectly with the rest of our room, and as a result we bought the other smaller Ikea Hol storage unit to go with it.

This now acts as a coffee table/electricity hub which protects the pup from any cables/wires that were previously out on the floor. This was really easy to do by just cutting out a small section of the base before nailing it down when assembling it. It now houses an extension cable with a hairdryer, internet box, laptop charger and many more! We wanted a small lamp on top, and to stop the light from shining down into the box and revealing all the messy cables within, we stapled a square of canvas to the inside lid, which also stops any pens/post it notes from falling through the holes into the box.

Overall, it cost us:

£45 for the large Ikea Hol box
£18.50 for the small Ikea Hol box
£3 for the 3 hinges
£2 for the spare timber

A brilliant solution to our problem, and our pup likes it too - thank you Ikea Hackers!

~ Ruth, Cardiff, Wales

Cat Activity Center/Sleep Center

Materials: Ikea Expedit Bookshelf, carpet scraps, sisal rope, cat beds, toys, velcro, staples

Description: A while back, I saw a photo of an old bookshelf converted into sleeping compartments for cats at a cat rescue. It was old and dirty, but I thought it was brilliant. Sooo- I had the idea to buy a 4x2 Ikea Expedit bookshelf to convert into an entire Cat Activity Center. The beds, toys and scratchers are held to the shelves with industrial strength velcro so I can replace individual items as they wear out.

The carpet and sisal are attached with staples. I had two extra spaces when I was done, so I added some regular rope for them to play with and some self-grooming brushes. As you can see, the center is a hit with my cats (I volunteer as a foster for a cat rescue).

The best part, I got the Expedit second-hand from a neighbor, so the whole thing was MUCH cheaper than those cat trees you buy at the pet store.

~ Susanne Campbell-Vincent, La Habra, CA, USA

A rain coat for my dog

Materials: Ikea Frakta bag

Description: With an IKEA Bag I made a rain coat for my dog!

~ Francesca, Rome, Italy

Bunk Beds for Dolls or Kitty Cats

Materials: Oddvar Stool

Description: I took the legs of an Oddvar Stool, and two boards cut to fit inside, covered with a cushy fabric, and secured the boards to the stool legs. American Girl Dolls occupied for a while, but kitties soon took over.

~ Ingrid S., Ohio

Bed for your dogs

Materials: Klubbo coffee table and UNG Drill frame

Description:
1. Painted the UNG Drill frame white. Dry it

2. Pick a picture online and printed it off.

3. Cut out the picture to fit in the frame.

4. Take the table top and put pillow filler on the table top and cover it with your favorite fabric. Staple the fabric on the other side of the table top.

5. Place the table top property and screw it on the leg.

6. Make little pillows to go with it to make it look like a bed.

Completed!!

~ Micci Do, SLC, UT

PAXadies hamstercage

Materials: Pax wardrobe and doors, tons of screws, plexiglass

Description: As I have always been into little furry things, I wanted to give something back to my syrians. We decided, absolutely unselfish, to recreate the bedroom, so the wardrobe could be turned into a "cage".

In Germany, you often stumble across modified pax-wardrobes for hamsters, rats, cats, ferrets and lord knows what else, so I just couldn't help doing it... Or my father.

My father took the Pax and laid it down, cut out the inner parts of the doors an replaced it with plexiglass so we could watch the little rodents. He also added some kind of chicken wire on the short sides of the lower part as this was the only way to get some ventilation in there.

The floor for the upper part is made from one of the side parts, so we didn't have to buy a new board and left this part open for better ventilations.

Finally, the whole thing was called "Paxadies" and two hamsters moved into their new 200x55x50cm (~6.5x1.8x1.6 ft)home.

(And yes, my entire flat is furnished with Ikea-things. The hamster-home is placed on 3 little Lack-tables, which are now hidden behind some anno stra curtains, lit by orgel vreten and so on... :) )

~ Vyerny, Germany

Bookcase with scratching post and hammock

Materials:Expedit Bookcase, LACK Wall shelf, Shelves Carriers, Material from an old scratching post

Description: I took an Expedit bookcase and a LACK wall shelf to create a storage cabinet which also functions as a cat playground.

~ Siebrenna