In the spirit of the three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle - I recently came up with a handy use for an old Ikea tabletop we had knocking about. We lack a decent broom closet in our kitchen and needed somewhere to put those annoying space hogs like the ironing board, drying rack, mop, etc. As the tabletop has the same finish as the kitchen units, it fits in quite nicely as a vertical screen. All I needed to do was add 4 shelf brackets as feet and the free-standing screen/room divider was complete! Mrs The Bassist added a square of blackboard paint to serve as our household list repository. You'd never guess the evils that we've managed to conceal in our shiny new "closet".Tips and tricks:
If you don't have a tabletop handy, you can use any old board - paint it a funky colour if it looks a little tired.
Add hooks to the back of the board to maximise storage potential!
Make sure your shelf brackets are suitably sized to support the weight of the board, especially if you plan to hang things off the back of it. I used 200mm brackets for the 1500mm height tabletop.
Make sure the screws securing the front and back brackets don't clash - stagger the brackets if necessary. Also position the brackets where there is something solid to screw into. My tabletop was hollow but had solid blocks across the corners where the table legs would normally be attached. Drill holes for the screws to ensure a neat and accurate job.
If you want to add a blackboard area, sand the surface lightly with fine paper before applying the paint. Repeat between coats to ensure a well covered, durable finish. To get a clean line, block off the area to be painted using masking table.
Disclaimer: Don't try this at home! Obviously do, but don't sue me if you bang a nail into your little finger.
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