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This week, I'm exited to share with you a quick and easy IKEA hack! It involves two IKEA Frosta stools:
IKEA Frosta ($35.94, Amazon.com).
You may recall the Frosta is on my IKEA top 10 list, and with good reason: it's got modern, minimal bones, channeling the iconic Artek Stool 60 at a small fraction of the cost.
Artek Stool 60 ($278, Amazon.com).
We've had a Frosta in our living room for a while; it makes for a versatile stool/side table.
We recently got a second one. But, having two identical Frostas (Frostae?) next to each other looks pretty boring.
So, I decided it might be fun to shorten one of the stools and remove one of the legs on each stool. This way, the shorter stool can be tucked under the taller one, creating a nesting table effect. They’ll also look more like the Stool 60 this way!
I recruited my on-call handyman (aka husband) to turn this vision into a reality. As usual, he didn't quite share my excitement, but went along with it nonetheless. I think that sentiment embodies our entire relationship...
Below, I'll show you how we hacked two IKEA Frosta stools into a pair of Artek-esque tripod nesting tables!
Part I: How to Turn An IKEA Frosta Into A Tripod Stool (Stool 60 Dupe)
1. Turn over your Frosta stool and unscrew all but one leg.
2. Using a ruler and pencil, draw two lines, each bisecting the two 90 degree angles between the predrilled holes at the bottom of the stool.
You should be left with four equal 45 degree angles. I knew geometry would come in handy one day!
3. Center one of the legs on the line you drew at the bottom right of the seat and adjust until the two holes in that leg are aligned between the screw holes in the base of the chair.
4. Pass a screwdriver through each hole in the leg, through to the bottom of the seat and press just hard enough to create an indentation.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the remaining leg and the line drawn on the bottom left of the seat.
6. Use a pencil to mark an 'x' at each indentation made with the screwdriver.
7. Select a drill bit that fits just within the existing holes in the base.
8. With the drill off, push the drill bit all the way down until it makes contact with the bottom of the hole.
9. Wrap a piece tape around the part of the drill bit that lies above the hole, so that the tape is flush with the bottom surface of the seat. This'll let you know how far you can drill without drilling through to the other side of the seat.
10. Now the fun part! Turn on the drill and use it to create a hole at each of the four areas marked with an 'x', pushing the drill down into the wood until the tape is flush with the seat. Make sure not to push the drill bit into the seat beyond the taped part, or you'll drill right through!
11. Fasten two of the legs into the holes you just drilled. If the holes seem a little tight, you can go back and widen them with a slightly larger caliber drill bit.
My 4-year-old wants to involve himself in every DIY project. Hopefully this means I'll have two on-call handymen soon!
Now your IKEA Frosta's a chic, tripod stool that's a pretty good dupe for the Artek Stool 60!
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Part II: IKEA Frosta Nesting Tables
For nesting tables, you'll have to make one of the stools shorter.
1. Remove all four of the legs.
2. Determine the height you'd like this shorter stool to be. I chose 5" shorter than the original stool.
3. Line up three of the legs so that the bottoms are aligned and use clamps to hold them firmly together. Use a ruler and pencil to draw a line five inches above the bottoms of the legs (or whatever your desired height).
4. Use a saw to cut across all three legs at the line.
5. Screw one of the shortened legs back into the original spot on the stool.
6. For the other two legs, follow steps 2 through 11 in 'Part I' of the tutorial, to create your shortened tripod stool.
Now you have a pair of sleek, tripod nesting tables!
The shorter one also works well as an ottoman:
Owen enjoying the fruit of his labor.
Hope you enjoyed this week's IKEA hack! Stay tuned for future posts on activities to occupy your kids that won't mess up your home and how to style decorative shelves.
