Metro Shelves

2007 June

IKEA HACK #1, Metro Shelves

It was Emily's outstanding idea to combine the "Omar" shelving units in a simple yet elegant way to provide open storage in the corner of our kitchen. To make the custom shelving unit, we purchased three 36-inch wide x 36-inch tall Omars ($40 each) and three 18-inch wide x 36-inch tall Omars ($35 each), and then began hacking. First, since our ceilings are not 9 feet tall, we cut down the posts on one of each of the units. Second, we omitted the posts on the inside corner on the 18-inch wide units and simply used zip ties to anchor the corner to the 36-inch wide shelves. In my opinion, these shelves look more custom than off the… shelf.

Here's the upper half of the combined "Omar" shelving units, which Em calls Metro shelves. We cut the top units so they stop a few inches short of the ceiling.

And here's a closer view of the inside corner. Note that the post for the narrower shelf has been omitted.

And here's how we omitted the inner corner post, zip ties!