IKEA & Tiny Houses...

IKEA  FRIHETEN sleeper sofa
in my tiny house

In a pique of boredom last Thursday, I posted a random question on DFW Tiny House Enthusiasts: "Does anyone like to go to the IKEA showroom to wander and get ideas?" The comments exploded across Facebook like I'd popped open a can of robustly shaken soda.

Roaming the showroom of IKEA is one of my favorite solo adventures. I go to be inspired, test new ideas, and see practical applications at work. Much of the furniture in my tiny house is from IKEA. Even though I don't need anything else, I still like to peruse the showroom and I was gleeful to find that others shared a similar interests. Though, my eyes popped in shocked that there were people in the #tinyhousetribe who had never been there before.

That's all about to change because the reigning king of IKEA, Cory Hagen of TinyModernHomes.com, will lead the charge and introduce those untutored commoners (and fellow amateur aristocrats) to the wonders of IKEA products. This is, of course, after the Tiny House Jamboree if we all still have legs to charge forth.

But why IKEA? It was clear from the comments section that many of the #tinyhousetribe were enthusiastic with the idea. Every tiny houses I have personally toured has featured IKEA products or IKEA inspired products. The use of IKEA furniture and products in tiny houses is due to several factors:

1. It's versatile.Just because they advertise a product for the kitchen, doesn't mean it can't be used in the bedroom, bathroom or living room. Also, many of the styles are streamlined, so it provides cohesion of design when compiling similar products that perform a variety of different room functions (i.e. bedroom, kitchen, bathroom) in a studio like space.
2. It's relatively affordable, depending on what your budget is. I also find it to be a good quality product for its pricing.
3. It's malleable, a.k.a. you can 'hack' it. IKEA hacks are quite popular because the products are relatively easy to modify and repurpose for your own personal needs, designs and styles. 

My favorite site for IKEA hacks is IKEAHackers.net. There's a lot available on the site and when I first found it, I scrolled through the gallery of ideas. However, if you searching for a specific solution for your tiny house... like hanging clothes without using a closet. I typed in "clothes" for the search and got several results. My favorites were using the EKBY ROBERT bracket and the SKUGGIG curtain rod to create space for hanging clothes. 

EKBY ROBERT bracket
from IKEAHackers.net 

SKUGGIG curtain rod
from IKEAHackers.net

The ideas seem endless and somewhat overwhelming if this is a first time exploration. To ease into the idea of IKEA products and their versatility in small spaces, I suggest the site  About Small Spaces which consistently utilizes IKEA products, ideas and hacks for small space design and storage. Below are a list of their 5 most popular IKEA ideas articles with great accompanying pictures and links to tutorials should you decide to tackle the project.

• 5 Ingenious IKEA Furniture Hacks that Save Major Space
• 23 Ingenious IKEA Billy Bookcase Hacks (see slide 16 for cat jungle gym and slide 18 for a Murphy bed that rocks!)
• 9 Tidy and Stylish Storage Hacks Using IKEA Shoe Cabinets (I like slide 5.)
• IKEA Storage Hacks and Ideas for Small Bedrooms
• 13 Easy IKEA Hacks You Can DIY in a Weekend (or Less)

These are just the top suggestions that come up. For a complete listing of About Small Spaces' IKEA articles, I stole Jet Regan's search method. (All credit goes to her!) Go to the Google search bar and type the below in exactly.

site:smallspaces.about.com "ikea"

Voila!

I'll be curious to see what my fellow Enthusiasts come up with as we follow our reigning king through the IKEA showrooms. For more ideas about IKEA product ideas and hacks, Pinterest and YouTube are two other places worth checking out.