Behind the Scenes - 302designs

Hacking isn’t exactly a term that most people know or bring to mind when discussing furniture and home decoration. And “uniqueness” isn’t exactly a term applied to Ikea. For those who can’t stand the Swedish home store, Ikea epitomizes all that is sterile and homogenized. Remember that scene from Fight Club?

However, Ikea hacking gives a whole new meaning to ‘flat pack’. The standardized simplicity that defines Ikea’s designs is actually what makes them great to hack - described as one contributor on ikeahacker as “tinker toys for adults”.

Ikea hacks are not only used for DIY alterations but also in more creative forms. I came across Stephanie Levy’s work when she sent in a link to ikeahacker. Levy is an American artists and illustrator who lives in Germany. Her collages are composed interior settings, what she calls “fictional interiors”. The above Leitbox Installation is an example of her work incorporated into an Ikea hack. Her work is nostalgic and reminds me of living in Paris and spending endless hours painting with Chinese ink. It was an interesting find through a DIY site.