My Artful Ikea Expedit Hack

I have many unsightly items stored on my Expedit bookcase, including spiral bound texts, ratty library books and stacks of student papers, waiting to be graded. I love the little door we bought to hide the electronic equipment (bottom left) but those doors are expensive, so I DIY'd my own version.  I used painted canvases hung on hooks to hide my bookshelf clutter and the whole project cost about the price of just one Ikea Expedit door! 

Supplies:

• 4mm Screw Eyes (Lee Valley - $1.90 for 100)
• 1/2" Cup Hooks (Lee Valley - $2.70 for 100)
• 12x12 canvases (Michael's - $29.99 for pack of 7, less with a 40% off coupon!)
• Paint/paint brushes
• Motivation (this is always the hardest to come by, for me)

Before Picking up a Tool:

1. I took everything off the Expedit.  Made a huge mess.  Started to cry.
2. I dusted and gave the Expedit a good, thorough clean. 
3. I put everything back on the Expedit and fiddled with the arrangement, taping up some paper to get a sense of where the paintings should go.

Then I marched down to the basement, also known as the pit of despair, and worked on a few paintings.  Two never made the cut, but the five that did were installed as swinging "doors" on my Expedit.

Install was simple:

1. We measured where the hooks should go, marking the measurement on tape instead of the shelf.
2. We installed the hooks using pliers, then removed the tape.
3. We added two screw eyes to each canvas - carefully measuring the distance each time because the canvases aren't 100% uniform.

The "doors" easily swing or come off to access what is behind, but hide the clutter and general ugliness perfectly.

Finished Product:

I tried to create some balance between covered cubbies, cubbies with books, cubbies with magazine files (like the ones I just painted) and cubbies with objets d'art (and tchotchkes). 

My chevron plans came to fruition!

My painted magazine files look just right