transforming furniture

3 Articles

Bright green shelving units suspended with silver hardware from a black frame. They are against a dark wooden wall.

Sliding Shelves Supersize Storage

August 2, 2024 by 23 Comments

Organizing things in your home or workshop is a constant battle for some of us. Until we have access to a Tardis or bag of holding, maybe the next best thing is a sliding shelf system.

[HAXMAN] found a great set of sliding shelves online, but after recovering from sticker shock decided he could build something similar for much less. The frame for the shelving was built from 4×4 posts, some 2x4s, and strut channel track welded to steel 2x6s. Aluminum plates bolted to strut trolleys support the weight of the shelving units he built from plywood.

Everything was painted with a multi-material paint formulated for covering both wood and metal so everything has a uniform appearance. We love the bright shelving offset by the more classic black appearance of the rack. Just because its storage, doesn’t mean it has to look boring!

Looking for more clever storage solutions? You might like your to make your own shadow boards, favor Gridfinity, or just wonder what other readers do to organize their electronic odds and ends.
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A white stairwell ceiling with a rack holding clothes. The rack follows the slope of the ceiling and is attached to a series of ropes and pulleys to let it got up and down.

Stairway Drying Rack Rises Above The Rest

January 16, 2023 by 14 Comments

Finding space to dry clothes can be challenging in smaller spaces. [Tom Parker] solved this conundrum in his one bedroom apartment by putting a drying rack in his stairwell.

By making the laundry rack fold up above the stairwell, [Parker] can dry his clothes without them taking up a lot of precious floor space. A pole is used to is raise and lower a dowel rod attached to two lines of paracord running over pulleys and to the end of the rack. Each moving corner of the rack also has a set length of cord attached to prevent the rack from rotating too far down as well as providing a safety mechanism should one of the other lines of cord snap.

The rack is bolted-together, laser cut 1.5mm thick mild steel with 15 mm dowels attached to the sides via threaded inserts. Spacing is set for the raised rack to put clothes at 75 mm apart. Plywood pieces interface the rack with the wall to avoid damaging the drywall.

If you’re looking for more laundry hacks, check out this Smart Clothes Dryer or How Robots Suck at Folding Laundry.

A simple wooden chair with mint metallic connectors at the corners sits next to a pile of wooden pieces wrapped in leather and straps to form a backpack.

A Nomadic Chair

December 29, 2022 by 21 Comments

There’s no shortage of different types of folding or portable chairs, but designer [Jorge Penadés] built a backpack chair that will go the long haul.

Furniture that assembles without screws or glue is always intriguing, and this chair fits the bill. Using simple metal connectors and joinery, it can be setup and taken down in about two minutes without the flimsy feeling of a bag chair. With a natural finish on the wood, the connectors give a nice pop of color without feeling overwhelming. There are even some pictures of a couch version if you follow the link.

In backpack mode, the pieces are held together by leather patches and ratchet straps. [Penadés] was focused on portability over comfort with this piece, but we think this connection method could be used in the future for more comfortable furniture that is still portable.

If you’re looking for more interesting furniture, checkout this Tambour Table with a Puzzling Secret or these CNC-able Seats.

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