Hacking Home Décor and Architecture

Repurposing, Modifying and Customizing

I’ve been interested in Product Hacking for some time. The term hacking originated with the illegal activity of hacking into computers, but has evolved into the act of repurposing, modifying and customizing products to improve their functionality.

There appears to be a whole subculture of IKEA hackers – taking inexpensive furniture and home décor and then modifying items, sometimes gently, to add plugs and cords to use a table for a recharging station for example, or sometimes dramatically, as in re-sawing lumber and putting something together that is totally new.

Whole web sites are devoted to product hacking, including electronics, toys, and other products, with LOTS of DIYs. So cool to share these ideas.

The other part of hacking that interests me, and seems pertinent to this blog, is hacking found objects, sometimes discarded objects like metal shipping crates, and repurposing them as homes or apartments, like the picture above. Seems like a great recycling story for the health of the planet.

Another cool thing about hacking is it allows us all to design and create new things! Most of us don’t have a sawmill to process lumber or a kiln to melt glass, but most of us can use simple tools and our ingenuity to create from resources at hand and become designers!

Makeovers, either by recovering with upholstery fabric or paint, could be considered another category of Décor Hacking.

I hope the pictures that follow are food for thought and inspiration! With a changing planet, we're looking at the future here! Scrounge baby scrounge.

Shine on! Braxton

You can see the Hacking here - IKEA made crazy

Fun mis-matched chair sofa



Another obvious hack - IKEA again




IKEA table with new wooden top covered with cool colored tiles




Concept for a shipping container repurposing



Circuit board hack - looks comfy :)

Great shipping container project



Illuminated DIY using frames



IKEA litter box hack. Hole cut in the side for cat, sanded smooth and repainted. Nice!

Hack is part of the style statement here

Painting as hack - Mod baby!



Smiley face hack - sometimes hacks like this solve a problem and provide inspiration for new product ideas...Hmmm



A stunning shipping container building hack



IKEA wall unit modified into a curve



Shipping container repurposing 

Create a highchair



Cool use of books at library



Simple repurposing

Hacking to solve a storage problem

Humorous hack converting suitcase to a bench