The Double TINGBY, multi-position coffee table - an IKEA hack

by C & C Thomas

I do not only exercice my creativity in beading. I also cook and try lots of new recipes, have birds, fish, and plants. The apartment is not big, so we need creative solutions, which also takes thinking from time to time. Nearly all my furniture comes from IKEA.

Unfortunately, for the coffee table I had needs that they didn't meet. Other manufacturers didn't either. We wanted to be able to use the table for every day stuff, and in the evening, eat something on it without having plenty of things to (re)move: flowers, tablet, decorations, papers, magazines... you name it. We tried one LACK after the other, or together. They were either too big or too small. I wanted an extendable coffee table. And it had to be white. A long, frustrating search.

I also tried to design my own table but I was never happy with  it. This until I saw the new TINGBY (article no. 20295925). 

TINGBY by IKEA

At first sight, TINGBY is not different from other coffee tables. An inert 64x64cm top with storage space below it (there is also a smaller Tingby, 50x50cm). But I immediately knew what I would do with it when I saw it. An extendible/stackable table.

Closed Double Tingby

Open Double Tingby

Differently Open Double Tingby

The only question was: how stable will it be, and what material will I need?
To answer this question, I could count on the best man in the world, my husbest.

Find below how he made my dream coffee table. (en français à la fin de cet article).

You need:

2 TINGBY tables by IKEA (we used the 64x64cm)
1 Pack of FIXA stick-on floor protectors also from IKEA
6x M8 nuts (8mm inside)
3x threaded rods M8 (8mm diameter) each 5cm long
Contact adhesive (strong all purpose glue)
Keys, supplied by IKEA with each table.

Put a drop of glue on one end of each threaded rod. Screw a nut on each threaded rod so that half of the nut is still available. Let it dry. While drying, assemble the first table according to the IKEA instructions.



Open the second table package and take out 3 of the 4 wheels.
Insert a drop of glue in the nut and assemble each wheel, using the two keys to tighten. Let dry.





For the 2nd table, put only 3 feet under the table top. Glue 6 small FIXA protections under the top. This will allow the table to slide softly without damaging the top of the table below.
Screw 1 nut onto each rod at approx. 2.7cm of the end.


Screw the wheels under each foot. Do not tighten the nuts. Flip 2nd table (over the first). All FIXA should be in contact with the table below (the wheels should not touch the ground yet). Adjust their height starting with the first wheel, then the middle one, then the third. Have the wheels touch the ground without lifting the top. Tip: Use your other hand to hold both table tops tight. Once everything is even and straight, tighten the nuts.
 
And that's it! Enjoy your Double TINGBY.  

Careful: even though the tri-pod table can stand alone, it is highly recommended to not use this table if you have young children, unless you add something to prevent the top from sliding off the one below.

I have given this issue some thought. I think that a retractable button at the corner of the table top below (with a spring inside) designed to fit it the hole left by the missing foot in the top of the second table would be an interesting solution, but this means that the table top of the first table has to be opened somehow. I didn't want to risk this because I am happy with my table like this, but if you try making something like this, I'd love to hear from you. Note: like LACK, the table top is primarely a hollow struct.

 

*** Français***

Il vous faut

2 tables TINGBY (ici le format 64x64cm a été utilisé)
6 ecrous M8 (8mm)
3 tiges filtées M8 (8mm) de 5 cm de long
FIXA - protège-sols de chez IKEA
Colle de contact
2 clefs pour serrer les écrous (1 fournie avec chaque table)

Mettez une goutte de colle sur un bout de chaque tige filtée. Vissez un écrou sur chaque tige filtée de façon à avoir la moitié de l'écrou encore disponible. laissez sécher.

Assemblez la première table selon les instructions IKEA.

Ouvrez l'emballage de la deuxième table. Sortez 3 des 4 roues.
Inserez une goutte de colle dans chaque écrou sur tige filtée et assemblez chaque roue, utilisant le deux clefs pour pouvoir bien serrer. laissez sécher.

Pour la 2ème table, ne mettez que 3 pieds sous le plateau supérieur.

Collez les FIXA de petit diamètre pour permettre au plateau de dessus de glisser sur le plateau de dessous.
Vissez un écrou sur chaque tige de façon à env. 2,7cm du bout

Vissez les roues sous chaque pied. Ne serrez pas les écrous.

Renversez la 2ème table sur la première. la deuxième doit appuyer sur la première et les roues ne doivent pas toucher le sol. Ajuster/baissez les roues pour qu'elles touchent le sol sans soulever le plateau en commençant par la première, puis celle du milieu, puis la troisième. Astuce: aidez vous de votre main libre pour serrer les deux plateaux l'un contre l'autre. Une fois que tout est bien droit, serrez les écrous.

Avertissement: non indiqué pour famille avec jeunes enfants, à moins de rajouter un système de sécurité empêchant le plateau de dessus de s'écarter trop de la table de dessous.

J'ai d'ailleurs réfléchi à cette question. Je pense qu'un bouton rétractable au coin du plateau de la première table (avec un ressort à l'intérieur) adapté au trou laissé par le pied manquant dans le plateau de la deuxième table serait une solution intéressante, mais cela signifie que le dessus de la première table doit être perforé d'une manière ou d'une autre. Je ne voulais pas risquer cela parce que je suis contente de ma table telle quelle, mais si vous essayez de faire quelque chose comme ça, j'aimerais beaucoup avoir de vos nouvelles. Note: comme LACK, la structure est essentiellement creuse.

Creative whirlwind

Last year, Mikki Ferrugiaro invited me to contribute to the Bead Mavens blog, it is a post where I share my creative process with you.

Today I would like to talk about the creative whirlwind. Because that is what I'm in. And it feels so good to be in the eye of the storm! It is pure love, enthusiasm, fun. A state of being, not a state of mind. My pinky fingers never lie... 



Can you see it on the two pictures here? They are not recent, but I am in that state.






I had to shake myself to write a blog post to let you know that I'm ok, happily beading away. Yes. Beading and creating myself away. As if I weren't here anymore. And even if my apartment needs a good clean, I just can't resist this storm and won't resist it. Believe me, it is a waste of time to clean up and make a mess immediately after. It can even kill the creation that wants to be expressed through your hands. I'll tidy up when the storm will be over.

And indeed, my studio looks as if a storm has gone through. Because the more creative, the messier I get. There are beads everywhere on my trays. In tubes, boxes, little plastic bags, spilled over the beading mat in the tray... I have 5 trays, plus one very nice lap tray. They're all covered with beads and bits of beadwork. There also is my camera, sheets of paper, pads, boxes and tools everywhere on my desk. It 's hard to find a place for a cup of coffee. Fortunately hubby made a few extra shelves where the trays can be put away easily. For those who are interested in trays like this, these are very inexpensive "SMULA" from IKEA (only US$ 1.99 per piece; €2.99 in France).

Allthough I try to be organized and keep one tray for one project, when all my trays are full of beads, and projects waiting for that spark of enthusiasm, I continue making more projects on one tray. One is not finished but the other wants to come to life immediately.

Do you also feel that urge to create, sometimes?

Those "Oh this. And this. Oh, that too. Oh I should do that with those, oh and what would this look like with that"...

Looking at the picture here, I suddenly feel deeply grateful for this chair, for its comfort, bien sûr, but even more for the armrests. I couldn't do without it...

Thank you for reading me! Love to you all! Have a happy, creative day!

Back to beading now...