IKEA is experimenting with creating an in-store paper shop and has launched a few select locations in Europe to test the idea.

If successful, the idea could come to America in the upcoming year.  Perhaps the popularity of #DIY projects has spurred IKEA to supply a new wave of customers with more crafting opportunities in house.  Blogstress Decor8 previewed some of the products and discussed how quickly the trend seems to be sweeping from country to country in Europe.

Mobilia-Artica ltd. put together a range of paper products to include giftbags, giftwrap, paper clips, boxes, notebooks, cards, etc. and they designed the section of the store where these products would be on display with a focus on bright patterns and colors placing the department in the market hall section on the lower level. So far in Britain and Sweden it has gained attention and...

This incredible, modular bookcase from Mr. Less and Mrs. More was posted on Design Milk this week and we were blown away by its simple elegance.

Designed by Antonella Di Luca, this customizable unit allows creation of a design that perfectly fits yours needs and space.  Presented at Milan Design Week, the product is called Citybook and is made up of individual pentagons of sheet metal.

According to Design Milk:

Inspired by a previous popular product, Housebook, they took that house form and created a modular unit that can be configured just about any way you’d like, creating tons of bookcase variations that are an attractive alternative to the traditional square and rectangle shapes.

Frequently, items in this price range (the largest Citybook set, pictured at top, clears 3,000 euros) do not offer true customization options.  After all, who wants to...

A few months ago, we blogged a sneak peek at what might happen if IKEA's SVEIO dresser were to bump fists with PANYL.  Now, we're proud to announce that you can find out for yourself.

That's right.  PANYL for Sveio is here in dozens of colors, specialty finishes and woodgrains.

The lovely blog Better After caught wind of the new product and waxed ecstatic about the possibilities it offers:

You probably know that I've been going steady with IKEA for a long time. I've had nothing but happy experiences with their furniture and I think it's exceptionally good quality for the price you pay.  Only bummer is, they don't offer much variation.  For example, this here is the SVEIO dresser, and it comes in one color: white.

Bo-ring.

But with PANYL, your options are practically limitless.

They have so many fun colors...

Colleen Sullivan was looking to make a cute table for her son Owen when she spotted this gem on Strawberry Swing.  Changing the color scheme and going full LÄTT were Sullivan's way of personalizing the project. The final result is this wonderful and affordable IKEA Hack. 

Naturally, we would have loved for Colleen to have discovered PANYL to accomplish something similar using our LÄTT line, but we absolutely adore this look.  Country-Modern baby alert!

Colleen reveals the paint selection specifics in her project post.

IKEA hacking doesn't always have to involve furniture, ya know? This awesome, panning time-lapse camera powered by an IKEA egg timer (!!!) via Hack A Day is a wake up call for the strictly furniture-focused hackers out there.

Photographer Sebastian Schuster needed a panning rig for his GoPro camera.  Surprisingly, he picked up a trusty egg timer and added technology du jour -- the 3D printer -- to create the camera’s mount.

The result is a simple yet highly effective mechanism that costs much less than the industry standard for such a device.  As for quality?  The video below was made using the hacked timer.  Looks egg shell smooth to us...

Usually, an IKEA hack starts with looking at what you already have, thinking about what you really want, and taking a leap.  Such is the case with this Reclaimed Leberg Etagère which made its way to IKEA Hackers from the blog HOME:made Aesthetic.  Finding some beautiful, reclaimed wood and adding to that a pair of IKEA Leberg shelving units, creator Rachel was able to replicate a potentially costly wood and metal shelving unit.

Locating the proper materials was key.  The workflow from there on seemed straight ahead:

The hack is pretty self-explanatory. I picked up 4 planks of wood, 2×6, each 6′ in length, from my local salvage goods store, Urban Miners. (These replaced the wire shelves that the units come with; you could certainly use any size pieces you like.) I also picked up 32 2″ wood screws and 32...

This kitchen island IKEA Hack spotted on the DIY blog Golden Boys and Me is a great example of creative cost-saving without design sacrifice. It also provides a rare nation-building effect.

Using IKEA Billy bookcases, an IKEA butcher's block and some moulding, project opened up creator Courtney's kitchen for a more inviting cooking and eating area. Taking down the dividing wall between the family room and the kitchen meant an inexpensive IKEA hack could become the centerpiece of her entire house.

Adding electrical outlets and accessories, the kitchen island was customized to fit the family's needs:

The living room side has a couple of stools and beadboard to finish it off.  It seems one of my boys is always perched on these stools doing homework or surfing the internet while chatting with me in the kitchen.  We covered the support column with...

image via The Denver Post 

In the past, we've blogged about major news outlets covering IKEA hacking because it is exciting to see our collective labor of DIY love gaining traction in the mainstream media.  Saturday, The Denver Post Home section became the latest in a line of papers to put pen to pad regarding the hacker movement:

It was a simple problem: The basement studio in Nikki Kelly's south Denver home needed a stylish cabinet to replace a cardboard shelving system. Rather desperately.

The studio is home base for her crafting adventures — and for ideas that become the room-by-room, sweat-equity remodeling projects she and boyfriend Matt Jones are doing at their house. Their trials, tribulations and before-and-after photos are all chronicled on her blog, The Ambitious Procrastinator (theambitiousprocrastinator.com). They're doing it...