Tag: Ikea

Souped up IKEA (or how to hack the Malm, Billy and more)

If you are a frustrated furniture maker like myself, you might want to see what you can make by hacking some IKEA furniture. It’s not the same as getting out the circular saw and cutting your own boards, but it is a good way to combine traditional IKEA pieces with additional material to make something unique for you. Case in point, the raised bed above: made from IKEA without looking like IKEA.

If you need some inspiration, here’s two pieces on the topic: the best IKEA hacks of 2021 and the 10 most hacked IKEA products. Need more inpiration? Check out IKEAhackers.net. Good luck!

 

 

Ikea collaborates with gamers and more

Ikea often collaborates with others to come up with home furnishing a bit outside their usual stuff. For example, this collab in the area of  gaming furniture (seen above). Or this partnering between them and Japanese designer Hiroko Takahashi. They have worked with Marimekko too.

Not a collaboration, but if you into pet furniture and a fan of Ikea, you’ll want to check this out. And speaking of pet furniture, imagine combining a dog bed with a desk — that’s what you’ll find here.

AI: from the era of talking to the era of doing

AI a year ago was mostly talking about AI. AI today is about what to do with the technology.

There are still good things being said about AI. This in depth piece by Navneet Alang here in the Walrus was the best writing on AI that I’ve read in a long time. And this New York Times piece on the new trend of AI slop got me thinking too. But for the most part I’ve stopped reading pieces on what does AI mean, or gossip pieces on OpenAI.

Instead I’ve been focused on what I can do with AI. Most of the links that follow reflect that.

Tutorials/Introductions: for people just getting started with gen AI, I found these links useful: how generative AI works, what is generative AI, how LLMs work, best practices for prompt engineering with openai api,  a beginners guide to tokens, a chatGPT cheat sheet, what are generative adversarial networks gans, demystifying tokens: a beginners guide to understanding AI building block, what are tokens and how to count them, how to build an llm rag pipeline with llama 2 pgvector and llamaindex and finally this: azure search openai demo.

Software/Ollama: Ollama is a great tool for experimenting with LLMs. I recommend it to anyone wanting to do more hands on with AI. Here’s where you can get it. This will help you with how to set up and run a local llm with ollama and llama 2. Also this: how to run llms locally on your laptop using ollama. If you want to run it in Docker, read this. Read this if you want to know where Ollama stores it’s models. Read this if you want to customize a model. If you need to uninstall Ollama manually. you want this.

Software/RAG: I tried to get started with RAG fusion here and was frustrated. Fortunately my manager recommended a much better and easier way to get working with RAG by using this no-code/low-code tool, Flowise. Here’s a guide to getting started with it.

Meanwhile, if you want more pieces on RAG, go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. I know: it’s a lot. But I found those all those useful, and yes, each “here” takes you to a different link.

Software/embedding: if you are interested in the above topics, you may want to learn more about vector databases and embeddings. Here are four good links on that: one  two,  three, four.

Software/models: relatedly, here’s four good links on models (mostly mixtral which I like alot): mixtral, dolphin 25 mixtral 8x7b,  dolphin 2 5 mixtral 8x7b uncensored mistral , Mistral 7B Instruct v0.2 GGUF,plus a comparison of models.

Software/OpenAI: while it is great to use Ollama for your LLM work, you may want to do work with a SaaS like OpenAI. I found that when I was doing that, these links came in handy: how OpenAI’s billing works, info on your OpenAI  api keys, how to get an OpenAI key, what are tokens and how to count them, more on tokens, and learn OpenAI on Azure.

Software/Sagemaker: here’s some useful links on AWS’s Sagemaker, including pieces on what is amazon sagemaker, a tutorial on it, how to get started with this quick Amazon SageMaker Autopilot, some amazon sagemaker examples , a number of pieces on sagemaker notebooks such as creating a sagemaker notebook, a notebooks comparison, something on distributed training notebook examples and finally this could be helpful: how to deploy llama 2 on aws sagemaker.

Software in general: these didn’t fit any specific software category, but I liked them. There’s something on python and GANs, on autogen, on FLAML, on python vector search tutorial gpt4 and finally how to use ai to build your own website!

Prompt Engineering: if you want some guidance on how best to write prompts as you work with gen AI, I recommend this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this.

IT Companies: companies everywhere are investing in AI. Here’s some pieces on what Apple, IBM, Microsoft and…IKEA…are doing:

Apple:  Microsoft copilot app is available for the iphone and ipad.

IBM: Here’s pieces on ibm databand with self learning for anomaly detection;  IBM and AI and the EI; IBM’s Granite LLM; WatsonX on AWS; installing watsonX; watsonx-code-assistant-4z; IBM Announces Availability of Open Source Mistral AI Model on watsonx; IBM’s criteria for adopting gen AI ;probable root cause accelerating incident remediation with causal AI; Watsonx on Azure; Watsonx and litellm; and conversational ai use cases for enterprises 

IKEA:  here’s something on the IKEA ai assistant using chatgpt for home design.

Microsoft:  from vision to value realization –  a closer look at how customers are embracing ai transformation to unlock innovation and deliver business outcomes, plus an OpenAI reference.

Hardware: I tend to think of AI in terms of software, but I found these fun hardware links too. Links such as: how to run chatgpt on raspberry pi; how this maker uses raspberry pi and ai to block noisy neighbors music by hacking nearby bluetooth speakers; raspberry pi smart fridge uses chat gpt4 to keep track of your food. Here’s something on the rabbit r1 ai assistant. Here’s the poem 1 AI poetry clock which is cool.

AI and the arts: AI continues to impact the arts for ways good and bad. For instance, here’s something on how to generate free ai music with suno. Relatedly here’s a piece on gen ai, suno music, the music industry, musicians and copyright. This is agood piece on artists and AI in the Times. Also good:  art that can be easily copied by AI is meaningless, says Ai Weiwei. Over at the Washington Post is something on AI image generation. In the battle with AI, here’s how artists can use glaze and nightshade to stop ai from stealing your art. Regarding fakes, here’s a piece on Taylor Swift and ai generated fake images. Speaking of fake, here’s something on AI and the porn industry. There’s also this  piece on generative ai and copyright violation.

Finally: I was looking into the original Eliza recently and thought these four links on it were good: one, two, three and four. Then there’s these stories: on AI to help seniors with loneliness, the new york times / openai/  microsoft lawsuit, another AI lawsuit involving air canada’s chatbot. stunt AI (bot develop software in 7minutes instead of 4 weeks) and a really good AI hub: chathub.gg.

Whew! That’s a tremendous amount of research I’ve done on AI in the last year. I hope you find some of it useful.

The real cost of a peloton (and other good fitness and health links)

Do you wish you could do gym workouts but you don’t have access to a gym? If that’s you, IKEA is here to help, with their new pastel-colored DAJLIEN collection (shown above). Especially good for people with small spaces.

Maybe you think the secret of working out at home is to go the peloton route. In that case, you own it to yourself to read about the real cost of a peloton.

Do you want to get fit but are feeling stuck? If so, read this: Here Are 5 Ways to Jumpstart Your Life. Mental health experts suggest exercises to knock down the internal roadblocks that are causing burnout and holding you back.

If you think you are too old to get fit, then check this out: can I build enough muscle in my 60s to make it to 100 even though I’ve never weight trained? If you need a workout to get started with, try this 10 minute bodyweight workout.

If you think you have high blood pressure, see your doctor. But also read this: Why High Blood Pressure Matters to Your Health And how to get it under control. Apparently a good way to lower your blood pressure is by doing this:  wall sit isometric exercise.

People who are already pretty fit and are considering running a marathon, read this: Running a fall marathon? Here are 26.2 tips to help you finish.

Finall, this is a funny and artistic way describing how to lose weight.

IKEA is expanding (their product lines)

It seems like IKEA is making forays into things other than furniture these days. For example, here’s a story on their smart home monitoring products. Here’s another piece on the exercise equipment they have.They’re even repurposing their old uniforms into a new lifestyle collection (see photo above). That’s all great to see.

I knew how they were doing things like air purifiers and small speakers. I’m glad they continue to offer new things for the home besides furniture. Kudos to them.

P.S. These aren’t IKEA, but they are cool desks for people that like IKEA products. Worth a look.

 

 

Cool and colorful furniture


The colorful can be found here, IKEA Nytillverkad Collection Delves Into the Archives in Colorful Fashion at the site Design Milk, while the cool can be found here: top ten minimal furniture design at Yanko.

If you want to jazz up your place, then that collection from IKEA will do it. On the other hand, if you yearn from simple pieces like this below, then head over to that link on Yanko.

Two very different sets of home furnishings, but both being well done.

A good collaboration: Ikea and Marimekko

I love this: Ikea and Marimekko have teamed up to create a collection of home goods at affordable prices that are also beautiful. They range in prices from this low cost bag at $2:

To this lovely side table with a tray for $79:

They even have clothing, like this robe for $40:

Amazing. Over at Chatelaine they have their 15 favorite from The Ikea Marimekko Bastua Collection. The three seen here were plucked from their list. Go to Chatelaine for more. Go check it out.

Two good pieces on two good pieces from IKEA

 

Here’s a good piece on how the ubiquitous IKEA Råskog trolley (seen above) has become famous as the TBR (to be read) cart on social media. Move over bedside table: IKEA is bringing on competition.

That trolley is old and good. What’s new and good from IKEA is the  VINDSTYRKA smart sensor (seen below) which monitors air quality inside your home:

It’s interesting that IKEA continue to make forays into home devices that are not necessarily furniture (e.g., home speakers). I for one am here for that.

Transition Toronto (what’s new in Hogtown, December 2022)

It’s a time of Transition in Toronto. Transitions due to municipal and provincial elections. Transitions due to Covid. And transitions in general.

The Premier — who could not somehow find time to attend the Emergency act hearing or even certain sessions of the legislature — has managed to insert himself into city politics once again. (More on that here). I honestly think the guy would prefer to be a strong mayor of Toronto vs premier of Ontario. Anyway, that’s all going to lead to some transition.

Even with new powers the Premier has provided him, it will be a challenge for the current mayor, revenue-wise. He has new home sales dropping to a historic low and home prices overall dropping dramatically. In terms of commercial real estate, we have Toronto  workers still avoiding downtown, which is going to have an impact there. Things are tough. Let’s face it: there’s only so much money that can be raised from utilities.

Perhaps the fact that people are spending more time at home is the reason why people living in Toronto are feeling more socially isolated than ever before. I was feeling that way too, but lately I’ve been going out more and I am starting to feel more connected to the city. Can I recommend you find a friend and check out one or more of the 50 restaurants in Toronto with breathtaking interior design? I’ve been to several: it’s uplifting to go to them. Or maybe do something simpler but still great, like hitting up one of the many great dumplings places we have in the city. If you do the latter, head over to your favorite book store and pick up this fun anthology on dumplings by some fine Canadian writers: “What we talk about when we talk about dumplings”.

Or maybe you just want to get out and move. If you can skate, head down to Union Station, which is getting a free outdoor skating rink and it’s big! Winter is coming: choose to enjoy it.

Getting around the city, you’ll notice more and more people on transit. I have. Sadly, we’ve lost one of my favorite tools for that:  the Rocketman app. We need more good transit tools. Among other reasons, we are going to be getting more transit, such as the new Ontario line. Good to see the TTC continue to improve. Even old stations like Yonge and Bloor are getting upgrades.

Indigo is also getting upgraded with new coffee shops going in where the old Starbucks used to be. I miss the original cafes that Indigo first had: they served wonderful soup, among other things. But I’m glad there will be places for refreshments in the bookstore chain.

Other things getting improved: the park in my area. On one hand, I think improvements are great. On the other, the constant change / upheaval in my area can get to one (i.e., me). But hey, that’s Toronto. Nothing stays the same, not even the old Canadian Tire on Yonge north of Bloor. I mean look at that development.

Improvements are important though. It’s better for someone like IKEA to build new stores in places like a former Sears location, then for things to just be boarded up. It’s not a bad thing Toronto has the means to change and improve.

Still, it’s good to be reminded of the way things were. This piece on what Mirvish Village looked like in Toronto before it was demolished does that. I miss that area. Likewise, this visual history of Kensington is great. Heck, even this look at the soon to be vanishing pay phones is good.

Lots of change is happening in Toronto, and much of it is good. Here’s to the vibrant city I call home. Cheers!

(Images: all links to blogTO. Top: proposed new development on Canadian Tire. Middle: dumpling resto. Bottom: Mirvish Village.)

 

 

 

Things that are making me happy (that could make you happy too): tiny plants

Tiny plants have been making me happy. I was typically bad with plants, but since the start of the pandemic, I’ve been keeping some in my home and mainly they’ve been doing well. So I recommend if you want to be happier, getting some tiny plants might be a good way to do that.

How do they make me happy? First, I like to see them around the place. They are like small art pieces scattered on shelves, desks and tables. It’s also just pleasant having greenery nearby. Second, they give me a reason to take care of something. Just a little of taking care of something makes me happy. Third, the success of them makes me proud and also happy: I no longer feel I have a black (not green) thumb. Fourth, it gives me a reason to go shopping — which I enjoy — and get something small and not spend too much money but still something nice (which is satisfying).

I am fortunate in that I have plenty of shops nearby that sell small plants. Another option is to get cuttings from friends who have plants. Here’s a guide to doing that..

As for pots, I got a half dozen or so from Ikea. They have some for as low as $1.99.

Now that I have you convinced :), here’s a guide to the 25 best plants for the home. I have several of them.

(Image on top is from that article on the 25 best plants. Image below is from IKEA.)

We need a better IKEA, or an IKEA alternative


That’s what I was thinking when I read these two pieces:

IKEA, for a large part, is DIY furniture. But for many reasons, there is a limited range of furniture pieces to choose from. I wish there were better alternatives to them that offered more thoughtful pieces, like the ones found in those Yanko Design articles.

Anyway, it’s likely not going to happen soon. But I think there is a market for it. We just need the right business leaders to build it.

(Image from the first article.)

It’s getting warmer. Here’s the perfect speaker / lamp to help you enjoy music outside

It’s nice to sit outside in the summer and have some music playing while you grill food or enjoy a fire or simply relax. Now thanks to this collaboration, you can: IKEA teams up with Spotify to debut the Vappeby, a $65 wireless lamp/speaker with built-in ‘Spotify Tap’

The nice thing about it is that it is not only portable, but that it looks just as nice inside too:

If having sound outside this summer is on your todo list, check out the piece in Yanko design, then head out to IKEA (or their website) and try and get one soon.

What’s new and what is old in Toronto, May 2022


What’s new in Toronto? Well we are getting a New IKEA downtown. That’s smart of IKEA: I am sure they got a good deal on rent in the Aura (great building, bad retail). Plus lots of condo owners can save themselves a trip to the ‘burbs to get their IKEA fix.

There’s also new subway stations and new U of T architecture soon to admire. There’s this year’s Luminato festival to take in.

There’s new restaurants to take in, such as Bouffe and the latest version of one of my favorite restaurants once, Beast Pizza.

There’s new ways of doing things, whether it’s this fancy new sidewalk that filters water and sustains plants or it’s this new approach to feeding people at the  Anarchist Café. Of course new isn’t always good, as Freshii found out from the outrage they received when they used remote order takers from Nicaragua in their stores.

Somethings aren’t new, but are interesting, like these recent stores on Toronto’s infamous Path system or this piece on how much more seedy Toronto used to be.

And finally some things are very old, like this oak tree older than Canada and the Canadians / Torontonians trying to save it . Given that Toronto has just declared the oak tree as its official tree, that makes much sense.

(Image link to BlogTo piece on U of T architecture.)

 

 

On “Good” IKEA


Sure we all know IKEA furniture, some of it not so great (don’t get me started on my now-in-the-trash Standmon armchair :)). While that armchair gave me grief, many other pieces of theirs have been really good. (No, not you, Billy bookcase. Wait, maybe you have such a bookcase and you like it…in that case it is good). Regardless, if you are unsure about the quality of Ikea furniture, I recommend you read this:  Ikea but like the *good* Ikea.

Speaking of good IKEA…this is a good deal! See:  You Can Rent a Tiny IKEA Apartment for Less Than $1 a Month

P.S. Speaking of good IKEA, I wrote about that elsewhere on this blog. Links here:

(Image above is of another really good thing from IKEA: the Stockholm rug. A classic.)

Four good ideas from IKEA


Nothing radical decor-wise, but here are some good ideas from IKEA. For example, they’ve packaged up some of their products to make improving your home easier: IKEA Launched Decor Kits That Let You Mix Up Your Style Easily

They have these speakers (seen above) that I would quickly get if I didn’t have a Sonos speaker already. It combines the quality of Sonos with the affordability of IKEA: SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker – black – IKEA.

Speaking of affordability, here’s a reminder that IKEA is always stocked with affordable items: Under $10 – Affordable Furniture and Gifts – IKEA

Finally, it is easy to criticize rooms with too much IKEA furniture in it. Such rooms tend to look like a showroom rather than your room. However, for people who have a hard time making good choices about their decor, stealing ideas from IKEA makes a lot of sense. To see what I mean, check this article out: IKEA Catalog 2021 Neutral Calming Rooms | Apartment Therapy

Change your rug, change your room

You might reply, sure Bernie, that’s fine and I agree, but rugs are expensive. I can’t argue that: rugs can be expensive. But there’s also good cheap rugs  and if you don’t believe me, read this: Cheap Thrills: Vintage-Style Rugs Under $100 | Apartment Therapy

Now, that’s an older piece. Some of those rugs may not be there. But it’s worth reading just to get the names of websites that have low cost rugs. Check them out; you’re sure to find one you like.

If you want to change your room, you can change your furniture and you can paint your walls. But that’s can end up being a lot  time and money. A cheap rug could just be the thing to freshen up your room.

P.S. Not all the rugs are colorful, but I like colorful rugs so I chose that image. Also that rug has pink and pink in a rug tends to go with many room colours.

P.S.S. IKEA is also a source of inexpensive rugs. And their black and white Stockholm rugs is famous for a good reason while being low cost.

Ikea, in Architectural Digest, no less


So yesterday I highlighted that fast furniture is low cost and not great. Is it possible to have low cost furniture that is also good and stylish? I think you can, if you stick to the products listed here: The 13 Most Popular IKEA Products | Architectural Digest

If you mix them in with other furniture, or style them well, you can have a well furnished home that looks great and doesn’t cost much.

The problem with carpentry and how it differs from IT

It is near impossible to learn how to do carpentry from either books or the Internet. I know because I’ve tried really hard.

Let’s say you decide you no longer want to buy bookcases from Ikea but you want to make you own. You decide a book case is simply a box and decide you want to learn how to make a box with a few tools and some simple instructions.

If you go search for help with your box, you may very likely come across instructions like this: www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/g1591/how-to-make-a-box/

It makes assumptions that you have lots of tools and you can do hard things like cut joints. After a few hours of searches, you will find most sites are like this: tailored to woodworkers making wood pieces that are hard to do and not anything near modern looking.

IT is different. For any technology out there, you can search for the name of the technology and “tutorial” and find something. You can be up and running using the technology in the time it takes you to give up looking for carpentry skills.

I am not sure why that is. Maybe there is more interest in IT so there are more tutorials on it. You could argue carpentry is harder but I have done both and I disagree.

I especially disagree because there is one site I could that actually does make it easy to make furniture and that is Ana White’s. Because of her I have made a wide range of furniture with basically a hammer, a jigsaw and a drill. The furniture isn’t fancy but it was cheaper and better and as modern looking as Ikea.

I think that is a problem with a lot of woodworking sites. They assume you want to do fine woodworking. Find woodworking is fine, but for people starting out, they likely want to make a simple table, a bookcase or set of shelves, perhaps a storage chest. A good joint may be best, but most Ikea furniture is held together with dowels and screws. If you make a book case with dowels and screws and glue, it will last and hold lots of books.

I wish there were more introductory sites on the internet that help people who wanted to learn how to make furniture and do carpentry, like there is with IT. Right now all I have found is Ana White’s site. I highly recommend it.

What makes a house a home? IKEA has the answer (no, it’s not a new Billy bookcase)

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This is a really good study put out by IKEA: IKEA Feeling Of Home Study – Emotional Needs At Home | Apartment Therapy.

According to the summary piece in Apartment Therapy, what makes a place feel like home are:

  • privacy
  • comfort
  • ownership
  • security
  • belonging

It makes sense. Sadly, those are feelings that people may not have towards the place they live. People struggling to pay rent, or sharing with others, may not feel like they have privacy or ownership or security. People always moving lose that sense of belonging.

It’s a good thing to read, and a good thing to contemplate about your own living space. Here’s hoping you have all those feelings about where you live right now.

 

40,000 home decor links to make your place more attractive

Ok, not quite 40,000, but quite a lot. Some are very practical, some are inspirational, and some may even have you building your own furniture (as I did).

First, here are a bushel of links from the Apartment Therapy web site. They have lots and lots and lots of pages filled with ideas for people who rent apartments that can be used by anyone, renter or owner. Very practical, low cost, smart ideas and approaches to home decor. Good stuff.

Not so how to oriented, but this handful of links might give you some ideas and inspiration to improve your place:

Now that you are inspired, here are some good links I found for buying furniture:

Or if you want to build vs buy furniture, you might want these links:

Finally, if you are not so much into furnishing your place but more into painting it, then consider these few links:

(The lovely entrance at the top of the post is from a link to How to Make a Small Apartment Feel Huge | A Cup of Jo)

A very cool Ikea Billy Bookshelves Hack

Over at themakerista.com is a very cool hack of 3 Billy bookcases that result in something with a built in look. Here’s the work in progress:
And here’s the final product:

You may not try something as challenging, but if you are interested in spiffing up your tired old bookcases, check this out this: The Makerista: Laura’s Living Room: Ikea Billy Bookshelves Hack

MyDomaine will make you appreciate IKEA in a new way

The folks at MyDomaine.com have a number of great articles of how to use IKEA furniture in a chic way. Here are four of them:

Well worth a look if you are on a budget and need to furnish your place. For example, I really like how they used IKEA bookcases to make this: