There is a quite famous IKEA hack out there called a learning tower. It consists out of two IKEA items, an ODDVAR stool and a BEKVAM stepstool that you attach to each other.

When this item appeared on a gift list, we had a couple of options. We could buy both and just hand over the boxes, we could give it already assembled, or we could present it like an IKEA product as if we took it off the shelf. Off course, I went for the last option. I even painted some parts, so they would match the already existing furniture in the house it would end up.

The manual

With a mix of Illustrator, InDesign and Sketchup I created a manual completely in the IKEA style. I’ve updated the screws needed and made sure the renderings reflected the actual product.

The box

It was a bit of a puzzle to pack all the items as tight as possible. Luckily, we had some cardboard boxes lying around that were the perfect size. I’ve added some extra cardboard to the sides to make sure the parts wouldn’t move around. Since I almost surgically opened the plastic bags with the screws, I was able to fill them with the correct amount of screws and seal them again with my vacuum sealer from in the kitchen.

The result

It couldn’t be better, since the first reaction I heard was “I didn’t know they sell them like that”

Mission succeeded!