DIY maniacs are capable of repurposing any object to meet their unusual needs. The ones who make the transformation in a geeky way should be forgiven, though! Especially if they manage to turn a common piece of furniture into an arcade machine.
IKEA detached itself from its competitors by making affordable products with a user-friendly design. However, not many people would have thought of turning one of IKEA’s Malm cabinets into an an arcade machine. It should be noted that the Malm series is one of the most popular lines of this renowned furniture manufacturer, attracting people from all over the world with its simple lines and low cost.
The maker of this IKEA arcade cabinet, known only as franchy36, stated that “This is my version of a cocktail style arcade based of an IKEA Malm chest drawer, everything is build inside the top drawer so the bottom one still usable for storage, I added some legs as well to bring it the controls higher. The control slides out, just like a drawer and when you close the lid and power it off is just a piece of furniture, the only thing that gives it away it’s the power cable in the back.”
franchy36 seems to be a melancholic, as the age of the arcade machines is long gone, most kids nowadays not even knowing what they are, since they are more accustomed to gaming consoles such as PS3 or X-Box 360. He added: “Original table arcade, I wanted to take this concept and make it modern while at the same time preserving the classic elements, metal legs, dark wood frame, smoked glass, controls tucked away on the sides.” An aspect worth mentioning is that when all the doors and the lids are closed, this looks nothing like an arcade machine. Instead, anyone could mistake it for the initial IKEA Malm, the only element capable of giving away the true nature of this cabinet being the power cable.
This IKEA cocktail table arcade project surely won’t resurrect the arcade machine era, but it is nice to see from time to time people that pay tributes to forgotten things.
It would be interesting to see what IKEA has to say about this. I’m not suggesting that they should rethink their furniture lines to include such arcade machines, but knowing their point of view would certainly make franchy36 to feel proud about his project.
If you liked this post, please check this iPad arcade cabinet and the Diablo 3 arcade machine.
