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Home » DIY & Crafts » IKEA Shelf Hacks: Cheap Stylish Storage Solutions Using Ikea Shelves

10/25/2019 · 4 Comments

IKEA Shelf Hacks: Cheap Stylish Storage Solutions Using Ikea Shelves

DIY & Crafts

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Despite living almost 4 hours away from the nearest IKEA, they’re our go-to source when we need to add an affordable storage solution around the house. 

While many of the pieces would be great just the way you buy them, we tend to do at least a little something to customize the shelves in each room. I thought it would be fun to put all 5 of our IKEA Shelf Hacks together in one post to inspire your own stylish storage. 

The shelves I get asked about most often are in my home office. We started with six nickel colored GRANHULT brackets and two 94 1/2″ BERGSHULT shelves. 

The GRANHULT brackets are great when you need a custom width shelf because the end brackets cover up the cut end, so no one can see the non-factory cut. 

For the office, we trimmed the shelves to match the width of the storage drawers to create a more custom look. Then, we used gold spray paint to paint the shelf brackets gold before installing them. After painting, wait at least 24 hours before you install to give the paint enough time to cure. 

I’ve tried MANY different gold spray paints, and this one is my favorite. I like it better than the more expensive Universal formula. 

Bonus Tip: If you like to DIY and don’t have a spray paint handle, they are worth it! It’s easier to get even coverage AND your fingers don’t get sore or covered in paint. 

In the living room, we hung 3 MALERAS picture ledges, but instead of using them for art, we created a bookshelf. They only stick out from the wall a few inches, so it’s an ideal way to add book storage to a room when you’re limited on space. 

In our master bathroom, we desperately needed an over the toilet shelf for storage. I ordered the EKBY VALTER brackets, but IKEA didn’t have shelves in the exact size I wanted, so we used lumber from Lowe’s on top of the brackets. 

You could use paint for a very affordable solution to hack your shelves, but I decided to try applying removable wallpaper to mine. It was a little stickier and trickier than I anticipated, but they turned into cute bathroom shelves! 

3 Shelves on wall in water closet above toilet

Contact paper would be an easier option than wallpaper and I’ll show you an example later in the post with marble contact paper! 

I debated including the next two because we didn’t change the actual IKEA items, but we used them in unexpected ways.

In our kitchen nook, no one can believe our new floor to ceiling storage is from IKEA. I was VERY lucky and realized the SKOGSTA wall shelves would be close to an exact fit between two windows.

Instead of hanging one or two of them at normal shelf height, I ordered six to create a full wall kitchen storage unit!

Wooden shelves in eat-in kitchen nook

We really love that the wood grain is totally different on each shelf, so you’d never guess they came from a mass-market store. 

The garage isn’t the first place you’d expect to find an IKEA shelf hack, but we got creative when we needed budget-friendly garage storage. 

If you’ve never used the KALLAX storage cubes, I highly recommend them. They’re much sturdier than other cube units, and they can be hung on the wall with anchors! 

We combined two KALLAX units with a pegboard in between them to create organized vertical storage in the garage. Here’s an old progress pic of what it looked like with just the IKEA shelves on the wall. 

Using IKEA pieces can help you create your dream garage workbench on a budget. Adding all this storage is a great step toward having an organized garage!

And here’s what it looked like when we used the pegboard to turn them into a cohesive area. The bottom part of the workbench is also made of IKEA pieces! 

Our DIY work bench was put together with IKEA supplies to keep the price low. Using RAST dressers, LINNMON table tops, and KALLAX shelves let us customize the perfect space on a budget. Adding a pegboard creates even more storage without adding much cost.

You’ll think I’d be saying enough is enough with IKEA shelving units throughout the house, but I’ve got my eye on a blank wall in the dining room.  And I wish we had more book storage in the living room! 

For even more shelf inspiration, I added links to some other clever IKEA hacker friends below!

You’ll also find links to all the projects I mentioned above in case you have seen the full room makeover for those spaces before. 

IKEA Shelf Hacks

You can click on any of the images below to visit the full project. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: www.blueistyleblog.com

IKEA Hack: Bookshelf Makeover Without Paint

This Kallax hack is BRILLIANT. Angela updated the doors to match her son's bedroom without paint, so she can remove the orange later when the room design changes!

Photo Credit: www.blueistyleblog.com

{diy with style} How to Make Faux Marble Shelves for $20: An IKEA EKBY Hack

This simple IKEA EKBY hack turns a basic shelf into a marble and gold glam shelf at an affordable price!

Photo Credit: feelingnifty.com

IKEA Kallax Hack: Turn Bookshelf into a Seating Bench with Storage {DIY}

Who says a shelf must always stay a shelf? This KALLAX hack added storage AND seating!

Photo Credit: heyletsmakestuff.com

IKEA Hack Console Table

Cori from Hey Let's Make Stuff used an inexpensive LACK shelf to create a sturdy console table. What a brilliant idea when you don't have space for a regular piece of furniture!

Photo Credit: www.heytherehome.com

IKEA DIY built in hack using IKEA cabinets and shelves

This might be the best use ever of an IKEA LACK shelf. Check out the full tutorial to see the other pieces she used.

Photo Credit: www.heytherehome.com

How to Build Built-In Bookshelves with Bench Seat

Can you believe this impressive build started with IKEA pieces?

Adding Storage Over the Toilet {Water Closet Makeover}

The water closet might have been our smallest room makeover ever, but it has made a big difference to the function of our bathroom for a very small amount of money.

Garage Workbench DIY {How We Ikea Hacked Garage Storage}

Our garage was a total disaster with limited storage before we built the workbench area.

Functional & Fabulous Office - It's DONE!

We did more than just add IKEA shelves in the office! This post covers the whole dramatic makeover.

The Kitchen GOT Botox - Reveal

See what the breakfast nook looked like before in this kitchen update in this post.

Who’s ready to tackle an IKEA shelf hack in their house now?

IKEA Shelf Hacks - White with Gold Brackets & Wood Shelves

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melissa

Melissa George

In 2013, Melissa founded Polished Habitat to share her passion for intersecting style and function to make everyday life more beautiful and less stressful. She does this by sharing easy home organization tips, home decor tutorials, and creative ideas to help readers think outside the box, no matter their budget. Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more. In 2018 & 2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, Polished Habitat was shortlisted for the Amara Blog Awards Best Interior Styling Blog - International. Read more...

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Comments

  1. Sandra Messier says

    10/25/2019 at 12:25 pm

    Your post for your office set me off to IKEA to buy the storage drawers and create a dressing room. It looks fab now! You are such an inspiration ~ I am looking to do the Garage one next.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      10/25/2019 at 12:32 pm

      Oh my goodness, I bet those drawers are fabulous in a dressing room! Email me a photo if you can, I’d love to see what magic you put together!!!

      Reply
  2. Jessica says

    02/07/2020 at 3:06 pm

    Hello,
    I need help with creating/ buying inexpensive cool spice shelves. I cant find anything I like on-line (believe it or not). I will be putting them over my stove which is approx 15 x 30″. I want a shelf 2.5″-3.75″D so it doesn’t get in the way of my cooking. However, I was thinking of one shelf at 4-4.5 Inches for some pretty Vinegar or other larger cooking ingred. 15″ gives me enough space to put up ~3 rows, but I was thinking to stagger them or arrange them in a cool pattern. My spices have been on my counter for months now & I am desperate. Do you have any ideas you could share with me? THank you so much. Kindly, Jessica

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      02/14/2020 at 5:32 pm

      Hi Jessica, have you considered these: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bekvaem-spice-rack-birch-40070185/ They’re 3.75 deep and raw wood so can be left natural or painted to match your kitchen!

      Another option would be looking for a local hobby woodworker and having some shelves made to fit perfectly. I always see people selling wood items on Facebook / Nextdoor as a side job and I bet if you found someone with good reviews and reached out to them you could get a great price since they could probably make the narrow shelves out of scraps from other projects.

      Reply

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Welcome!

In 2013, Melissa started Polished Habitat to share her skill of mixing decor & organization to add style & function to everyday life at home.

Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more.

In 2018 &  2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, she was also short-listed by the Amara Blog Awards for Interior Styling, International Division.

Need to reach Melissa?
Email: Melissa @ PolishedHabitat.com

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