A couple weeks ago I showed you all the pretty pictures of how our mudroom went from drab to this:
Fab. It went to fab.
Anyway, I also told you I’d give you all the details on how this space came together. See the reveal and shopping sources here. It was 5 pieces from IKEA and some plywood we had on hand for extra fanciness. **The materials for the mudroom were provided by IKEA Frisco. I’m so thankful to have been able to work with them. Thank you for supporting brands that support House Homemade.
Let me break things down for you. I talked about how when I did the playroom I measured the space and shopped on Ikea’s website to see what would fit. Well, I did the same here. I knew the general layout of what I wanted but needed to find the pieces that would best go with that vision and the dimensions of our space.
For this project I used:
1 besta TV unit
2 billy bookcases
2 billy height extension kits
To make the besta unit seating height I got it in this size: 70 7/8×15 3/4×15 ”
This is where I messed up a bit. This is the one I needed:
but this is the one I added into my plans and picked up from the store:
See how much taller it is? Anyway….pay attention. That’s all I’m saying.
After IKEA graciously let me switch out the taller unit for the shorter one, I set to work. I put the Besta unit in first. Let me tell you, it was a close call. I measured before I picked it but with an old house and uneven walls, I basically had to disassemble it and rebuild it in the room. Thank you, my sweet friend Jen, for helping me shove it into place.
Mounting them made them feel very sturdy. The shelf extension works in the same way. There are pegs that adjoin it to the mother shelf* and then mounting brackets for the wall. I just painted them the dark green so that they would blend in. *that’s totally a term.
You can see where there is a gap and where the unit has a notch for feeding cords through.
The 1×4 covered most all of it. The little gap that was left was easily filled with caulk.
After that, I installed the shiplap panels that Joel cut out of scrap plywood. The first board was able to sit on the 1×4.
I did one at a time and used a couple of quarters for the spacing.
I totally could have used a nail gun for this project but I’m not very comfortable with them…Ever since I almost shot a friend in the head with a finishing nail in my college shop class. It hit her, just luckily not straight on…. Love you Heather.
ANYWAY.
You certainly wouldn’t have to do ship lap with this project, it was just an added detail that I wanted. Adding the shiplap was another way to secure the bookcases even more.
The top piece of ship lap got a shelf added to it before it went onto the wall. You can find that easy tutorial here. Picture ledges are a great, modern way to move art around all the time with out added holes in the wall.
You can also see in the picture above that I used some trim pieces to finish out the edging. I actually took that down and just relied on caulk to cover up the uneven edges. It’s a magical tool, people.
I did, however, use the trim on the outside edges of the billy bookcases.
After it was all installed I went over all of the wood with Exta White from sherwin williams. It matches the IKEA white, well.
When the paint was dry I did some math and hung the hooks making one in the center and then evenly spacing them toward the outside.
The hooks are also IKEA, here. I love their shape.
So that’s what I did. The install was done in a day, by myself. Besides the shoving of the Besta into position.
I am so proud of what I accomplished!
For real, I mean this: You can do it! Find a place in your house that doesn’t work for you or your family and change it! Make a plan. Gather some inspiration and then get it done.
Scroll below to shop the room:
Let me know if you have any questions. I’d love to help you along.
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Thanks for reading, friends!
Can an adult sit on the bench?
Yes! The sides are sitting on the baseboards and the bottom is supported by some ripped 2×4’s. We’ve loved having it
I love it! Im gonna try do the same. Where are the storage boxes in the besta from?
that's great!! all the sources are listed on the reveal post but those are just from target. They have silver rings as the pulls but I turned them around and hot glued pieces of a leather belt for the handle.
Where did you get the storage boxes that are in the Billy bookcase?
is the extension unit necessary? i dont understand where it is used
It's the top square on each side of the closet. There are different bookcase heights and we didn't have room for the 5 section bookcases so I bought the 3 section ones and added the extra. : )
The Besta bench says it can only support 110 lbs. on top. Do you have people sit on the bench? Have you noticed any issues with that?
Our girls sit on the bench, I think I have too. It's sitting on blocks so it's not floating or anything. We've had no problems. I know they have to rate things but it feels super sturdy and strong. : )
I just made this for our laundry room and it is incredible!!! Didn't know what your Instagram tag was so just wanted to say thank you for posting this!! It is the most efficient and stylish piece in our home yet!!
THats GREAT!! Please tag me! Its @househomemade. Or email a pic. I'd LOVE to see it!
What brand of caulk did you use on your ikea mudroom hack?
Would love to recreate this in my new house! Although I’m not sure the Besta TV Unit is available anymore since I clicked on the link and it took me to a main page…? What would you suggest? Tia!
That’s great! I found it. Maybe just type in BESTA. I’ll have to fix the link
Hi!! Which sheen did you buy the SW Extra White in? Was thinking eggshell to match the ikea white. We are building this Friday!
Question:
is the Besta Cabinet bearing the all the weight of the Billy bookcases? I know the Besta says that it holds 110lbs.
I’m looking into a potential installation inspired by this for a neighbor/client with maybe the wider Billy Bookcases and potentially the doors on them…
Curious about the weight bearing.
I love this. I need more hanging space. Would it look odd to put the Billy Bookcases on either side since they are not as deep? I would want to add more on top too. Trying to think out of the box, pun intended. You did an amazing job!
Hi!! Love this ! Trying to recreate it! Did you stain your wooden crates? What stain did you use? Just love the way it all turned out. Where did you find the little wooden bowl also?
Thanks! I used minwax provincial and the bowl was thrifted : )
No way to attach the extension to the Billy bookcase. I had this Verified with Ikea. There are no holes to attach. You have to buy the 79.5 inch tall Billy bookcase. That is the only one that is compatible. I am not sure how you attached it, but it is not possible. Disappointing for sure. Now my unit seems very unstable. Wish I would have known this before I purchased all of this.
oh man! I attached them to the wall with an l bracket from the top. let me know if I can send a pic to show you