IKEA HACK- BESTÅ TV UNIT
See my Why Not DIY? post for some insight into my IKEA kick lately. This unit creates a cohesive look with the other furniture pieces I have done in this room and allows for a lot of storage. Not surprisingly, I wanted to jazz it up a bit to make it look more customized. But this was a pretty straightforward and easy project.
Here are the materials I used:
IKEA BESTÅ TV unit, $109.00 (linked here)
IKEA LAPPVIKEN doors, $15.00 each (linked here), plus IKEA BESTA soft closing hinge, $15.00 each (linked here)
IKEA BESTÅ glass top, $25.00 (linked here)
IKEA BESTÅ shelf, $5.00 each (linked here)
IKEA BESTÅ glass shelf, $5.00 each (linked here)
Unfinished wood furniture feet (same ones I used in the Dress Up Clothes Rack), $23.95/4-pack (linked here)
Marble contact paper (the one I used is no longer available) but similar linked here.
White Paint
Here is the process I used:
I painted the feet white to match the TV unit. I used white spray paint because I already had some on hand and it was super easy. Plus, the furniture feet I used would barely show so I did not need to color match the white perfectly.
I drilled holes in the bottom of the TV unit for the eight feet. Unfortunately, the feet I used did not fit in the pre-drilled holes in the unit. Drilling through the IKEA material is not ideal and the new holes ended up damaging the bottom shelf of the TV unit. But by happy accident, I sanded the damaged spots, used a little wood filler, and ended up using some leftover marble contact paper to cover the damaged spots, and it looks great! Not only did it cover my mistake but it added another dimension to the TV unit.
I assembled the TV unit according to the IKEA instructions. Then, I added the glass top to the TV unit and added the shelves- white shelves in the two side cabinets and glass shelves in the middle.
I painted the O’verlays white to match the TV unit.
I laid out the O’verlays on the doors and measured for the door handles. I drilled the holes and attached the handles, accounting for the appropriate amount of space for the O’verlays.
I used Liquid Nails to attach the O’verlays to the BESTÅ doors. The O’verlays website is super helpful and has great instructions and tips. (See the website here)
After that cured, I attached the doors to the unit.
Here are the lessons I learned:
Beware of drilling holes in IKEA furniture. I knew the particle board would be challenging to work with, but as much as I love the furniture feet I have used twice now, I would probably opt for something that fits in the pre-drilled holes to save the trouble.
Contact paper is great to keep on hand, whether patterned or a solid color.
If you are using the BESTÅ unit as a TV stand, the TV unit (as opposed to the regular frame) is worth it to hide the cords and have a cutout in the back of the unit.
