Ikea Hack Built-In - Part Two

THE DETAILS

We have covered THE PLANNING in Part One. As with every project, the success lies in the planning, from drawing up sketches to help visualise the end goal, measuring up to ensure everything will fit or can be cut to size and selecting the right paint colours and decorative mouldings or details to complete the project. Apart from anything else, you will want to add up the costs of all of the materials, tools (rental or purchasing) and even consider the time you think that it might take to complete, which is always more time than you think!

Every detail is important, so here’s the list of all the products that I used for this Ikea hack, which I tried to make as simple as possible to save time and avoid anything too tricky!

The Drawers

Ikea Malm - 6 Drawer TAP HERE for link

£149

160cm x 78cm x 43cm

We decided that we didn’t want the traditional cupboard for our built-in as we’ve always found cupboards actually make it more difficult to reach the items that you need. Drawers on the other hand, make accessing your items easier and make organising your items easier. Obviously it will depend on what sort of items you’re planning on storing. Larger items will probably need cupboards but smaller items can be organised in drawers. As I work in interior design, I have a lot of samples to tidy away, as well as craft items and props for my content creation and my toddler has a few toy drawers too… so these drawers work well for the needs of our family. These drawers are not suitable for anything too heavy, however, so we avoid any crockery or serveware… that’s more suitable for the shelves!

The most asked question about the drawers (other than, where they're from) is "why not get the white drawers?"

In short, if you're priming and painting, then it doesn't matter!

Tip: "Ikea prices can differ by colour, and if you're priming and painting anyway, then it doesn't matter what colour you buy - so make it the cheapest!"

The Shelves

Ikea Lack Shelves TAP HERE for the link

£13-£17

Prices differ by colour!

The shelves come in 2 different lengths.

Small: 30cm x 26cm

Large: 110cm x 26cm

I decided on floating shelves for ease but also security. The way that you secure them to the wall, means that each shelf supports itself and doesn't rely on anything else for support. So then we boxed them in to fill the gaps between the wall and the edge of the unit. The trim is secured to the wall and ceiling separately.

Tongue and Groove

You can get tongue and groove panelling in individual panels, or large MDF sheets with the detailing added. Depending on your project, and the size of the panels, you might have to go for individual panels rather than the large MDF sheets. Large sheets are often wide but not very tall because most people use them for panelling the lower section of a wall, for instance in a downstairs toilet, which is probably where you’ve seen tongue and groove panelling the most. But luckily, I managed to find some large sheets so I will link them here for you.

When I was designing the built-in, I was concerned that a big block of furniture and painted wood would just end up looking a bit flat. So I wanted to add a bit of interest. At first I considered wallpaper, which is a good option, but I decided against it because I thought it might be a bit too busy and a bit too overbearing especially when combined with such a large built-in. So I opted for tongue and groove panelling, which you can buy in large sheets so I didn’t have to worry about getting individual panels. I added a bit of interest and created some deaths and texture to the built-in.

Primer

Zinsser BIN

If you watch any DIY video on any social media platform, you will see the comments sections flooded with unsolicited advice that this is the best primer - AND IT IS!!!

This is the only time when the 'you did it wrong' crew actually have it right.

Paint Colours

The Walls: White 03 Lick Matt Emulsion

Unit: Green 12 Lick Eggshell

Before you start any project, make sure that you're using the correct type of paint.

For furniture, eggshell works well and for walls, matt is a great option.

Some brands like Farrow and Ball offer a wider range of paints as well as colours, so make sure that you look into them before purchase.

This was the biggest DIY project that we have ever completed and it is definitely not a job for 1 person - even the ikea malm instructions say that you need 3 people just to assemble the flat pack furniture!

Between the 2 of us, we were able to complete the project with a few mishaps, which I will write up in another blog post soon. Don't worry, there weren't too many problems!

As much as this was a very difficult job, and we are unlikely to attempt something like this again, we absolutely love the end product and we're so proud of ourselves for 1, designing something so beautiful, and 2, for actually creating it.