I ordered a new HDTV recently (see HD 2.0) and since its so sleek and shiny I didn’t just want to sit it on a stand.
I always loved the look of wall mounted TV’s, maybe it was time go there. The wiring however, especially after new insulation, might have presented a few challenges though. Christy also was nervous about drilling any big holes in the wall that might be necessary for a wall-mount to work. There must be another way.
In our many trips to IKEA we often took note of their cool media cabinet configurations. We then thought that maybe the best solution is to get a new cabinet system with wall paneling – then just mount the new television to that. That’d be a lot easier than drilling holes, routing electrical wires, and attaching a recessed box for a wall-mount, right?
FALSE.
Actually, this project was probably one of the biggest things we’ve underestimated. We should have been tipped off when a random IKEA customer commented on our car-loads full of IKEA boxes with, “It took me two weeks to assemble some of their closets. Good luck!”
A prophet he was, as what we thought would be a weekend project turned into about 3-4 weeks of daily tweaks and finagling.
We should have first realized this when just figuring out what to buy (what would fit in the room) required a Google Sketchup of the place. *OK, maybe it didn’t require a Google Sketchup but it sure did help visualize our thoughts.
Yes, because I’m a huge nerd and found the IKEA Besta Configurator to be lacking, I made sketches of each cabinet and configuration IKEA sold to see what arrangement would look best. It was a fun learning experience and in the end this is what we settled on…
Download my IKEA Besta Configurator Sketchup file to see what items will fit in your space.
With all the executive decisions made, we then printed out a sheet of what we needed, and loaded up two cars to IKEA.
That whole process took about 3 hours (and we knew what we wanted already!). But we did finally make it home, and get everything unloaded…
We took a little break, got dinner, and then decided we’d start with building a couple cabinets…
That part went through pretty painlessly. So much so, I think one of us commented that maybe we’d finish it up by the weekend (OMG!)
We then started putting the wall panels together, and mounting them to the cabinets…
About that time, I realized we’d need a template for the TV (It’s not here yet, remember). So I downloaded a spec sheet online and made a cardboard template (using the old IKEA boxes) complete with precise measurements for mounting holes, etc…
This project was really coming together. So we started putting some things in place and seeing how they were going to work together.
That’s when the trouble started – as we soon realized this whole media cabinet solution from IKEA was not designed with electrical wiring in mind…at all!
There were no pre-drilled holes in the the wall panels, the aluminum framing, or even the backs of the cabinets for routing cables.
Apparently, nobody at IKEA asked the question, “How is someone going to get wires from the front of a wall panel to the inside of the cabinet”
We had to ask those questions and the answer was “Fire up the drill.”
Make holes in cabinets for routing cables between components….DONE. (Top hole for power, and bottom hole for signals BTW.)
We also had to move the speaker wire box down because the cabinet pushed against the wall and would hit the box where we had originally installed it. The wires were moved down and the top hole was covered by a plate. Oh yeah…DONE.
Make holes in shelves for extra cabling to tuck in when cabinets are flush against wall…DONE.
Make holes in metal framing with a just-wide-enough hole saw bit…DONE.
and DONE.
Now onto the next issue…making a drawer out of a door. Those zany big wigs who make the decisions at IKEA decided that people would only want little drawers, not tall ones the same size of the cabinet.
So to get the look we desired, a wee bit of hacking was involved. How’d we do it? We bought a small drawer door (to return later) and used it as a template on a full size door.
We drilled holes in the same spots and to the same depths. The depth was determined by using a clever masking tape indicator – we inserted the appropriate drill bit into our drill, then saw how deep it would go in the pre-drilled small drawer door. We then put masking tape on the drillbit at the point where it touched down on the door. Now all we would have to do is drill that same depth in the larger door – stopping was the masking tape touched the door again.
After the holes were drilled to match that of the small drawer we tried matching it up to the sliding drawer mechanism. Voila! It worked!
With the bottom part of the cabinet mostly in place, we then started mounting the top cabinets on the cabinet rails and flush against the wall. This was a little tricky to measure just right, but I had Christy eyeing the level while I hung the cabinets to make things easier. It would have been easier if our house wasn’t 30+ years old and slightly uneven everywhere. We measured enough room to have a 1/2″ gap between the bottom of the cabinets and the top of the wall panels, which turned out to be barely enough.
It turned out that the last one didn’t line up, so we had to take them all down, bang everything into place, take them down, and ended up giving up for a while. It was always the last one, no matter which one, that wouldn’t align. Talk about frustrating.
We also got some spotlights to attach underneath the top row of cabinets, for added drama. Once we started to route and wire the lights we came across another issue – the included wire wasn’t long enough to span across the cabinets. To get by this one we went to Radio Shack and bought another roll of electrical wire of the same gauge. We spliced that new wire to the original cabling. We made sure we did this in a spot that would be tucked away behind the wall panels, so our handy-work was out of sight.
Next task, mounting the speakers. This was relatively easy as I had a template for my speaker mounts. I just measured them equal distance from the display template and drilled through the wall panels. We made sure to fasten anchors on the other side of the panels for extra support since the speakers are quite heavy at 10lbs each.
We took a step back, and for the first time got the sense that this whole project was really going to work. Eva the cat, however, was not impressed…
The only thing left now, is to mount that baby to the wall for extra support.
There was about a 1″ gap from the back of the panel to the wall because of the baseboard trim running along the floor. To address that we got some plywood of that same thickness and sawed it into blocks. We then held those blocks against the wall and drilled the whole wall panel first through those plywood blocks and then through the wall. Make sure you get screws long enough to do this. Secured.
With the cabinet and panels now mounted to the wall and all wires in place we now just needed to re-hang the top cabinets and put on the doors. Our attention-starved cat thought otherwise, and we called it a night.
While I was out golfing the next day, Christy (to my surprise) put the finishing touches (and by touches I mean hung the cabinets, attached the lights, affixed the top doors, etc.) on everything and the Besta cabinet project was officially complete.
It really looked cool walking in from the garage…
What a relief. Our 3-4 week labor of love, finally complete, and everything looked fantastic.
If you’re looking to do something similar, click here for our shopping list. Good luck, stay the course, and you’ll get there (eventually).
The hard part definitely isn’t assembling each individual piece, but doing all the little tweaks and hacks to get the cabinet to be functional and look super-clean.
Now, when is that new TV shipping out?
great hack. it looks fantastic. also no project is complete without gratuitous shots of one’s cat. love the cat. want more of her shots too
meera
Hi There!
I looks fantastic!
I also love these KEF Speakers
But, what kind of Panels are in the Backround? These aluminum Squares with the white Plates inside?
It is one of the best Ikea “Hacks” i have ever seen!
Greetings from Germany!
PS: the rearspeaker construction is also very good, but in germany we don´t have wood´n ceilings.
Brilliant – my girlfriend and I spent the weekend at the Amsterdam Ikea fighting, mostly about what would fit and what won’t — I just happened to download Sketchup to design the rooms, so this comes at a brilliant time (also a good example when two adults work *together* on a project…)
Any chance you can make the Google Sketchup elements available?
Thanks for the comments. I made a link available to my Sketchup file above so you can try yourself and see which items fit in your space.
Good Luck!
That’s a nice hack !
I have a question about the full size drawers : as they have no stop, do they bend forward when you open them ?
I’d like to do the same hack for my bedside table, I thought I would take this drawer : http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90181223 because it has a stop but it’s a small one and I don’t know if it’ll be tall enough to fix the door…
Thanks !
(Hope my message is clear :X)
The drawers don’t bend forward. They feel secure, and open and close as you’d want.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to fit that drawer into, but I’d get the largest drawer that IKEA sells to fit in the opening you have. The more wood you can secure the drawer unit to the door to, the better.
I used this fully extending drawer which has a stop as well…http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20117565
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Thanks for the Framsta vertical hole idea! If Ikea would have made the vertical supports a bit smaller diameter too and provided holes it would be a great system. Your lucky your wife didn’t opt for the glass top on the base cabinets.
Yeah, I really wish they thought things out more when designing the pieces. Funny you mention the glass tops because we actually did opt for that idea, but then realized with the Framsta panels attached to the cabinets it wouldn’t sit flush.
We called a glass company to cut it down to size but they said since the glass was tempered it couldn’t be cut. So we ended up returning them. They really should sell narrower pieces to fit with the Framsta panels attached too.
regarding the glass tops. You can use the 2 pack of glass that comes with the panels as a topper they are 12″ wide as opposed to the 15″ wide ones!
Amazing! We are about to start wall to wall boockshelves, about 10 ft wide by 8 ft tall. Tried with Pax, but shelves sagged badly. Will now use Hemnes (all wood)or Besta (particleboard, but only 22 inch span). The salesman at the store assures us that the Besta particleboard is made from stronger hardwood chips that result in a much stronger shelf then Pax or Billy. Thoughts? Thanks/Cesar
Sounds like a great idea. Not sure about strength of particleboard though compared to Pax. I’d take a few large books into IKEA (or something heavy), & put them on each shelf and see before buying.
For the bottom cabinets, did you use the ~10″ high x ~19″ deep cabinets, or the ~15″ high x ~16″ deep cabinets? I’m just curious because your sketchup shows the bottom cabinets being the lower and deeper cabinets, but your shopping list looks like it all uses the same size (15″hx16″d) cabinets. It’s hard to tell by the pictures. Thanks for all the details and congrats on a really nice setup!
Good eye. I used the ~15″ x 16″ deep cabinets. I did initially plan on the shorter 10″ cabinets (as shown in the Sketchup), but then realized one of my components would be too tall for it. Thanks and hope this helps.
Definitely helps.. I’m at the point now playing with sketchup and designing things.. and just noticed this small discrepancy. Thanks for sharing all your plans/details, it certainly helps other folks out (it’s a big help to myself). The “problem” with these ikea pieces seems to be ventilation (I guess it’s a problem with any built ins), and it’s a toss up of how to deal with it.. Either leaving components out in the open, or perhaps installing ventilation somehow (the cabinet needing ventilation would need to be open on the side). Thanks again for your details. Nice work!
Yeah, true story on the ventilation. For most my components I’m fine with the holes I drilled out back. There’s some gap between the whole system and the wall so air can escape out the side.
For my PS3 though, it’s an issue and if I’m using for over 30 minutes I usually just leave the door that houses it slightly ajar. This is after installing a couple USB fans to help out with ventilation as well.
Wow! GREAT explanations and photos to go along. I’m looking forward to my next home design project thanks to you! side note: cats LOVE to help/comment on home projects don’t they? Mine are very opinionated as to where my drill bits belong (under furniture).
Great great job!!!
I have deep audio components. I have a 16″ deep Integra Pre Amp and Amp. With the cables and such, I probably need at least 18″.
Do your audio components all fit in those modules? Do you have deep audio components?
I noticed that the cabinets for bedroom stuff seems deeper?
I was also thinking about getting the Framsta panels but was going to get the white glass ones and illuminate them with colored led lighting. Is the white panel glass or wood in your setup. I wonder how hard it would be to have someone cut holes in glass panes?
Thanks in advance for any advice
Thanks Frederick.
I have a 15″ deep Denon Receiver and it just fits with the speaker wires coming out the back. I think it’d be hard to get another 1″ in there, but if you aren’t mounting it to wall then you should be fine.
They do have some deeper cabinets (I think 19″) but they are a little shorter, so not sure if that works for your application or not.
I thought about white glass too, but went with white panel because I wanted to mount the speakers to them. If you are just mounting a TV, they sell a white glass panel with a cut-out for wires that will work. I don’t think you’ll be able to cut the glass yourself because it is likely tempered.
I wanted to do the same door to drawer conversion, but when I went to drill the appropriate holes in the drawer I realized there is a big hole for the hinge where I need to drill the hole for the drawer fitting…..am I missing something? I don’t see the same hinge hole in your drawing so I’m wondering whether I bought the right door?
Ah, I think you have the right door. We had the hinge hole too, but it only affected one of the four screws. We found the three screws on the door to be enough to hold it secure to the sliding drawer mechanism, and haven’t had any issues.
Ahhhh…..got it. I did the three hole mount that you suggested and it seems to be working. Though I’m a bit nervous of it breaking if someone yards on it. I might use a little glue just to help reinforce the bond between the door front and drawer unit. Thanks for your suggestions and you’re site!
about leaving it that wy though. I think I will put some double sided tape that someone might yard on the drawer front and
how much weight in your opinion do the upper cabinets hold? I’m thinking of putting my components in the uppers and running the wires down.
According to IKEA site it looks like they hold up to 66 lbs.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60134049/
They seem pretty sturdy if mounted to the wall (through studs) using the Besta rails. I think your idea with components
up top will work out.
Did you grommet the wiring holes in the metal?
I actually did not. Perhaps that’s a little sketchy, but we have thick heavily-sheathed wiring and don’t feel a lot of movement goes on in there. Grommets would have been nice, or at least some putty now that I think about it.
Im planning on building a VERY similar unit in my basement as I feel in love with this design you made. One question/concern, I was at my local ikea dealer and loved the white gloss cabinates, loved the black glass doors (though shocked how expensive they are!), but HATED the flat white wall panels. Does Ikea not make gloss white panels? Are yours flat white? I cant tell from the photos. Do you feel with your lighting setup it still looks good?
I’m actually considering changing the piece to use the gloss black panels instead of the white, based off your own unit, do you feel that would look good?
Thank you again for posting this, your truly did a wonderful job!
Don’t think you can get gloss white panels. Ours are flat white, and I think they look fine, even under the lighting.
I thought about black panels but was worried about the whole unit looking too much like a box on the wall. I chose white because it blended in with the surrounding wall more and made just the cabinets and TV stand out. Depends on your room, wall, style on what you may prefer.
If you wanted you could try painting the flat wall panels with a high-gloss spray can paint. The panels are double sided (one side brown wood, the other flat white). So try it on the brown wood side, and if you don’t love it just turn it over and you got the flat white as backup.
You guys really did a beautiful job. Bravo. In terms of personalizing the patterns, PANYL just launched a product that offers 34 different color patterns for the Framsta flat-panel mount you guys used. Check it out: http://www.panyl.com.
Again, awesome job. Will you come install mine?
Thanks Dan,
I love Panyl. We’ve had a couple posts on them on Apartment Therapy (a design blog I write for).
Really love the site and all the styles you offer. Especially the wood-grain finishes.
Great install. I was thinking of something similar, good to know how much mod-work is required to install the Besta.
What couch is that?
Thanks!
The couch is from Bo Concept. It’s the Quattro Sofa in a Cream Microfiber.
Very useful post! Thanks for taking the time to guide us through your process. I would like to do a mockup of my living room using Sketchup, as I want to test some Besta combinations, but I am quite overwhelmed. I find the program not very user-friendly… Do you know of some good tutorials? Thank you kindly!
Where’s the clock from in the “before” photo?
It’s a floating hands clock. You can pick one up here at Little Clock Shop