Thursday, March 14, 2013

Ikea Hack Entry Lockers

Ok be honest here, does anybody else have an entryway that looks like this? Ok so this was after I took a few coats down to start my project, but honestly the entryway was driving me nuts and was looking sloppy.
Our house is small as I've noted many times before and we don't have tons of extra space. This is our main door and well as our family has grown, so has the clutter. So in good timing with my goals to get organized for 2013 and the small remodel/makeovers we have been doing around here I was on the hunt for a solution.

Finding a solution that fit our narrow entry was a challenge. Even an extra inch can make or break the deal. I was so happy to find that Ikea has their Billy Bookcases that are only 11 inches deep. PERFECT!
Next challenge. Getting Billy Bookcases from Ikea. The nearest Ikea is over two hours away and they don't ship. Boo! So I began hunting my trusted and dear friend Craigslist. Search, search, search. And BAM! One day there they were! Somebody within a few miles of me was selling nearly an entire house of Ikea furniture! OMG are you kidding me!

My original plan was to do four of the tall and skinny Billy Bookcases in white and make a locker for each of us. As the lady only had two of that size I had to adjust my plans and got the double Billy Case and the two tall skinny bookcases to make my four. I am so happy that it worked out that way too because the double case has doors on the bottom to hide some of the clutter and I just made four locker units out of the tall ones.
You will see that all are the birch wood look too and one white one. I actually really love the look of the wood and white together. Gives it a little bit of character and the wood goes with our flooring nicely. And of course I really love the price. I spent $125 for all the bookcases together. Well below half price had I bought them new from Ikea....SCORE!
Now I did have to buy coat hooks and brackets and screws so that added about $30 more to the total. But $155 for a custom entry locker is ok by me.

I put a double hook on each side of the four cubbie units. Making sure to maximize the hanging space. You can't really hang a hook on the back unless you were to take off the backing and screw into the wall as it is just cheap fiberboard. We also mounted them to the wall and bolted them all together as to make sure all is secure and safe.
Well, a major improvement don't you think? I am so excited about this makeover and that I was able to do it on a budget as well. Another small step in our house remodel/makeover for this year!

2 comments:

  1. LOVE it Jesi! Such a small thing to do but it made a HUGE difference :) You know I love a good Craigslist find so yay :)

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  2. Way to go! It looks great! And lucky you on the CL score!
    I used an old bookshelf in our garage for ours.. I just can't handle it all coming inside!

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