Ikea Besta Media Built-in Hack

We recently opened the doors to our first Airbnb in Oceanside, California. As you can imagine it took a good amount of money and furnishings to fill it. But of all the pieces I purchased, can you guess which one is my favorite? This Ikea hack of course! 

I absolutely love Ikea for providing affordable and customizable options where you can take a concept, bring your creativity, and make something all your own. In this case, I simply couldn’t keep this media wall to myself because it’s just that good. I did a fair amount of research ahead of time, and I was most inspired by Abby at justagirlandherblog.com. If you love the look of built-ins, but you don’t want to spend $1,000 or more on them, this project just might be for you. 

Here’s What You’ll Need:

1. Besta Storage Cabinet (1)

2. Besta Bookcase Frame (2)

3. Besta Storage Frame (1)

4. Stubbarp Legs (8)

5. Hanviken Door (2)

6. Besta Shelf (8)

7. Besta Door Hinge Set (2)

8. Spackling

9. Caulking (Optional)

10. Hole Stickers

11. Wood White Trim (Home Depot will cut the length to fit)

12. Anchors

13. Screws

14. L Brackets

15. Wood Glue

16. Clamps

17. Two (2) 100 lb. Picture Cleats

How We Did It:

First, we assembled all of the Ikea pieces. We started with the cabinet first. The only pieces we set aside were the tall frame doors & shelves, but those came into the picture a few steps later.

Next, we added four Stubbarp Legs to each of the two tall Besta Frames, but were careful not to tighten them all the way. We wanted to make sure they’d be easy to adjust for height later on.

Once everything was built, we set the cabinet against the wall and arranged a tall Besta frame on either side. Admittedly, Peter the Installer took over in securing the pieces to the wall and each other. Since we didn’t cut through the baseboard at all, the three main pieces were adjusted to “sit” on the top of the baseboard. This meant each piece really needed to be secured to the others and to the wall as one main sturdy piece, rather than us relying on the legs to hold most of their weight. Peter screwed the three main pieces together and used L brackets and anchors as support to secure them to the wall. Although not the most aesthetic, all of the lower hardware was eventually completely concealed by the cabinet doors. Perfectly convenient.

Another important step for us was to cut a hole inside the righthand tall Besta frame for the TV cords. He cut a hole in the wall under the TV, fit the wires through behind the dry wall, and fed them through the wall behind said frame. Again, since the cabinet door was going to cover it anyway, it worked out well.

Once the three large pieces were solid to each other and the wall, we adjusted the legs to fit snug with the floor. Now we were ready to add the top Besta storage frame.

Luckily, Peter happened to have two of these on hand in his truck. He used the mount to secure the last frame to the wall. Then, he attached the tall frames to either side of the top frame with flat head screws and I covered the screws with stickers.

The following week I was on my own. I got to work on adding the final two doors, and spacing out the eight shelves. I lined up a shelf in both tall frames to match up with the top of the middle cabinet. Next, I lined up a shelf in both tall frames to match up with the shelves inside the middle cabinet.

After that, it was just a matter of finding a home for the remaining four shelves. I counted out the peg holes to make sure each was spaced as evenly as possible.

Once I had everything in place, I knew I wouldn’t need to adjust anything. For that reason, I filled each hole with spackling. I can honestly say that it dried to a color that almost exactly matched the frames. So I left it as is.

The final step was to finish off the base of the media piece. As you can see, the Stubbarp legs weren’t really doing us any favors. I measured the entire piece from end to end and my husband took a trip to Home Depot. Since we weren’t using our own baseboard, he found a white board and had them cut it exactly to size.If you wanted to, you could also cut side pieces. We honestly didn’t this time around, but may add them in the future. Using wood glue and clamps, we attached the board to the base and let it sit for a couple days.

With everything built and secure, it was finally time for my favorite part – shelf styling! I combined pieces from HomeGoods, Ikea, Etsy, West Elm, Amazon, and local shops to create a look that looks (I think) balanced and serene. What do you think?

This entire project was certainly a labor of love. If you’d like to tour it in its entirety including behind the scenes, you can catch the reveal on YouTube! See you there!

xo Leann