DIY Ikea Entertainment Center

Do you want a built in look without spending a lot of money?  Ikea has so many options for adding built-in shelves.  What’s different about this one?  It uses kitchen cabinets instead of bookshelves.

Use IKEA Kitchen Cabinets Outside the Kitchen

I’ve seen many posts with Ikea Billy bookcases used as the base for a built in system.  I decided to go with a different approach for our entertainment center.  This takes a bit more planning on the front end because there are lots of parts that go with the cabinets, it’s not just one box.  I went to IKEA and used their in-store planner because they can make sure you get all the right hinges, pulls, legs and hardware.  Ikea tip:  Go on a weekday.

Planning Your Wall System

The Base – I used three of these wall cabinets as my base, because they are less deep than the base cabinets, they are only 15 inches.  To give them a built in look we added legs to the bottom.  There are several different choices for the legs also.  I used Forbattra ones because they looked more traditional than some of the metal ones.

The Face – You can pick out a variety of cabinet faces, depending on the style of your house.  I used the Bodbyn cabinet fronts, but they even have glass fronts if you prefer that.

The Counter Layer – For the layer in the middle I used a wood block countertop to give it a warm feeling.  This layer is not required but I like feel like it would not be nearly as nice to look out without this separation.

The Top – The top layers are the same base cabinets in different sizes without doors. I like they way they are different widths from the bottom because it adds variation and it provides a contrast without doors on the bottom.

Calling for Help

This can’t accurately be called a DIY project.  I did design and obtain the pieces, but I’m not able to attach them to the wall myself.  I’ve built a lot of IKEA furniture and I actually enjoy it, but for this configuration I called in an expert.

I found someone who actually specializes in installing IKEA furniture.  The guy was amazing.  He did the hole thing in just a few hours and made zero mess.  It was so worth it!  The assembly cost almost as much as the cabinets themselves but I don’t regret it at all.

I chose to put doors on the bottom part because it’s a good way to hide all the wiring and not so pretty parts of what you keep close to your TV.  Our TV isn’t that large, the one in the photo is 50 inches.  You could mount larger Television if you did a wall mount like this and let the TV stick out over the shelves a little bit.  We opted not to do this because we don’t watch much TV.

It’s important to measure your space thoroughly before you make the trip to IKEA or use the online planning tool.  As they say (in sewing but same applies here) measure three times, cut once.  It’s hard to change the configuration once you have the cabinets.

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