Media Heart Constructed with IKEA Cupboards

Expert IKEA design makes awkward nooks and crannies look intentional.

Alcoves and recesses are on-trend—however that doesn’t imply everybody loves them. Many individuals construct them into a house to designate areas, construct media facilities or break up the house.

What occurs if you buy a house with a characteristic like this, however you discover it awkward as an alternative of attractive?

That’s precisely what occurred to IKD buyer Rebecca. When her household of 4 was about to turn out to be a household of 5, she and her husband bought a bigger house. In one of many sections of the completed basement was a 110” recess.

“(The recess) wasn’t there for any structural motive that we may inform. The earlier house owners had it designated as a sitting and studying space. On the time, it was one thing small that I didn’t like in regards to the house and never price refusing to buy the property over. However after three years, it was time to make the home our personal.”–Rebecca, IKD buyer

Rebecca reworked the alcove into an IKEA media heart.

Rebecca’s youngsters have been ten, eight, and virtually three after they reached out to us. The household wished that a part of the basement to function a retreat for the children, with ample storage for the older ones’ recreation programs and the toddler’s toys.

Nonetheless, it wanted to stay a spot the place Rebecca and her husband may additionally entertain grownup friends. A number of instances per thirty days, they favored to have individuals over to play video games or watch sports activities, they usually wished to remain up late with out worrying about waking the children.

It was clear that the alcove would want an leisure heart and a TV. Past that, Rebecca wasn’t positive what it wanted—simply that it wanted to please everybody within the household.

“I discovered myself drawn to built-ins, particularly those I discovered on Pinterest from The Closet Manufacturing facility. Nonetheless, I couldn’t discover costs wherever on their web site. I had no method of realizing if I’d wind up paying $2,000 for the design or $10,000, and I didn’t need to waste anybody’s time if I couldn’t afford it. I discovered IKD’s web site, they usually have been up entrance in regards to the design value. Plus, I used to be already aware of IKEA costs, so I knew I had an excellent probability of staying in an inexpensive price range.” –Rebecca, IKD buyer

The media heart design centered on child storage with an grownup aesthetic.

Rebecca’s alcove was 110”W x 96”H x 18”D. She most well-liked a gentle coloration palette with pure parts; the house wanted loads of storage, an aesthetic to please all ages, and it needed to look intentional.

“We designed a media heart with higher cupboards and shelving for Rebecca and her husband to maintain board video games, snacks, books, and drinks for the grownup crowd. Alongside the underside, we integrated 4 cupboards (two 36”W and two 18”W) for the children, and we topped these off with a Semihandmade countertop to carry the TV and sound bar.”–Meyer, IKD designer

Meyer designed the media heart to have AXSTAD matte white wall cupboards alongside the highest, complemented by a wood-grain floating shelf and matching decrease cupboards. He supported the decrease cupboards utilizing ten ÖSARP stainless-steel legs and added HACKÅS handles in anthracite to present the setup a furnishings really feel.

IKEA design hacks perfected the look of this media heart.

“IKEA has nice ready-made merchandise, however they don’t at all times match within the house the best way the house owner or we want. But when there may be one factor a designer is aware of about working with IKEA merchandise, it’s how you can hack them.” –Meyer, IKD designer

Rebecca wished six equal-sized cupboard doorways (18”W) alongside the highest of the alcove to go together with cupboards that have been simply 15”H. Nonetheless, IKEA doesn’t supply these sizes.

This hiccup was no downside for Meyer. He designed 5 18”Wx15”Dx15”H cupboards by reducing down 5 18″Wx15”Dx30”H AXSTAD wall cupboards. He additionally hacked the underside cupboards, trimming 5” off the peak to make sure a 30” peak for the TV as soon as the counter was added.

Semihandmade supplied the maple floating cabinets and the maple shaker doorways for the decrease cupboards. Meyer included an non-obligatory LACK shelving unit within the design as a further storage possibility, tying the look into the matte white higher cupboards.

The overall IKEA cupboard value got here to$1,281.

Key Takeaway

With a bit of assist from the proper design crew, you may flip an architectural “flaw” into an area you like.

“It feels unusual that I hated that a part of the home for thus lengthy,” Rebecca says. “Now, the media heart is one among my favourite options. We ordered the cupboards and doorways from IKEA and Semihandmade, after which we employed an area handyman with an excellent popularity to chop and set up every part. I left him downstairs within the morning, and by the night, we had our new media heart and storage space. Our children already find it irresistible, and I can’t wait to place it to make use of this soccer season!”