Need more storage? Here’s how to build a new Ikea storage shelf into a statement piece and right to the ceiling, while storing all your essentials!
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It’s been quite the week in in regards to the guest bedroom project. But I made some exceptional headway in regards to an Ikea storage shelf idea I had…
But let’s back up a couple of steps before I get to the newest room addition.
The guest room project
With the spontaneous arrival of that decadent antique bed, I never did tell you about finishing all the room moulding!
I have to admit, at first I felt I was in over my head. But after I figured out how to miter floor mouldings (I got good at the end of course), and fiddled my way around this frame between the two rooms, I’m pretty impressed with myself. It looks (somewhat) professional!
But more importantly, finished.
Decluttering is first!
Regarding purging this room and dealing with all the toy bins, I’m thrilled to report, half of this is now gone to new, happy owners!
I told myself I couldn’t run to Ikea for an extra Ikea storage shelf I needed for this room until it was empty of all the bins first. So I gave myself a deadline and hustled!
After discussing this all with my son, I listed the toys we knew would not be keepers for the long haul, and sold them on a Facebook bidding site.
It’s been one of the most gruelling weekends I’ve had in a long time. I felt like I was giving away all MY stuff, not his. So many memories were tied up in this.
I mean, I still had his toddler grocery store toy bin!
P.S. My boy is turning 20 this year.
But I also found it to be incredibly therapeutic. I dumped each bin, ensuring they were properly sorted, then photographed everything. After photos, each bin was repacked, listed, then brought downstairs for pickup day. It gave me a chance to cherish the memories, but also feeling good about providing another kiddo hours of fun.
The toys we will keep will be outfitted into smaller bins hidden inside the baskets behind the bed. Or elsewhere. I’ve yet to decide.
The good news is… the other side of the room was finally ready for my Ikea storage shelf dream!
This area was about to get outfitted with an Ikea storage shelf with a great hack! See more below.
A clean slate!
Now that this wall is gutted, it is also ready for its next step!
Update: This wall now has a new sewing desk setup! See it HERE!
But first, I wanted to build a mini version to mimic the wall shelving unit behind the bed.
The black wall is so beautifully dramatic, so I wanted the one IN bed to have an equally cool view.
When I was painting the moulding, I also painted this little wall area in black. So during my last run to Ikea when I got the white Ektorp sofas, I also picked up this simple shelving.
At long last, I’ll have the perfect place for a laundry basket, to hide recycling, store vacuum attachments within easy reach, and somewhere super accessible for the cat litter box to reside. (That last one is a doozy.)
Turn a new Ikea storage shelf into a rustic farmhouse beauty!
Supplies you’ll need:
Henjne shelving (no longer on Amazon, see similar wooden shelving units HERE)
(I got mine from Ikea HERE)
Fusion / Homestead House’s Stain & Finishing Oil in Golden Pine mixed with Cappuccino
a well ventilated space is suggested
I love this shelving. It’s super price efficient, easy to build, and you have the ability to have it look so many different ways.
However, the wood was too light and new looking, so first up was staining it to resemble the aged wood to better match the age darkened original shelf.
Staining the storage shelf
1. Place wood in a well ventilated area.
I brought everything downstairs into my photo studio and created a little staining lab.
In the past, staining wood has not been a thing for me. In fact, I’d go out of my way to avoid it. The fumes from the products would have me leaving the stuff outdoors for weeks before I felt inclined to bring it inside.
But that’s all changed now.
2. Select stain of choice and premix your colours in a paper plate if you are customizing the tone.
My fav stain to use in the whole wide world is Homestead House’s / Fusion Mineral Paint’s Stain and Finishing Oil. It’s a floor-quality oil-based stain that has a built-in top coat.
But what I love most about it is the fact that you can use it indoors. You can still smell it, but it doesn’t knock you flat on your back like the other stuff by a LONG shot.
I also mixed my own tone. I poured Golden Pine into a paper plate with a little Cappuccino.
Tip: When you mix your own stain, it’s a bit of a guessing game what you’ll end up with so you’ll want to test it out on the same type of wood to be sure you’re happy with the result.
3. To apply stain, wipe on with a chip brush, then remove excess with a rag.
You can deepen the tone by adding another coat. To keep the same tone and add more sheen instead, go over top with HomeStead House’s Natural Stain and Finishing Oil.
4. After the wood has dried overnight, go over all the stained wood with 300-400 grit sandpaper to create a beautiful butter-smooth finish!
I brushed the stain on, then wiped it off with a rag.
And oh yes… I was very happy! The wood turned instantly rustic which was perfect for my style.
I then stained all the shelves, front and back.
All the freshly stained wood to stay downstairs overnight as there were some fumes due to the amount I used… a LOT. But the next day I could barely smell it. YES! That meant I could bring it upstairs right away to assemble.
I then took 300 grit sandpaper to all the pieces which left it butter-smooth, ready for assembly.
Assembling the shelf with a ceiling extender
5. Assemble the shelving according to the Ikea directions, which are excellent.
6. If you wish to create an extension with shelves to the ceiling like I did, be sure to purchase an extra shelf or two, and two extra planks. Purchase some brackets that will help hold the kit in place.
These shelves are soooo easy to put together. However I did notice this unit didn’t have an extension kit that would allow it to go all the way to the ceiling like my other shelving did.
So I ensured I bought an extra shelf and support boards, crossing my fingers I could build my own.
As luck would have it, I had two IKEA extension kits left over from my other shelving which meant I had the right kind of brackets! YES!
Note: I don’t know if IKEA still carries these brackets.
Find the right bracket and you can do it too. I think going right to the ceiling gives it a much more finished look. Not sure why they stopped carrying the extension kits…
7. Assemble the shelving in two pieces as shown. Lift the smaller shelving on top of the larger, then attach together with brackets.
8. Attach the shelving to the wall using the screws that came with the shelving kit. If your shelving will hold lots of weight, it would be a great idea to attach a support board onto the wall through the wall studs, painting out in the same colour as the wall, then attach the shelving to that.
How to extend storage shelf to ceiling
Nearly there! Cute already, isn’t it?! Love the wood tone against that black wall!
Because I wanted the shelving to go to the ceiling, I built both shelves, then slipped the small one on top of the tall one, then attached them together with the brackets. Worked great!
And then it was time to have fun…
Installed Ikea storage shelf
So. CUTE!
The bottom shelf will become a kitty litter box inside a custom-built crate on casters, so what you see here is just the idea.
This kitty litter use to be in a downstairs bathroom, but I didn’t stay on top of it like I do when it’s up. This just works better for me.
See how I made the Sugar crate HERE
Adding attractive basket storage
Other baskets are geared to hold laundry, vacuum attachments, and recycling that’s easy to carry to the main bin in the garage once full. They are already filled up, and it works SO great!
Adding attractive storage bins and crates
Since this is officially a guest bedroom, this would be a great way to store extra pillows and blankets for guests too. I honestly could think of a million ways to use this shelving. I’m smitten with it!
The Flour pillow isn’t something I have blogged about yet, however it’s made from a 26″ Ikea pillow cover and the Flour stencil from HERE, then outfitted with a feather insert.
It’s scrumptious! See how I made the Flour pillow HERE
Nothing looked wrong on this shelving. I kept playing around and loved all the options. It’s a great way to display a basket or crate collection while putting it to use!
The Pure Cane Sugar crate is made from another stencil from HERE
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Click above to watch a short video of the idea and staining process… it’s always a big ? where these ideas will ultimately go!
Grain stencil is HERE (more on this soon)
Care to guess how many times I’ve laid in the antique bed just so I can stare at this shelf?!
It’s my new fav place to do a little FB scrolling on the phone while enjoying a coffee. Gotta love a pretty new hideaway… that’s about to get prettier.
I’m now entitled to get in that Ikea run so I can add the next step to this room!
What do you think of the new Ikea storage shelf? Where could you use this little dash of rustic farmhouse charm in your home?
Catch up on the entire guest bedroom series HERE
Visit other posts with this type of shelving HERE
See more stencil projects HERE
Visit all my other Ikea hacks HERE
I really, really, love, love both shelves!!! I consider myself Coastal Casual, but love this room! It’s gorgeous!
Oh Donna, you are amazing ! The room looks so great and the moulding ,WOW! It looks super professional ,What a project that must have been, I would have looked at that project and hide under the bed, you are a brave woman!
LOL at the toy bins. We are purging our attic and have many bins of little boy toys into pre-teen and then early teen. Our son turned 40 today! Fortunately he has a two year old son and a 5 month old daughter. Our grandson is enjoying all of his dad’s old toys. Hoping our granddaughter will enjoy Legos too!
It turned out beautiful. Is the shelving behind the bed also a Hejne? I have one too back in Greece and we added more shelves. It is a little workhorse! Love how your room is shaping up.
I think if the cats are half as impressed with their cat box as I am, that they will love the new spot.
The shelving is fabulous and the room also. When you shared the photos of the part of the room that was just waiting for something, well, I got excited. It’s your canvas. The wall painted black is also fabulous. I guess you can see my favorite word to describe the molding and painting and décor – FABULOUS! Thanks for sharing Donna!
In my guest room there is a little alcove, like yours, I’ve been brainstorming what to do with so it was like your idea was meant for me today! It will be perfect since the antique dresser there now doesn’t hold the extra blankets, etc. LOVE the idea of painting the wall behind the shelf unit a dark color. Thank you, thank you!
Hi Donna,
Love this project. I can’t wait to forward your post to my IKEA friend, Mary Elizabeth. This is exactly what she is looking for for her bedroom. Thanks, as always, for another great idea! ~Cheryl
I love the shelves!!! I can’t wait to get back to making stuff and sharing it again now that I’m starting to get settled on Paros and my new life. 🙂
Now I know how to make a new ikea bookcase fit in with my other furniture. Thank you for the great tutorial and instructions. Your room is awesome and can’t wait to see your sewing projects and machine get in there next. Right?
YES! I’m working on it as I type! Found the machine after a good 2 hour search (haha) and now putting it together. It’s going to be so cool!
I have enjoyed your blog for quite awhile… l am enjoying your new style more and more. This new guest room is so,so beautiful and peaceful feeling. Great job.
are the brackets hejne original from ikea?
Yes, the brackets are originally from, although I’m not sure they still carry them as I had them from a previous order.