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Mind the gap: Fit IKEA MALM over a tall baseboard

I forgot one thing when I ordered the MALM dresser:

The baseboards in my apartment are very tall and very wide.

So, when I installed it, I had a 4 cm gap between the wall and the back of the cabinet which was not aesthetically possible for me.

As it is not possible to cut the back of dresser at the bottom to leave room for the tall baseboard, I decided that MALM should be raised.

And it was much simpler than I had imagined.

You’ll need:
  • A MALM dresser (mine is a 6-drawer chest)
  • Six oak bed legs (I think five would have been enough, but while I was there …)
  • 6 mounting plates
  • A piece of plywood the size of the bottom of the cabinet (I went to the hardware store next door, it cost me less than 5€)
  • Screws
  • White adhesive edging tape

How to raise the MALM dresser above a tall baseboard

Place the MALM upside down.

Making the MALM fit over a tall baseboard

Fix the plywood onto the underside of the MALM with screws.

Predrill holes for the leg screws (if you have the same baseboard problem as me, make sure you measure that the back legs are far enough from the wall. Otherwise you’ll have to do it again, I know what I’m talking about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Fix the mounting plates.

Screw in the bed legs.

Iron on the edge banding tape on the exposed plywood edges.

Flip the MALM upright and that’s it. The tall baseboard is no longer an issue.

Making the MALM fit over a tall baseboard

Making the MALM fit over a tall baseboard

I added leather handles that I found on Etsy because I thought something was missing, and am very pleased with the result.

Making the MALM fit over a tall baseboard

~ by Stéphanie

You may also like these IKEA MALM dresser hacks

#1 Extra long MALM dresser

extra large chest of drawers - ikea malm

Stacy’s goal was to take two dressers and make them look like one, big dresser. And she succeeded fantastically. Read more.

#2 Vintage style gold MALM dresser

vintage style gold dresser

Nadia saw a gorgeous vintage credenza with gold accents and have been looking for a similar one for a long time. But she couldn’t find anything nice and affordable. When she decided to do her bedroom makeover, she thought that it would be the perfect project to finally give it a try. See the tutorial.

#3 MALM chest with pull-out laptop table

malm with pull-out laptop table

Otis desperately needed a desk since moving into a rented room. After adding two wardrobes and two MALM chests of drawers he was left with absolutely no room for anything else, so an IKEA hack was in order. Read more.

 

The post Mind the gap: Fit IKEA MALM over a tall baseboard appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

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