Skip to main content

Transforming the KALLAX to a movable magazine stand

We have a guest/library room with two BIRKELAND pieces and needed a matching magazine stand for our file holders.

BIRKELAND chest of drawers (discontinued) | IKEA.com

The plan was to hack the more streamlined KALLAX to match the design of the BIRKELAND.

The result is a matching movable magazine stand that also works as a “work area” or standing desk to read or to work on other projects.

kallax 2x2

KALLAX 2×2 shelving unit | IKEA.com

The hack has the following IKEA items:

Specially ordered items from Bauhaus/ Home Depot:

  • 4 corner moldings 
  • Plywood board approx 70  x 70 cm for bottom of the KALLAX unit
  • White board with white edges approximately 90 x 90 cm (check the size of trim, to make it fit) as the top plate
  • Paint stir-sticks from the paint department

DIY movable magazine stand

Fixing the top plate

First, I drilled a few screw holes in the KALLAX to attach the top plate.

predrilled holes

I drilled 4 holes (blue dots in drawing below) as close to the vertical wall as I could. (refer to 1)

plan

The drawing above shows drill holes for one KALLAX unit

The two center holes (pink dots) have more or less no supporting material on the inside. So, I made the hole large enough for a screw head to come through on the inner side. (refer to 2)

Once I completed the drilling, I was ready to attach the top plate (white board).

I found it easiest to lay the top plate (white board) on the floor. Then, position the two KALLAX units (back to back) on the top plate.  

After that, I measured carefully so that the KALLAX units would end up at equal distances from the edge on all sides. (as evenly as possible).

  • screws
  • screws

There is a slight height difference between the vertical walls and the top and bottom panels. So I cut paint stir-sticks into approximately 5 cm long pieces, drilled a hole through the centre and placed them between the gap to compensate for the height difference.

After checking that all positions and levels were right, I screwed the KALLAX units to the top plate. I left as small a gap between the two back-to-back KALLAX units as possible.

Installing the bottom plate
bottom plate

Then I put the bottom plate (plywood) on top of the two KALLAX units and centered it the best I could.

I wanted the wheels to be as invisible as possible, so I positioned them as far inwards as I could. 

I pre-marked with an awl where the wheels would sit.

caster wheels

Then I pre-drilled with a small drill and screwed long screws through the wheel mount, plywood and into the KALLAX unit. 

By doing this, I got no visible screws on the inside shelf, and the same screws were used to hold the wheels in place as well as hold the assembly together.

The magazine stand is heavy with all of its content so I put 8 wheels to support the weight.

movable matching magazine stand IKEA KALLAX hack

The last thing was to glue and nail the moldings in place. This finishing touch gave the KALLAX the BIRKELAND style.

movable matching magazine stand IKEA KALLAX hack

And with the help of a friend, we turned it over as a finished product.

movable matching magazine stand IKEA KALLAX hack

It’s a pretty good match to our BIRKELAND pieces.

movable matching magazine stand IKEA KALLAX hack

~ by Tommy Leo

The post Transforming the KALLAX to a movable magazine stand appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hackers Help: How to attach headboard to ESPEVÄR mattress base?

I’m trying to figure out if a headboard can be attached to an Espevar Mattress Base , and how to accomplish that. I’m looking at a standard metal headboard (because I just prefer the look of curved metal to what IKEA offers) and am not interested in a slat base with just a mattress on top, and a wall mounted headboard is not an option due to renting. Thanks for any help! ~ Amy *** Hi Amy I’ve not seen the ESPEVÄR in person but I believe it is possible to attach a headboard to it. From the website, the ESPEVÄR looks like a regular wooden slatted mattress base under a bed base slipover. As to how to attach it, that will depend on the fittings on the metal headboard. So you will just need to get the right hardware to secure the metal headboard to the wooden frame. And make some small openings on the slipcover to let the fixtures to go through. Jules Photo: IKEA.com Try these free-standing headboards for size A lime green and white headboard that takes centerstage in the r...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kitchen renovation reveal: Rhombus wall steals the show

It’s been a while since I did a home tour. If you’ve missed the previous reveals, you can catch up with my Master Bathroom remodel and Guest Bathroom reveal . Today, let’s focus on my kitchen renovation. Hands down, this is the most used room in my home. I spend crazy amounts of time in here, even when I’m not cooking. Just off to the side of the kitchen I converted an awkward space into a reading nook . In the mornings, I sit and read or pray and meditate, before it gets too warm. And on the other side, there’s a work-in-progress plant wall / indoor garden which also takes up a lot of my time. So, all in all, lots of traffic in here, and that’s not even counting cooking and eating time. The kitchen is definitely my favourite room, because the transformation is huge and I love how it turned out. Kitchen renovation: The before House 17 when I first got it, actually had 2 kitchens, which is a very common “Asian” home concept. First, the “dry kitchen”, which is where you make simp...
Post a Comment
Read more

IKEA sofa with genius armrest storage

Bet you never knew your sofa armrests were prime storage space. Ok, so the guys at IKEA are the masters of hidden / secret storage everywhere. In fact, one of the things I most loved about the  ESKILSTUNA sofa series was the undercover storage on the chaise lounge, but… what? More than 80 liters of storage space wasted on the armrests? NO WAY! I really don’t understand how they didn’t take that opportunity with several different armrest modules. Mobile chargers, cup / can holders, foldable tables, refrigerators… there’s SO MUCH space in there. I can’t stop thinking on different options! For myself, I went for two designs. First, a “full space” design on the (right) side of the chaise lounge. (The cavity fits two foldable chairs). Second, on the left armrest — a flip open section for “mobile charger / remote control storage / etc.”. Below that, a full-depth pull-out drawer, tall enough to store A4 sized magazines. This is the final result: Full space design, rig...
Post a Comment
Read more