Ikea Hack: From Bookcase to Custom Closet Part 1

I thought I would tackle my very own Ikea Hack (my first one) and transform a bookcase into a custom closet. I love Ikea! Who doesn’t? I been seeing so many Ikea Hacks these days that inspired my creativity. Honestly, I was shocked.

Here I was thinking that these guys and women…. these amazing bloggers have all the money in the world to be creating such amazing projects and DIY’s that I could never get on their level. Who knew that they were using the same Ikea products that I adore and drool over but decided to add their own twist to it. That got me rethinking and my creativity gears spinning.


My son is in desperate need of a closet. Seriously, desperate and I for one, do not have any space for his clothes in my closet. I barely have space for my things. My closet is small. I think it was meant for a child and not an adult. It’s bad but since I can’t do anything about that because we share a small room already, I had to think of something. Anything! I am in need of a change. My room went from organized to having a child and organized to me completely hating everything. I need a change and I am tackling one thing at a time. This closet idea is first on my list.



I went through what I could do. This closet for my son could not be overwhelming and take up space. I already don’t have much space and my toes could not handle any more collisions into furniture. No no no! So simply buying a closet that fit all that I needed would be too bulky and personally too expensive for me.


I need something affordable but completely fit to my needs. I want my room to feel airy instead of a small room filled with bulky furniture. What I had before worked for a good while, then more clothes were given to me and the drawers started to overflow. Some clothes never got to see the light of day. Dividers did so much. It was getting a little to much for me. It was time for my son to get a custom closet.

First I moved those cute drawers I had.

Then I had to take down things. All those nails I hammered into the wall was now going to have to be pulled out. (I used nails since thumb tacks don’t go these cement style walls)
 This is what it looks like with majority of my things gone.
 I went to Ikea intended to get this SUNDVIK Children’s table because it was the only one that wasn’t to big or too small for my bookcase. It costs $39.99. The price was not what I was hoping for but I figured I would close my eyes during the process. When I got to the sections to pick up the box, they were sold out.
I was completely disappointed so to make myself feel better, I decided to check out this ‘As Is’ section that no one told me about until a few days ago. To my surprise this table was right there waiting for me. Not in the colour that I was intending on getting but the table in a nice grey-brown tone. I could stain it, if I didn’t like it later.
What made things even better was the price. It was originally $39.99 but since this table was for $19.99 because it had some damage to it.
 The damage was only these scratches. Which was fine with me since the bookcase could easily hide it! What a fantastic save! And to think, I almost bought one full price.
 After sliding the table in place. After building the bookcase I, with some help, added it onto the table. This wasn’t the bookcase I was orginally going for. I saw this one and liked how it matched my son’s bed but also loved the price. This LAVIA Bookcase only cost $29.99. After the bookcase went on and I first looked at this…It did not look the way I imagined it.
I bought the BYGEL Rail for $2.99 at IKEA. It is the 55cm one.
I found that it was a little strange that it didn’t come with nails. But I knew we had some spare ones.
First I placed it onto the top bookcase shelf and flipped it over. I made sure the rail was in the middle.
I got a pencil and matched the circle of where the nail would go.
Next I used the screwdriver to drill the nail in onto both sides.
Easy and Simple.
Last step, is that you need to place it back onto the bookcase.
There you have it. Now I just need to hang up the hangers and some clothes of course.
 I love how this turned out so far. Its really coming together.
Be sure to stay tune for the reveal of this closet.
ikea hack bookcase to custom closet
I hope you have some time, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment to say how much you enjoyed my post or even say hi, follow me on TwitterFacebookGoogle+PinterestInstagram page or even subscribe. I will do the same! Have a wonderful creative weekend!

8 Replies to “Ikea Hack: From Bookcase to Custom Closet Part 1”

  1. Pretty stinkin' brilliant if you ask me!! Don't ya just love making something out of something else??!! Great post! Dona

    1. Yes I do! Thank you so much Dona for stopping by and commenting.

  2. I do like the industrial look – especially if it's something useful like closet hardware. I'm looking forward to see where you go from here.

    1. Thank you so much Val, I appreciate your comment. I hope you continue to visit my blog.

  3. Awesome job!! Very creative.

    1. Thank you Cheryl 🙂

  4. So clever! Thanks for linking up and sharing with us at Funtastic Friday. Hope you can make it again this week.

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