When you walk into a living room, the last thing you want is a lonely TV swallowed by a big blank wall.
That’s where this jaw-dropping IKEA hack comes in.
With sweeping arches, sleek wood slats, and cleverly budgeted IKEA BESTÅ units, this DIY transforms the TV wall into a statement piece that feels high-end, custom, and impossibly stylish.
The talent behind this DIY, ms-design (Reddit), drew inspiration from a similar project on Golden Key Design.
The overall project cost about $1,500. Using IKEA BESTÅ TV benches helped keep the budget in check instead of having to build custom cabinets.
Then, a great deal of talent, skill, and artistry helped bring the rest of this feature wall to life.
What You’ll Need
- IKEA BESTÅ TV benches (how many depends on the length of your wall)
- Red oak wood for countertop and trim (or preferred wood)
- Wood trim for slats
- Timber for bracing for cabinets
- Wood oil
- Wood plane
- Primer and paint
- Painter’s tape
- Drop cloths/plastic
- Level
- Basics — tape measure, pencil, saw, screw gun, drill
How To Make a Showstopping TV Wall
1. Prep and Paint the Wall
Measure and mark with painter’s tape where you need to bring color down on the wall. You want to make sure it reaches behind the cabinets once they’re mounted.
Cover the television and flooring with plastic or drop cloths. Prime and paint the wall the same color you plan to use for your shelves and slats.
2. Assemble and Mount Cabinets
Put together the BESTÅ TV cabinets according to IKEA instructions. The hacker had to trim down the end unit to fit the cabinets wall-to-wall. You may or may not need to do this, depending on how much space you need to fill.
Create cutouts where necessary in the back of the cabinets to run wires, cables, etc. Add timber strips onto the wall to act as supports for the cabinets.
Mount the cabinets and screw them into the strips, making sure to use the appropriate hardware for your wall. Take your time and use a level to make sure everything is straight and flush.
3. Make the Arches, Countertop, and Slats
Build out the arches according to your necessary dimensions. The creator made tilted tops because they didn’t want to remove their crown molding. Make the units the same size and paint them and the shelves the same color as the wall.
Measure and cut slats to size to fit from the ceiling to the top of cabinets, and adjust as needed to fit the pieces above and below the TV. Paint the slats to match the wall.
Measure and cut the pieces for your countertop. Plane down if you need to adjust the thickness. Cut pieces to trim out the front of the shelves in the arches. Apply wood oil to the shelf trim and countertop.
4. Put Everything Together
Mount the shelves to the wall, keeping the spacing even. Add the slats, carefully measuring to keep them equidistant. Finally, attach the countertop, screwing in from the bottom.
What Else Do You Need to Know About This Hack?
This overview provides a glimpse at the basic steps for this project. However, understandably, this DIY has a lot more going on than a few simple steps. Therefore, make sure to check out the hack and reach out to ms-design with specific questions.
Expect to take some time to plan and measure before you dive into this one. It’s also important to determine if you want to fill an entire wall, add more arches, change the color, etc.
I get it, you get so excited about a project that you just want to jump in and start sawing, painting, and building. But proper prep is key to avoiding mistakes and not wasting time or money.
Let There Be Light?
The hacker routed out grooves under the cabinets and arched shelves to add LED strips later. Therefore, keep this in mind if you plan to add some lights to your version.
Also, be cognizant of where you would connect or plug the strips in so you can create the proper cutouts. You don’t want to have to disassemble anything later because you want to add lighting, so better to prepare for it at the beginning, just in case.
What do you think of this feature TV wall? How would you change it up to fit your home’s space and style?
Got an IKEA hack of your own? We want to see it! Submit your project here or tag us on Instagram @ikeahackersofficial.
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