Making our Mudroom

A couple weeks ago I showed you all the pretty pictures of how our mudroom went from drab to this:

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

Fab. It went to fab.

Anyway, I also told you I’d give you all the details on how this space came together. See the reveal and shopping sources here. It was 5 pieces from IKEA and some plywood we had on hand for extra fanciness. **The materials for the mudroom were provided by IKEA Frisco. I’m so thankful to have been able to work with them. Thank you for supporting brands that support House Homemade.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

Let me break things down for you. I talked about how when I did the playroom I measured the space and shopped on Ikea’s website to see what would fit. Well, I did the same here. I knew the general layout of what I wanted but needed to find the pieces that would best go with that vision and the dimensions of our space.

For this project I used:

1 besta TV unit
2 billy bookcases
2 billy height extension kits

To make the besta unit seating height I got it in this size: 70 7/8×15 3/4×15 ”

This is where I messed up a bit. This is the one I needed:

but this is the one I added into my plans and picked up from the store:

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

See how much taller it is? Anyway….pay attention. That’s all I’m saying.

After IKEA graciously let me switch out the taller unit for the shorter one, I set to work. I put the Besta unit in first. Let me tell you, it was a close call. I measured before I picked it but with an old house and uneven walls, I basically had to disassemble it and rebuild it in the room. Thank you, my sweet friend Jen, for helping me shove it into place.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade
Just that one piece could serve as a storm shelter. It’s not going anywhere…..
You can see from the finished pictures that it looks like it’s floating. It’s resting on the baseboards and then some pieces of wood that I painted to match the floor.
Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade
I like it like this. It can easily be swept under and feels more modern than sitting it directly on the floor. (Plus I didn’t have to take out and trim down the baseboards….I’m kinda lazy.)
Ok back to the assembly. Once the Besta unit was in, it was time for the Billy bookcases. They just sit on top and were mounted to the walls around it.
You can actually see the bracket in the picture below.
Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

Mounting them made them feel very sturdy. The shelf extension works in the same way. There are pegs that adjoin it to the mother shelf* and then mounting brackets for the wall. I just painted them the dark green so that they would blend in. *that’s totally a term.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade
It all worked out but here’s another place where my Besta unit miscalculations did me wrong. With the shelf extender, the billy bookcases should have gone to the ceiling. I wanted the bench part to be bench height (so I didn’t want the taller one) and I maybe could have bought a taller bookshelf but I like how it ended up. I feel like more wall color above the units makes the space seem bigger.
To make the units look built in I used a 1×4 where the Besta meets the wall.
Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

You can see where there is a gap and where the unit has a notch for feeding cords through.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

The 1×4 covered most all of it. The little gap that was left was easily filled with caulk.

After that, I installed the shiplap panels that Joel cut out of scrap plywood. The first board was able to sit on the 1×4.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

I did one at a time and used a couple of quarters for the spacing.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

I totally could have used a nail gun for this project but I’m not very comfortable with them…Ever since I almost shot a friend in the head with a finishing nail in my college shop class. It hit her, just luckily not straight on…. Love you Heather.

ANYWAY.

You certainly wouldn’t have to do ship lap with this project, it was just an added detail that I wanted. Adding the shiplap was another way to secure the bookcases even more.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

The top piece of ship lap got a shelf added to it before it went onto the wall. You can find that easy tutorial here. Picture ledges are a great, modern way to move art around all the time with out added holes in the wall.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

You can also see in the picture above that I used some trim pieces to finish out the edging. I actually took that down and just relied on caulk to cover up the uneven edges. It’s a magical tool, people.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

I did, however, use the trim on the outside edges of the billy bookcases.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

After it was all installed I went over all of the wood with Exta White from sherwin williams. It matches the IKEA white, well.

When the paint was dry I did some math and hung the hooks making one in the center and then evenly spacing them toward the outside.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

The hooks are also IKEA, here. I love their shape.

So that’s what I did. The install was done in a day, by myself. Besides the shoving of the Besta into position. 

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

I am so proud of what I accomplished!

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

For real, I mean this: You can do it! Find a place in your house that doesn’t work for you or your family and change it! Make a plan. Gather some inspiration and then get it done.

Scroll below to shop the room:

Let me know if you have any questions. I’d love to help you along.

Pin the image below to save or share.

Making Our Mudroom: with IKEA products | House Homemade

Thanks for reading, friends!

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22 thoughts on “Making our Mudroom

  1. that's great!! all the sources are listed on the reveal post but those are just from target. They have silver rings as the pulls but I turned them around and hot glued pieces of a leather belt for the handle.

  2. It's the top square on each side of the closet. There are different bookcase heights and we didn't have room for the 5 section bookcases so I bought the 3 section ones and added the extra. : )

  3. The Besta bench says it can only support 110 lbs. on top. Do you have people sit on the bench? Have you noticed any issues with that?

  4. Our girls sit on the bench, I think I have too. It's sitting on blocks so it's not floating or anything. We've had no problems. I know they have to rate things but it feels super sturdy and strong. : )

  5. I just made this for our laundry room and it is incredible!!! Didn't know what your Instagram tag was so just wanted to say thank you for posting this!! It is the most efficient and stylish piece in our home yet!!

  6. Would love to recreate this in my new house! Although I’m not sure the Besta TV Unit is available anymore since I clicked on the link and it took me to a main page…? What would you suggest? Tia!

  7. Hi!! Which sheen did you buy the SW Extra White in? Was thinking eggshell to match the ikea white. We are building this Friday!

  8. Question:
    is the Besta Cabinet bearing the all the weight of the Billy bookcases? I know the Besta says that it holds 110lbs.

    I’m looking into a potential installation inspired by this for a neighbor/client with maybe the wider Billy Bookcases and potentially the doors on them…

    Curious about the weight bearing.

  9. I love this. I need more hanging space. Would it look odd to put the Billy Bookcases on either side since they are not as deep? I would want to add more on top too. Trying to think out of the box, pun intended. You did an amazing job!

  10. Hi!! Love this ! Trying to recreate it! Did you stain your wooden crates? What stain did you use? Just love the way it all turned out. Where did you find the little wooden bowl also?

  11. No way to attach the extension to the Billy bookcase. I had this Verified with Ikea. There are no holes to attach. You have to buy the 79.5 inch tall Billy bookcase. That is the only one that is compatible. I am not sure how you attached it, but it is not possible. Disappointing for sure. Now my unit seems very unstable. Wish I would have known this before I purchased all of this.

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