How To Turn IKEA BESTA Cabinets Into A Floating Bar That'll Impress Your Company

A stylish home bar or bar cart is something of a must for anyone who entertains, providing storage for bottles, accessories, and glassware all in one convenient location. The best home bar setup offers lots of rooms for supplies, but also a neat and attractive look. TikTok user @alexisjuliaa recently unveiled a great DIY home bar using inexpensive BESTA cabinets from IKEA. By using two different depths stacked on top of each other, the DIY provides great storage in the lower, deeper cabinet for bottles and accessories, while gaining display in the shallow cabinet and a work surface for pouring and serving in front. 

BESTA shelves — which range in price from $30-$40 for a single unit — are durable and easy to mount to the wall  They also fit a variety of IKEA doors — everything from plain, more minimalist designs to glass and carved panel doors. They come in a variety of finish options as well which means you can customize your bar to fit your aesthetic. They also have smaller shelves that work perfectly inside the units. 

To create your DIY BESTA bar, you will need a shallower 7 7/8 inch depth cabinet and a deeper 15 3/9 inch cabinet, both 23 5/8 inches across. You will hang the shallower cabinet on the wall so that the ledge created by the deeper cabinet can become a work and pouring area. @alexisjuliaa chooses a clear glass front for the top cabinet, adding additional glass shelves for displaying a collection of glassware. The bottom unit is designed to be closed storage for bottles and things they'd rather keep out of site. For this, they use a stylish birch-paneled door on the lower cabinet. 

To hang both units vertically, measure the placement of the shelf and mark out the wall using a level to ensure a perfect hang. While stud placement is ideal, you can hang the shelves on drywall without a stud. You will need a screwdriver and the BESTA suspension rail to hang each cabinet securely — just make sure to use drywall anchors that support at least 50 pounds, or heavier if you have a lot of bottles or chunky glassware.

The various designs and sizes of BESTA cabinets make this home bar setup very customizable to fit your needs. IKEA also sells longer vertical and double cabinets to make your bar display space more customized and unique. Mounting the bar is a great solution for small spaces and minimalistic rooms. If you do not want to mount your bar to the wall, you can also use a double BESTA cabinet on legs for a cool midcentury modern console bar with plenty of hidden storage. If you add casters, it can also make a great portable bar cart. 

While the cabinets already come in a variety of colors like black, dark gray, white, and a natural wood finish, you can also sand and paint the BESTA cabinets to match your interior. If you plan to pour and mix drinks on the top of your bar, you may also want to add a clear poly coat that will make the surface less likely to be damaged and easier to clean. You can also add a plank of wood or a large cutting board cut to size to serve as your bar top.