The IKEA BESTA Hack That Hides Tons Of Storage In Plain Sight

If you're struggling to house all of your items inside closets and freestanding cabinets, it might be time to upgrade to a full-wall cabinet system. These can be installed in pretty much any room of the house, whether you need a DIY basement storage solution or extra space to stash toys and games in a playroom. This also works well as an organizational solution for a small space as it's tucked against the wall. However, to hire a contractor to build such a system can cost a pretty penny. On average, built-in cabinets cost $5,500, and that price goes up depending on material and how large your wall is. But you can DIY your own solution for a fraction of the cost using IKEA's BESTA cabinets.

Specifically, you want to use the BESTA wall-mounted cabinets, which start at $279 for a unit of three cabinets on IKEA. These span nearly 71 inches in width, which translates to close to 6 feet, allowing you to cover a good chunk of wall for a reasonable price. They're also 2 feet tall, requiring four units to span an average 8 foot wall top to bottom. If you stack multiple units together, you can create a giant storage system that will blend into the room and look like a built-in setup. Here is a closer look into the ingenious IKEA hack. 

To create a large storage unit, first measure the width and height of your wall to see how many BESTA cabinets you will need to purchase to span the majority of the surface. It doesn't necessarily have to go from wall to wall, but if you can manage it, doing so will create an authentic built-in look. Once you have your dimensions, figure out how many different cabinet widths you will need to mix and match. For instance, if your wall is 12 feet long, you can span two BESTA units across it. But, if it's 10 feet long, you can add one BESTA unit and use the smaller nearly 4-foot unit, which costs $171 on IKEA, to fill the rest of the space. Once you know your amount, you can then create your configuration. 

For example, Montreal designer Joanne created a TikTok where she arranged four two-door BESTA units on the bottom half of her wall, created a small gap in the middle to make a shelf, and then added two more two-door units on top to create the uppers. She then framed the inside of the shelf with walnut paneling to make it look like a niche and paneled the side of the unit to make it look like one comprehensive set. She used the high gloss option, which costs $241 per unit. If she used six units to complete the project, that would only cost $1,446 to complete. However, the high gloss option costs $70 more than the regular white version, so you can reduce your costs by going with a more budget-friendly finish. 

There are plenty of ways to customize your BESTA wall unit to better fit your room's aesthetic. The first, and easiest, is simply to choose the BESTA door finish that best fits your style. For instance, the two-cabinet unit comes with a whopping 13 different door options. You can pick anything from a dark gray concrete effect to a herringbone oak veneer design. The only downside to this is that the more specialized finishes cost more per unit. For instance, the white shaker unit costs $191, but the oak veneer unit costs $261, setting you back an extra $70.

Another great way to customize this hack is to add hardware to it. The BESTA units come without any knobs or pulls, but if you would prefer to accent them with hardware, you can do so. Depending on your style, these details can really cinch the aesthetic of your room. For instance, if you lean towards a modern farmhouse style, black square handles like the Goldenwarm drawer handles for $5.99 would be a perfect fit. But, if you like a more boho look, opt for travertine knobs, like the ones from BettyCreativeCrafts for $9 on Etsy.