Turn A Budget-Friendly IKEA Kitchen Essential Into A Clever Entryway Organizer

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An IKEA bamboo plate organizer has the potential to do more than just put your dishes in order. It can be something that helps you organize all of the rooms in your house, including one of the places where orderliness is key: the entryway. You just have to know how to hack the organizer for a different purpose. The great thing is that the design of this organizer is simple — it just a series of sturdy, evenly-spaced wooden dowels standing up in perpendicular fashion on two parallel wooden bases. The design and material are versatile, so much so that you can even turn the organizer on its side to hold floating shelves. These shelves are an elegant, unique way to store keys, gloves, glasses, and other entryway accessories alongside chic accents like small potted plants.

It doesn't take much to put this project together. The OSTBIT plate organizer at IKEA comes pre-assembled and costs around $6. You will need at least two per shelf. If you want to insert a few floating shelves between some of the dowels, you'll need a couple of boards to use as floating shelves. They should be about an inch thick or less. If your doorway opens into a long hallway, you may want longer shelves, in which case you can add an extra organizer unit in the center for support of a longer board.

This unique shelving solution is as easy as it is stylish. Once you have the project materials on hand, find the studs in the wall to ensure that the unit won't come crashing down once you hang it up. After you find the studs, mark the wall, using a level to confirm that everything will hang evenly. Drill your screws or drywall anchors into the wall and slide the shelves between the dowels on your mounted plate organizers.

The perfect material for your floating shelves depends on what you plan to store on them. For a couple of lighter accessories, plywood may suffice, but a thicker wood like the BAYKA floating shelves will work wonderfully if you plan to install a small lamp, some ceramic pots, or multiple, slightly heavier accessories. Now, it's ready for some organizational trays, baskets, or pots like the adorable Hipiwe key basket bowl or the LSK sunglasses organizer stand, both from Amazon.

Sold "as-is," your IKEA dish organizers are just plain wood. If minimalism is your jam, then keep it plain. If not, consider painting part or all of the unit. Here are some ideas to make it a beautiful as well as functional piece for your entryway. If you'll hang it on an accent wall, then paint it a contrasting color to the wall to make it stand out. You also have the option to paint the plate organizer one color and the shelves another color.

It isn't a matter of just knowing how to decorate your shelves when it comes time to paint them. You can also use paint as a color coder for the shelving unit. Some dowels will hold shelves, but others will be free to for hanging keys, hats, and more. So, color-code your dowel to assign each to a member of the family for their belongings. To do this, paint each dowel, or set of dowels in the same row, one color. This color-coded system looks fun, and yet, keeps everyone's items right where they can find them. The color-coding also lets you know at a glance whether someone is home or not. If their car keys or sunglasses aren't on their dowel, they're probably away.