IKEA Hack Mudroom Built-ins

I gave our entryway a small refresh a couple of years ago but my kids have all gotten bigger and with that come more shoes and bags and stuff everywhere.

Here is it before, It was fun and colorful but not as functional as we needed it to be.

The hooks we used ripped out of the wall and wrecked the wallpaper even though they were secured with wall anchors and the bench just wasn’t enough storage, so it was time to level up again! I kept the color pallette the same but just altered the ratio of black and white and added a pop of blue in the seat cushion.

Ta-Da!

I’ve been searching for several months for some kind of furniture piece I could retrofit as I did in our bedroom closet, but it was very hard to find something that was a good height to sit on like a bench too.  After searching several furniture sites for something that would fit I decided IKEA would be the best option for the size I wanted and I would still be able to customize it.

For the base unit, I used this IKEA BESTA unit.  It comes in several sizes and with the options of open storage, cupboard, or drawers.  I explored several options for vertical storage because I knew that drawers would not be enough.  I thought about stacking an IKEA PAX unit on top but it was too tall. Then I had the idea to do a locker system on top and started searching Facebook for some used lockers.  I found a few but they were all too wide for my space and would not have left any room for a seat. I felt defeated for a couple of days and then decided to search IKEA storage options again and came across a newer piece they had that is called the HALLAN.  they are locker units that are available as a single unit or multiple units that you can stack and customize. I got this combination with 3 lockers.

It was a little more than I wanted to spend but it was the only thing I could find in the size I needed – if you were able to use a thrifted locker unit it’d make this project even more affordable. I was really inspired by this image I found on Pinterest.

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So once I had the IKEA pieces put together (the HALLAN was quite complicated so it took a while), I built a wood base for the BESTA unit so that it was raised up enough to allow the baseboards to go back on at the bottom and add to the custom look.

Then I secured the BESTA to the walls and the wood base.  Next, I added MDF trim pieces to the side of the BESTA.  There was only a 1″ gap between it and the wall so these pieces framed out the edges nicely.  After that, I cut an MDF piece for the bench seat next and secured it with brad nails.

Then I put the lockers on top and secured them to the wall.  I once again added MDF trim to the edge of the lockers that were against the wall so it would look like it was builtin into the wall.

Last I added a shelf on top of the locker units and then added some board and batten details in the space below.

Once it was all secured in place, I wood-filled all the holes, sanded, and then caulked all the seams for a flawless finish.

I made sure to prime using Zinsser primer since I was working with IKEA furniture – It adheres to nearly any surface without having to sand and it holds up great! We used it on our kitchen island that had a veneer finish 6 years ago and it’s still going strong!

Then it was time to paint.  The white I used is Benjamin Moore’s ‘Cloud white’ and it was a perfect match to the lockers so I didn’t have to paint them. The wall hooks were from amazon, and the drawer pulls from home depot but here is a similar one.  The fabric was from a local store and I just got a small piece of foam for the insert.

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Now for some more pretty pictures of it all!

It is soooo nice to have a home for everything now! The lockers were game-changers. We keep kids’ backpacks, purses, gym bags, and other personal items in them. Previously most of those things were just getting thrown on the floor every day so it’s so amazing for them to be out of sight now! My girls share the bottom one, for now, I have the middle one and my husband uses the top one. And the baskets that were previously in our entry I put up on the top shelf and they hold extra winter gear and summer hats, and one is even empty right now.

Another small but impactful update I made was painting the back of the door black.  With so much white going on, It needed some contrast and this was the perfect spot for it. The color is Valspar ‘Dark Kettle Black’.

I’m so happy with how it turned out and even happier to not be tripping over kids’ stuff anymore when I come in the door!

If you want to try this in your own home these IKEA pieces make it so easy to customize to your space! If you try it I’d love to see it!