I had old IKEA GRUNDTAL shelves lying around and I wanted a glass shelving unit for my modem and plants. It took me two evenings to complete and the cost came up to around $80. Looking back, I would have ordered the glass clamps from China for lower cost.
I like how simple it looks. Minimalistic, with no support beams needed. It looks modern and slick and I was able to choose my own shelf spacing based on my needs. The most important thing about this hack is to maintain low center of mass for stability.
IKEA items used:
- 2x EKBY JÄRPEN wall shelf, 79 x 19 cm
- 4x GRUNDTAL glass shelf, 79 x 19 cm
Other materials and tools:
- 16 x Stainless steel glass clamps
- 4 x Furniture felt pad
- Wood or particle board screws
Hack instructions for glass shelving unit:
The EKBY are used as side walls. Note that the side walls should be mirror images of each other. Attach furniture pads.
Mark two crosses per shelf on each EKBY shelf.
For stability, use at least three glass shelves. The shelf unit is quite wobbly with only two shelves. Try to avoid having a high center of mass.
Fasten glass clamps for the uppermost and the lowermost shelves and tightly secure glass shelves, with the unit placed on its back. This way the glass shelves will self-align to the floor level.
Lift the unit, fasten the remaining glass clamps and glass shelves.
Affix the felt pads to the bottom of the EKBY shelves.
~ by Leon Mintz