For a small bedroom, the IKEA BRIMNES storage bed ticks all the box. The beds come in full, queen and king sizes — all with 4 spacious drawers under the mattress. There’s also a smaller IKEA BRIMNES daybed with two drawers. The daybed looks like a twin bed but can be quickly pulled out into a double.
Combine the bed with the BRIMNES storage headboard and you’ll add even more capacity without taking a much larger footprint. Undeniably, the design for the BRIMNES is both smart and practical.
But there’s always room for improvement. And an IKEA hack can make your BRIMNES bed even more stylish and functional. Let’s take a look at 4 easy hacks for the BRIMNES bed frame.
1. BRIMNES headboard tissue box retainer
The BRIMNES headboard is nice except for one thing. If you try to have a box of tissue in it … each time you’ll pull a tissue, the box will follow and fall out. Here’s how I solved this issue.
IKEA items used:
- 1 x BRIMNES headboard
Other materials and tools:
- 2 x 3″ angles bracket
How to add a tissue box retainer to the BRIMNES headboard
1. Take the middle (removable shelf) out.
2. Screw the two brackets on the edge, spaced to fit the opening of a tissue box.
3. Put the shelf back in place. The hack is done!
Now, if a bad cold keeps you in bed, you have access to your tissues. And the box stays where it should be.
~ by Vincent Trepanier
Related: Freestanding BRIMNES headboard hack
2. IKEA BRIMNES bed frame hack
IKEA white bed frame covered in scrapwood wallpaper design by Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek. This simple hack turned the plain white IKEA BRIMNES bed frame into a real beauty. There are many other peel and stick scrapwood wallpaper designs available to suit your style.
It’s pretty easy to do. And a very good DIY project to bring new life to an old BRIMNES bed.
How to wallpaper an IKEA bed frame
1. Measure the bed frame and cut pieces of wallpaper according to the panels. You’ll want to leave a bit of excess to wrap around the edges.
2. Clean the bed frame surfaces of any dirt and let dry.
3. Remove the top portion of the adhesive backing of the wallpaper and stick onto the top of the panel, making sure the scrapwood grain runs straight. Gradually unfurl the wallpaper and use a hard piece of card to smooth the paper down, ironing out any bubbles.
4. Repeat on all exposed surfaces of the BRIMNES bed frame until the whole structure is wrapped.
Related: Plain white headboard to bold stripes
3. BRIMNES headboard with flip top
Related: How to attach a headboard to the BRIMNES bed
Sisa had a tiny bedroom, with no space for nightstands. So they chose to buy a BRIMNES headboard to put a lamp and other accessories.
The problem was, due to space limits, they had to place the headboard next to the wall, so lost the lateral storage on one side of the BRIMNES headboard.
Their solution was a little IKEA hack to cut the top shelf just before the joining with the vertical support. Then they reconnected the cut shelf to the rest of the shelf with hinges. And now, there’s access to the additional storage space below.
They still lose the storage on the bottom shelf units, but still better than not having any. The “secret” compartment would be more hidden if they used white hinges (or spray painted the metal ones). It can be completed with a knob to open it or push openers.
4. IKEA BRIMNES floating bedside shelf hack
Caroline couldn’t find anything she liked for a nightstand to fit into her small bedroom. She’s not a fan of a lot of things around her bed and just wanted a surface to charge her phone and let it ring to wake her up.
Then she had an idea to screw the 12″ LACK shelf into either side of her bed. Simple but really convenient, cheap and space saving.
The LACK shelf fixtures has a max. load 6.5 lbs and is not made for heavy items like a large table lamp. If you want to place heavy items on it, do reinforce with additional angle brackets under the shelf.
For a BRIMNES nightstand with drawer storage, see this hack which removes the leg that blocks the opening of the BRIMNES underbed drawer. No need to move the bedside table every time you want to access the storage drawer.
Jules is the author of IKEAHackers.net: 25 Biggest and Best Projects".
- DIY floating shelves: Alexia’s Unique and Creative IKEA Hack - September 5, 2023
- Genius reach-in closet IKEA wardrobe hack for double the storage space - September 4, 2023
- DIY hanging planters: 3 ways to make them from IKEA items - September 1, 2023