IKEA TV and Entertainment Center Hacks
Right here, we'll explore some of the best IKEA entertainment center hacks that will help you design a beautiful and practical space for all your Netflix-and-chill needs.
We have some ingenious IKEA hacks like this built-in TV wall, a sprawling bookshelf TV console that's a main focal point of the room to a small TV stand that takes up hardly any space.
Whether you prefer large entertainment centers with plenty of storage, to a simple minimal TV stand, we have DIY projects to inspire you to create the best entertainment center for your space.
IKEA BESTÅ entertainment centers
The IKEA BESTÅ cabinets are a popular choice for entertainment centers as the modular system allows for customization options to create the entertainment center to best meet your needs.
You can combine frames, shelves, legs, and doors in various ways to achieve a unique look. A fabulous combination for a BESTÅ TV unit is to use a BESTÅ TV bench, with NANNARP legs, and three doors to create a sleek entertainment center for under $300.
But, on IKEA Hackers, there is more than one way to make a media console. See our selection of BESTÅ entertainment center hacks for more ideas.
How I hacked a classic IKEA Bestå HiFi Storage Cabinet
I made this Media/HiFi Storage Furniture using an IKEA Bestå…
DIY Bedroom Projector Hack (With Popcorn & Wine Stand!)
Here’s a clever solution for integrating a home cinema into…
Besta takes a spin in my living room
Materials: 1 BESTA unit with a door (the one that…
Beautiful Billy Besta Behemoth
Materials: 3 single Besta Cabinets, 3 Double Besta Cabinets, 2…
IKEA HEMNES series
The IKEA HEMNES is one of the more expensive ranges at IKEA as it features a solid wood construction. This series offers a TV unit already, so you're off to a good start in customising the HEMNES. A popular combination is to flank the TV unit with the HEMNES bookcases for a media center with plenty of storage.
But that can be a tad bland, so scroll on for more ideas on making your HEMNES entertainment center a lot more interesting.
KALLAX as TV consoles
The KALLAX series is known for its minimalist, square design. And one of the most regularly hacked pieces of IKEA furniture. If you're looking for a simple yet functional TV stand design, look no further than the KALLAX.
IKEA used to carry a KALLAX TV unit (similar to the LAPPLAND) with space at the center of the frame for a TV. That sadly is discontinued, but you can still hack a similar TV stand using the standard KALLAX shelving unit.
Besides that, there are so many ways to use the KALLAX. Stack two units horizontally or vertically, depending on your room layout, to create a modern and airy entertainment center. Additionally, you can accessorize the KALLAX with doors, drawers, or inserts to increase storage options and add visual interest.
IKEA kitchen cabinets for media storage
Not expecting to see the IKEA kitchen series on this list?
The SEKTION or METOD range is so versatile, you can actually use them as living room storage, and they won't look out of place. The key is to pick the right kitchen cabinet frames to fit its purpose as a TV stand.
To make a TV stand, the frame of choice is the fridge top cabinet, which carries a slimmer profile than most kitchen cabinets. Flip the door around so it opens downward and wrap the frame in wood for an excellent wall-mounted media console.
BILLY Bookcase Entertainment Centers
The IKEA BILLY bookcase can also be an excellent choice for a media center. With its flexible shelving system, the BILLY bookshelf offers ample storage for your media and electronic devices.
It's not too expensive which means you can add as many bookcases as needed. And from there easily make a built-in entertainment center for a large TV, at a fraction of the cost of a custom built-in media unit.
LACK shelves for simple TV stands
Not to be overlooked is the modest IKEA LACK series. The tall IKEA LACK TV unit is the cheapest TV stand you can find on IKEA, while its sleeker brother, is so hackable and readily morphs into a handsome piece of furniture.
View all our LACK TV stand hacks
What style of IKEA entertainment center?
1. Built-in Look
A great IKEA hack for an entertainment center is to create a built-in look by using IKEA kitchen cabinets. Assemble the cabinets according to IKEA instructions and then put them in place. Add trim to the sides and tops to achieve a seamless built-in appearance.
View more built-in entertainment center hacks.
2. Rustic Industrial
A popular IKEA item to use to achieve the industrial look is the IKEA VITTSJÖ. You can add wooden crates or distressed wood paneling as your own personal touch to give it a more rustic feel.
View more rustic industrial entertainment center
3. Farmhouse style
Farmhouse-style entertainment centers often require a creative mix of IKEA units and your own DIY touches. Start with the IKEA storage unit of your choice like the BESTÅ unit or HEMNES. Then add wooden beams, shiplap, or barn-style doors as accents. You can also paint the cabinet units in a light color or add a distressed finish to give it that authentic farmhouse aesthetic.
4. Mid-Century Modern
To achieve the look of a Mid-Century Modern TV stand, the easiest DIY is to replace some furniture legs and attach era-appropriate door pulls, like in this IKEA STOCKHOLM hack that made it totally un-IKEA.
5. Floating TV stand
Optimize space while keeping a neat and tidy look by floating your TV or TV stand. Install BESTÅ unit to the wall to create a wall-mounted minimalist TV stand. Or you can even float your TV by mounting it to IKEA posts like the ELVARLI (or the discontinued STOLMEN) to lift your TV off the floor.
6. Hidden TV hack
Hide your TV behind lift-top doors or make it disappear altogether with the use of a projector.
All our TV and Media Furniture Hacks
Guillotined Expedit
Materials: One 1×1 Expedit Unit, One 1×5 Expedit Unit, One pack of 11cm Capita Legs, Two Expedit Inserts (including the cardboard packaging!) When I moved into my new house, I needed to find an entertainment unit which could hide my surround speaker system. With the Expedit about to go extinct,…
Sleek media unit from EXPEDIT
Materials: 3 IKEA Expedit bookcases shelf 185cm 5 boxes aligned Two wooden planks “medium” type 19mm on 5.6m 75cm Tape led transformer + Two cleats to length Two packets Blade PVC brand “Gerflor” Colour: Rustic – Pecan wood – aged Step by step Step 1: Go to IKEA. Get the…
Better than Besta
Materials used: 2 Ikea Besta bookshelves / 1 piece of Alder plywood (4′ x 8′)/ stain, screws, and glue We recently moved in to our new house in Phoenix area and the corner of our front room was super sad. We lasted about 5 months with this pathetic set up…
Lack Media Bench with Tiled Top
Materials: Lack Shelving Unit Having very luckily acquired an upgrade to our Television, we spent hours searching for something to put it on. This was when I stumbled upon Ikea Hackers. I was inspired by the range of creative ideas people were coming up with. Could I do the same? We…
Kallax Isn’t So Bad!
We’ve all been a little upset with IKEA discontinuing the Expedit line; I for one am not ready to say goodbye. We don’t actually have to say goodbye though! Kallax will be taking over, and with it you can have a lot of fun. I’ve lived a life of clutter…
Knock down your Malm
Materials: 4x Malm dresser 3 drawers, white stained oak 80 cm + 1 small 2 drawers 40 cm = 440 long dresser Items used: 5x 701.786.03 – 3 drawers 1x 101.786.01 – 2 drawers I wanted a long dresser (~4.5 meters) to accented the length of my room. I could…
RAST triplet sideboard – inspired by Siamese RAST Twins
Since I have built the Siamese RAST Twins hack for my own hallway some weeks ago a friend and I decided to built a different version of this hack. Thanks for the inspiration. We wanted to build a flatter but wider version of it to use it as TV furniture.…
Stylish Benno TV Cabinet
What you need: – Benno TV unit – wooden boards (we used beech wood) – wood stain in the color of your choice (we used teak) – coating – glue Easy to do: Just build your Benno TV unit following the instructions. Then make sure you have some wooden boards.…
Hemnes TV Bench Hack for PCs or large AV equipment
Materials: Hemnes TV Bench and Glass Cabinets Modification of TV Bench to take full size desktop PC, PC servers or large AV Amps/stacked AV equipment. The supplied TV bench is too small to take a full size media PC, large AV amps or multiple AV components. By cutting down the drawers…
Turn Expedit into Vintage Looking TV Sideboard
Materials: Expedit bookcase, thin ply board, 2 door knobs, 4 second hand furniture legs, paint White Expedit was painted in green (2 coats after sanding and 1 coat of primer). We removed 2 section shelves and added two doors on the sides. We used thin ply board to cover the…
Besta plywood playroom storage hack
Materials: Besta cupboard (cm)- 128 high x 120 wide; Besta 128 x 60, Besta TV unit 120 wide We needed to create additional playroom storage and Besta units were a perfect fit for our space and toy boxes. We designed lots of easy to reach storage and a wide display…
Bestå goes Arabesque
I was trying to find a TV stand that would be 160x50x50 cm. The ones that I found were either far too pricey or would need to have doors open to control the AV receiver. And less than 50 cm deep. I first planned to hack Expedit but saw in…
Solid TV Stand from LAGAN countertop
Materials: LAGAN, CAPITA Let’s start with the bad news first. I appear to have gotten hold of one of the last Lagan kitchen worktops sold, because they are now discontinued, and have been replaced by the identical Hammarp, at nearly twice the price. But, there is now a reasonably priced…
Besta Wall Unit Hack
Materials: BESTA, INREDA I started by assembling 2 Besta floor cabinets and attached them together. I installed handles and door catches. Next I built a base to raise them off the ground and mounted the cabinets. I cut a piece of maple for the countertop and attached trim, stained and…
BESTA HiFi shelf
Simple hack. It’s a single unit of BESTA shelf unit with doors (Width: 120 cm, Depth: 40 cm, Height: 64 cm) plus – a horizontal white board on it (Width: 170 cm, Depth: 60 cm) – a vertical white board at right to maintain the horizontal one (Depth: 60 cm,…
Ikea PS 2012 locker redesigned as TV-multimedia Cabinet
Even before the assembly of the locker: – Cut the 4 feet about 9,6 cm to decrease the height (if necessary) – Dry the gates using aceton – Remove the lock on each door – Sand the externals aspects of the doors (Sandpaper 180) – Paint the doors using acrylic…
TV Entertainment Unit for Electronics
Built in style (but slide out removable) TOBO entertainment unit heavily modified, with a (cut down) PRAGEL countertop. We used to have all out Home theater electronics in a deep double wide 24″ cabinet with heavy projection tube TV above. The A/V etc wiring was a nightmare since there was…
Ikea Lack TV Stand Makeover
The standard Lack TV stand we’ve had for many years was still going strong. Too strong, because even though it was the perfect size for our living room, I had grown tired of the boring standard brown finish. With the use of pine boards, a lot of paint and some…
Entertainment Center Dubs as Children’s Play Center
I created this cabinet debauchery by mounting a small upper Besta cabinet (meant to be a lower cabinet with legs) to my wall and affixing caster wheels to two free rolling “hinged” Expedit cabinets (meant to be tall vertical shelving units) below. By leaving the backs of the cabinets open,…
Stylish TV audio cabinet
Easy does it…just build your Besta cabinet following the instructions. Then make sure you have some nice wooden layers…we used acacia wood. All you need is three boards that fit well…glue them for better support and you have a fancy TV cabinet which also houses all your audio equipment out…
