No LACK of creativity in Matt’s media storage

Matt’s apartment was a gem on Flickr. I was immediately taken by the media unit – an IKEA LACK shelving unit with sliding doors. Just what I always wanted. Then, a commenter (Thanks, Jamie pup!) suggested IKEAhackers to him. The rest, as they say, is a blog story.

IKEA LACK TV stand with sliding doors

Despite its good looks, the hack is not complicated. Just follow Matt’s instructions and you could have this beauty in your home too.

Make an IKEA LACK TV stand with sliding doors

Tools required:

  • drill
  • small screwdriver
  • hacksaw
  • IKEA wrench to dis-assemble

Parts required:

  • IKEA LACK shelving unit
  • Two sticks of 1/4″ aluminum U channel at least 70 3/4″ long
  • Small and shallow head screws tiny enough to fit into the channel
  • Two pieces of 1/8″ acrylic or poly door material – Matt’s was bought and cut at Tap Plastics for under $40 – sized 36″wide x 9.5″ high

“I took out all the LACK uprights except the center one – which I had to re-drill the centerpiece and install about 3/8″ back to accommodate the door rails. Cut your aluminum rails to size, mine were 70.75”, but make sure and measure yours.

Pre-drill screw holes in the channel and lack. I had to drill bigger holes in the channel so the screws were slightly counter-sunk and the doors would slide over them all right.

I also used metal polish on the rails so they had a nice shine. Finally, screw the channel in place except for one end. Slide the doors in and all the way to the other side and you’ll be able to screw the unattached rail ends to the LACK.

I chose a very cloudy (but still translucent) door and my remotes still work with them shut… not sure if a darker one would work as well, but might be fine.”

if you can’t get enough, click here to view a slide show on Matt’s apartment.

Updated! February 25, 2009

Scott does an IKEA LACK TV stand with sliding doors too!

He says, “With a six-month-old getting into things, we saw the writing on the wall and decided to upgrade our LACK bookshelf, which we’d been using as an entertainment center.  

I had already sanded and stained it to a walnut finish, in keeping with our living room. Along with some baskets that hold toys below from Pier One, I used the hack you had up last year and added sliding doors.

Even in Manhattan, finding aluminum U-channel wasn’t that hard. I did have to bring it on the subway, though. The store lent me a hacksaw to cut into 2 pieces for transport. We used Tap Plastics for the doors, but had to order some samples before deciding on a color – this added about $20 to our total cost. I’m sure this was much less than trying to find a new entertainment center, which would have been 3 to 5 times as much.”

All in cost:

$99 LACK
$20 for samples (shipped)
$52 for door (shipped)
$10 for u-channel (cut)
$5 for stain (2006)
TOTAL: $186.00

(baskets were $60 from Pier One, though)

IKEA LACK TV stand with sliding doors
close up of doors

I think it came out really well. We use an RF remote, so the only problem was moving the center speaker on top. Much less clutter shows now and my wife likes it more than before!”

See more photos of Scott’s media unit with sliding doors.