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 the store that it will be discontinued in April ’14 by something called Kallax – possibly with different measurements and new “spare parts.

The next best thing was to hack Bestå cabinets. I did not like Ikea legs and bought oak replacement legs from hardware store. Bestå is only 40 cm deep. To accommodate my 45 cm deep AV receiver I needed to leave out the backboard from one of three compartments. The greyish metal frame of Ikea Tombo glass door was not to my liking either. I painted the frame white and added 3M window film with the same pattern as used elsewhere in my apartment.

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The inspiration came from sauna’s glass walls.

 Source of inspiration:

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Here’s what you need:

From Ikea

1 white Bestå 120x40x38 cm shelf unit (article number 698.982.36)
1 white Bestå 60x40x38 cm shelf unit (article number 201.340.51)
2 white high-gloss Bestå Tofta doors 60×38 cm (article number 701.784.67)
1 Bestå Tombo glass door 60×38 cm (article number 401.035.53)
2 Bestå push latches (article number 902.563.36)
1 while glass table top 180×40 cm (article number 201.965.29)

From elsewhere

8 oak legs. Mine were too high so I needed to cut them to appropriate height.
3M Scotchcal™ Crystal Film Series 5525 window film. I had leftovers from previous project.
Glossy white spray paint
Hollow-wall anchors with flange

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Furniture screws
Wood glue
Masking tape

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Tools

Drill
Circle saw for cutting the legs
Carpet knife for cutting the window film
Osclinating tool for sanding the aluminium frame before spray painting.

Putting it together

Assemble Bestå 120x40x38 shelf unit according to instructions. Leave out Ikea legs. In phase 6 (of the instructions) leave out one of the backboards. This may make the unit a bit rickety so use wood glue while assembling. You might also want to add some extra support inside the cabinet to hold the weight of your TV.

Assemble the 60 cm shelf unit following the instructions (apart from the legs).

Put the two units next to each other and drill four holes through the sides of both cabinets. The holes need to be inline so you might want to use some clams to hold the cabinet frames together. Drill three holes to the upper side and three to the bottom. Add some wood glue to the sides and fasten the furniture screws.

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Do not tighten too much. I managed to break the  surface with one of the screws.

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Add the new legs of your choise. The oak legs that I bought had two holes in different locations than Ikea ready-made holes. Also the legs were too high – 26 cm would have made the stand too high.

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Cut the legs to 12 cm using circle saw and drill two holes for each of the legs to the bottom of Bestå frames.

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As the base is hollow use anchors. Make sure you are use anchors with flange intended for hollow walls. Find the smallest ones you can. Add some wood glue to the hole and to legs, too. Screw together. Do not try do attach legs without anchors. Even if they seem to hold while assemblying, legs with no additional support break apart when moving you piece. Even plenty of glue won’t help. Use anchors!

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Take the Bestå Tombo glass door. Sand down the aluminium for better grip for the paint. Using masking tape and some newspaper (or Ikea instructions like I did – who reads the instructions anyway!) cover the glass from both sides.

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Paint the aluminium white with glossy white spray paint. Do not do this at one go. Spraying several coats gives better result – and no drippings. Allow to dry between coatings. You might want to pain the hinges white too – they are visible through the glass front. Paint the handle white also. I did not do this and now the only eye-sore is the aluminium handle.

Cut the window film. First spray the glass wet so that you can move the film on the glass surface. Press the film firmly to get the excess water from underneath. You could use regular Scotch tape, too, for a simpler pattern. To keep the hinges from showing I added 4 cm wide strips of the film to the other side of the glass, too. As added bonus: 3D effect.

Attach all doors and the push latches. Add led lighting. I first taped the ledstrips to the cabinet frame but later moved them to the glass door frame of Bestå Tombo. Add the glass table top.  Hey presto!

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