Hack an IKEA TV cabinet with real wood top

I wanted a large cabinet for my TV (it’s 55″) that wouldn’t look too IKEA-ish, and I wanted it to have a real wood top.

First, I looked at BESTÅ units, but then I realized that I couldn’t fit four 60cm modules along the wall as it is 2cm too short.

And then, once I saw the matt VOXTORP doors in a similar hack I knew METOD was the way to go.

IKEA items used:
Other materials and tools: 
  • Several pieces of pinewood
  • A worktop

TV cabinet with wood top instructions:

First, I got everything I needed and built the 3 METOD units.

pine frame

Related: I cooked up a perfect wall mounted TV cabinet


Then, I made a wood frame out of some pieces I had cut at a local store, so that it would act as a base.

metod on pine frame
pine frame below units

I wanted it to look like it was floating but the walls aren’t strong enough.

metod cabinets

I screwed everything together and to the wall and placed the doors on the units.

metod cabinet

Got a cut-to-size piece of pine at a local store. Sanded it and applied IKEA STOCKARYD wood treatment oil.

worktop

And it was done, or so I thought.

IKEA TV cabinet with wood top
IKEA TV cabinet with wood top

I decided it would look better if the wood was darker (the original idea was to get oak, but it was 4x the price).

So I further stained it.

IKEA TV cabinet with wood top
IKEA TV cabinet with wood top

I loved doing this. It actually only took a few hours to build it, less than I spent searching for everything. 

If you do something like this, I’d advise you to build your modules first and then measure it to get a wood top with the perfect dimensions.

~ by João Carneiro