IKEA hacks are all the rage, and with good reason. Pre-built, reasonably priced items that can be totally customized give me plenty of reasons to get on board. Can you say: factory finish?
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So, when it comes to the Hemnes line (Hemnes is IKEA’s real wood, upgraded line)- the hardware is a dead give away that you’re using IKEA shelves. Updating the hardware creates a HUGE impact for not very much money.
On our giant living room wall builtins IKEA hack, we used two sets of black Hemnes cabinets, each with three drawers and glass doors (please excuse our tardiness- they’re not finished). They were totally snooze-fest level with the existing hardware.
You can completely change the look and feel of the whole thing by finding hardware that speaks to you. At first I really wanted long, brass handles. However, 16″ hole separations on the drawers really limit non-custom options (the quotes I got on custom bars were in the $100 each range, and I needed six). So, I went back to the two pulls per drawer option and found something in the same family as what I wanted before.
I found these Antique Brass Bin Pulls pretty reasonably and the two Cast Brass Cupboard Latches for a total of $142, both from House of Antique Hardware.
They made such a difference. Aren’t they just gorgeous?
A few notes on installation: the pulls came with screws instead of two sided hardware. No way were we risking that accident-waiting-to-happen with our fifty kids, so I sent Rainman with one of the pulls down to the hardware store to hunt for a screw, washer, and nut that would work and go all the way through inside the drawer. Since we purchased them at Lowe’s our color options were limited. I haven’t decided whether I want to paint the hardware heads to match the pulls yet.
I originally intended to use one pre-drilled hole on each side but after we looked at the spacing we decided to straddle the existing holes and drill all new holes for each bin pull. They just looked better balanced.
The cabinet latches were a little more difficult because the pre drilled holes were too far back (toward the glass).
There is not a whole lot of wiggle room when installing these latches. I moved them down to a place I liked better visually and filled the old holes with a basic brushed brass Chicago screw. They have to go to the very edge to latch and the drilling has to be done very precisely.
Here are the Chicago Screws we used to cover the existing hardware holes.
I would love to see different ways you customize your own IKEA hacks! Thanks for joining our adventures!
Check out more of our projects here.
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