Ikea Kallax ideas & hacks to inspire beautiful home decor and functional storage space in every room of your home! This cube storage system is practical and easily hacked into your perfect shelf unit!
One of Ikea’s most popular furniture items has always been the Ikea Kallax bookshelves, or as you may otherwise know them, the Expedit bookshelf. This versatile cube shelving storage unit comes in multiple sizes and colours to fit practically any living space.
You will find Ikea Kallax inspiration for every room of your house, and hacks to create a whole heap of new uses too!
This post was first published on this site in February 2019 and is updated regularly with new ideas.
SEE ALSO:
The Ikea Kallax Cube Shelf
It can be challenging to find suitable storage solutions to suit your home, whether it be colour scheme, style or space restrictions. This is what makes the Kallax so great.
The Kallax is my personal favourite Ikea product, closely followed by the functional and mobile Raskog cart!
Simply popping a Kallax unit into your house looks simple and functional, however these Ikea Kallax hacks and inspiration will help you find the perfect idea for every room of your house!
From kids rooms to craft rooms, bedrooms to bathrooms, we’ve got the works!
30+ IKEA KALLAX INSPIRATION, IDEAS & HACKS FOR EVERY ROOM
Before we kick off checking out all these glorious Kallax hacks and styling ideas, let me just talk about the unit itself.
You can purchase the different sized Kallax units in-store at Ikea, or you can purchase them online.
You may also hear these cube style units referred to as Expedit, which is the previous model cube shelf made famous by Ikea over the years.
The dimensions of the Kallax are almost identical to the Expedit, with the exception of trimming down the external frame slightly, in an effort to be more sustainable.
So this is a positive thing! And we still get a unit to love and use all around our home!
Right… now let’s get on with the exciting stuff and be ready to be inspired!
Kallax Living Room Inspiration
Add organisation and storage to your living room with these stylish Kallax shelf ideas. From simple functional storage to being a place for your pet to hang out nearby!
There is always an opportunity for DIY solutions in our homes!
Especially when it comes to adding hidden storage units within your home office or living room area where you need more shelving but don’t have enough wall space available to accommodate bulky furniture that takes up too much floor real estate.
These brilliant hacks and ideas will show you how easy it can be:
1. Decorative Storage
The best thing about Ikea furniture is that most items work well just as decoration pieces in your home, but with the added bonus of providing storage solutions too. I love this simple display shelf set up using two 2×2 Kallax units.
2. Tree Door Decals
Add a splash of colour to your Kallax cupboard doors with these stick-on palm tree decals. There are heaps of other stunning designs available in their Etsy store.
3. Functional Room Divider
If you have an open plan living area, or live in an apartment, you may want a solution for creating more privacy or separation between rooms so a Kallax room divider is a great option.
You will want to use inserts that are either functional or look great from both sides, however, there are loads of Kallax inserts and drawers that will work perfectly for this.
4. Living Room Bookshelf & Display
Keeping it simple with this use of the Kallax 4×4 unit, with storage baskets, a bookshelf row and a display row. This is both functional and decorative for the living room area. Find more details on this one here.
5. Living Room Display Unit
This is another simple by stylish home decor idea using the Kallax 8 cube bookshelves. You could display your favourite books or travel memorabilia or ornaments. Anything really.
The squares are large enough to fit quite a lot in each one and I love the modern home decor on top in this beautiful living room inspiration.
6. Cat Box For Kallax
Get a custom cat box insert for Kallax and give your fur baby a cute and comfortable hiding place out of the way, while still having them nearby to watch what is happening with the rest of the family. This has to be one of the cutest Ikea Kallax ideas!
Adding Decorative Legs
Another way to completely transform the look of your Kallax shelf unit is by adding decorative legs. This can transform your floor shelf from a simple floor storage unit to a classy piece of furniture that looks fantastic in the living room, bedroom or dining area.
They are easy to install and are fantastic for cube storage decorating ideas.
Shop this look: Tall brass cabinet legs | Ash Wood With Gold Mid Century Feet
Kallax Kids Rooms Inspiration
These creative and decorative kids’ room Kallax ideas bring storage solutions with a flair. Children’s rooms are notoriously cluttered and unorganised.
These creative kids room Kallax ideas will help keep your child’s belongings within easy reach, while also staying organized with a few fun playtime options!
7. Tidy Playroom Storage
I’m a big fan of toy storage ideas and this one is a perfect example of functional toy storage that also hides everything away. This means a beautiful tidy space where everything has its own home.
My goal is to set up our own toy room with the 2×4 Kallax bookshelves this year, so I could not love this more. In fact, the whole kid’s bedroom design is beautiful. You can get this same look using the Kallax door inserts.
8. Labelled Toy Tubs
These custom vinyl labels for the Kallax insert tubs are a perfect way to add a little extra touch to your kid’s toy storage. They are available on Etsy.
9. Kallax Change Table & Nursery Storage
What a brilliant way to keep costs down by turning a Kallax bookshelf into a change table for your nursery. You can create your own foam changing mat or purchase one to pop on top.
This is a huge saving rather than purchasing a stand-alone baby changing table that you will only use for a year or two. And the cube inserts with the drawers and cupboard doors look fantastic for hiding away baby essentials in easy reach.
10. Playroom Toy Tubs
These seriously cool Star Wars cube tubes for Kallax would transform any playroom. There are heaps of different designs available for a simple bit of toy room style!
11. Kids Shop Front Kallax Hack
Why should the adults have all the fun when you can convert your Kallax shelf into a shop for the kids playroom.
This is such a cute Ikea hack and also a great way to promote pretend play, imagination and teach simple numeracy skills through their shop sales and purchases.
Their friends will love to come over to play too! They have loads of other fun kids spaces room inspiration here too.
Get the ultimate LEGO storage ideas and organisation hacks for keeping your coloured bricks in order.
12. Playroom Cafe & Reading Nook
This is an alternative idea for the Kallax shopfront for playrooms and a little simpler since there are no modifications needed. However it is a great way to set up a play corner for the kids with the cafe style shop front, plus a reading nook all in one.
It would work really well in a classroom for kindergarten or junior primary school to encourage creative play and learning, or in a bedroom or playroom at home too.
13. Bench Seat Storage
Functional storage is a winner no matter what and I love seeing all the Kallax units converted into bench seats for playrooms or bedrooms.
This is a great way to create a comfortable playing space for your children, while also having a place for all their toys too!
It’s also a great way to create a minimalist toy approach in your home.
Find the tutorial for these bench seat cushions here and check out the rest of this gorgeous looking playroom.
Not keen to make your own? Check out these pre-made bench cushions in different sizes on Etsy.
14. More Bench Seat Inspiration
As I said, I love the look of these and the idea and this one is a great tutorial also with making Ikea Kallax bench seat cushions, only these ones are no-sew!
I love how they have put the two 2×2 units at either end for extra storage too because it creates such a cute little comfy nook in the middle for kids to lay back and read a book or chill with their technology… yeah hate it as we do, it happens sometimes!
15. Wood Wrapped Kallax Change Table Hack
This simple wood wrapping Ikea Kallax hack completely transforms the 4 square shelf into a high end looking changing table or shelf unit. This would look fantastic in any room of the house and not limited just to your nursery.
16. Decorated Storage Tubs
These beautiful Kallax storage tubs are handmade and give any kids room a little extra style, with a range of designs available on Etsy.
17. Kallax Play Decal
Transform the top of a Kallax 4 shelf unit with a play decal in minutes. This decal, and the other designs in-store, will turn your shelf into a fun road for their toy cars and toy animals to explore. With convenient storage below for all their toys too.
Read next: 30 Awesome toy storage ideas
Kallax Bedroom Inspiration
A bedroom is a place of rest so keeping clutter under control is always a bonus! These Ikea Kallax ideas will add new style to your bedroom sanctuary.
If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your bedroom, then look no further than the Ikea Kallax! This versatile storage unit is perfect whether you need some extra seating or an out of sight place to put all the pesky clutter.
The possibilities are endless and it’s easy on the wallet too!
18. Kallax Door Hack Tutorial
This stunning insert door hack turns a simple cube shelf unit into a beautiful do it yourself designer furniture piece, perfect for a bedroom dresser unit. These overlay doors are surprisingly simple to recreate at home.
You can also get some stunning panels from Etsy to create art deco style Kallax makeovers at home. These are 3 of my favourites:
Shop these looks: Mirror art leaves | Silver Mirror Applique | Greek Art Deco Gold
19. Simple Bedside Table
The Kallax 2×2 unit is a great alternative for a bedside table. Not only does it deter accumulating clutter (this is one of my worst clutter spots), but it is also a cute way to set up some extra home decor in the bedroom too in each of the 4 squares.
You could set one of the sections up as a charging station, perhaps with a stylish looking charging pad. A perfect space for a clock, your current book and maybe a plant!
20. Kallax Bedroom Storage
This room is loaded with Kallax bookshelves, against the walls and built into the bed. There is no tutorial on how to make the bed, however it would not be too difficult to build a couple of shelves into a bed frame for under bed storage.
I love the idea of storing extra bedding or perhaps even seasonal clothing in those under-bed boxes. Check it out here.
21. Storage Bed for Vinyl Collection… or Anything Else
This tutorial shows you how to use the Kallax units to make a storage bed, with the goal in mind of providing storage for vinyl records, however pop in some inserts and boxes instead and you can have storage for anything under your new storage bed!
22. Shoe Storage Inserts
Turn a Kallax unit into a shoe storage solution by adding these cross inserts to your shelf. Each cube will hold 4 standard pairs of shoes for a simple organisation hack.
Kallax Bathroom Inspiration
These genius bathroom hacks using Kallax and Expedit shelves are seriously cool. They take up much less space than traditional drawer units, which means they’re great for small spaces since they come in so many sizes!
23. Vanity Unit Hack
How incredible does this hacked Kallax unit look! This was created as an entryway unit, however it would be a perfect dresser or storage option for the bedroom or bathroom, or any part of the house really!
You can find the details on their blog post here My favourite part of this hack is the casing around the base. They have raised it up but also given it a solid streamlined look by adding this over the legs.
It completely changes the look and makes it a really stylish piece of furniture to have on display in the home.
Check out the video tutorial below:
24. Kallax Bathroom Vanity Hack
If you are looking for a unique bathroom vanity idea, this Kallax hack is quite detailed in how they converted their shelf unit into a sink vanity unit.
This is a huge DIY project and not as simple as most of the ones featured in this post, however, it looks amazing and it’s a really cool idea too so I wanted to include it.
You may need to call in a professional to help out with this one if you don’t have any building and plumbing experts in the family!
25. Bathroom Storage Idea
This is a super simple way of using your Kallax bookshelf of any size, as a way of incorporating extra storage into your bathroom area.
This would look great with a few extra baskets or drawer inserts to hide the toiletries from display, but overall it is a cute bathroom storage solution. Check out the rest of the details.
Kallax Kitchen Inspiration
A kitchen is a place where storage can be really useful, but sometimes we don’t have enough on hand to get ourselves organised.
Here are some great ideas for adding extra storage solutions to your kitchen space with Kallax shelves, including some very clever Kallax hacks!
26. DIY Kitchen Island
If you add legs to Kallax shelf, you can change the look completely, like with this DIY kitchen island hack that is raised up from the ground to give it better height for use in the kitchen.
The 2×4 Kallax is not quite high enough on its own. In this kitchen island hack, they have used 2 of the units back to back and added a benchtop for use in the kitchen.
A great option if you are limited on bench space and want some extra benchtop to use while you are cooking!
27. Ikea Kallax Kitchen Island Hack
Hacking like a boss over here with this super cool kitchen island idea! Check out the tutorial here and see how you can create your own 2×2 Kallax kitchen island on wheels.
They have used the cupboard door inserts for the Kallax to give it some hidden storage, and minimise stuff falling out if you are rolling your cart around too. It looks great!
28. DIY Roll Out Kitchen Island
This kitchen island tutorial is slightly different with that it has a roll out hidaway option so you can move it around your kitchen, or even roll it into another room if you need it for entertaining. It could double as a drinks cart!
29. DIY Bar Cart
This DIY bar cart Kallax hack is as easy as adding Kallax wheels and turning your 2×2 unit into a rolling cart. They have also added on a functional handle to each end on top so you can push your cart easily in either direction.
This would be a perfect addition to your home if you love to entertain, or you could turn into a rolling craft cart instead. Either way, it’s a super fun and simple DIY project for your shelf unit.
30. Brighten Up Your Kitchen Cabinets
These door decals will turn your kitchen into a tropical paradise with a splash of beautiful vibrant colours and a hack that will take you around 5 minutes to complete. Get the stick-on decals on Etsy.
31. Chalkboard Family Command Centre
This fantastic organisation idea was one of the very first things I added to my Pinterest boards all those many years ago when I started pinning my dream home and organisation ideas. It is such a simple Ikea hack too!
It is essentially 3 5×1 Expedit units, which is the model before Kallax but essentially the same thing.
Turn one on its side, add a chalkboard panel or some pain, and you’ve got yourself a simple and quick family command centre or extra kitchen storage and shopping list.
Kallax Dining Room Ideas
A dining room is a place where friends and family come together to share meals, laughter, and stories. For many of us it’s one of the most uses spaces in our home.
But what if your space is a cluttered mess and you’re constantly shifting stuff off your dining table before meal time?
Give your dining room a quick makeover with these simple shelf unit hacks by adding additional storage that will keep clutter at bay while still keeping everything close enough to be reachable.
32. DIY Banquette Seat Kallax Hack
I love this Ikea hack because not only is it super funky, it is also really functional too, especially if you have a rather small dining room and you need to fit a dining table that takes up very little room.
By installing your own DIY banquette seat, you can save space where you no longer need to worry about needing room for chairs to move in and out between the table and the wall.
Instead, pull the table to the seat! A great tiny apartment space-saving idea, or it just looks cool too!
This would also work as a hallway seat or in other areas of the home where a bench seat with storage would be useful – such as a mud room or the garage.
34. Kitchen Corner Seat
This is a very similar project that again is a great space saver for small dining room spaces or combined kitchen dining areas. This kitchen corner seat has the Kallax 2×4 and 4×4 units built against the walls with cushions and headboards for a great little dining table space.
35. Stylish Dining Room Storage
Finding space with Kallax storage ideas is always a bonus so this simple look of adding extra storage space to the dining area looks great using a side facing 2×4 Kallax bookshelf. Find the original source on Instagram.
Related Reading: How to refresh your home
Kallax Workstation Inspiration
Whether it’s your craft room, home office or workshed, the Kallax shelf is by far one of the best workstation storage solutions from Ikea. This is how I keep my own home office organised with a wall of Kallax shelves and a desk attachment.
36. Pretty Pastel Kallax Workstation
I have been dreaming of a Kallax workstation for years and this Ikea Kallax desk is definitely joining my household soon! I love the fact that you have everything on hand right next to you as you work, with functional storage that looks great too!
Shop this look by clicking the images:
37. Built-In Corner Desk Workstation
I love the floor to ceiling storage built into this one, using a Kallax 2×2 on top of a 2×4 Kallax bookshelf with the desk built in, plus an extra desk space along the side.
Pretty much this is an office and workspace in one as you can roll around to work on projects. The extra space at the end is a nice bonus too.
38. Monochromatic Minimalist Workstation
I love a workspace that is minimalist and everything in its place, mostly because mine never looks this great! The black and white office colour scheme looks great too, with the Ikea Kallax desk with chrome silver legs.
The boxes are from the Ikea Tjena range which you can purchase online.
Shop this look – click the pics to view online:
39. DIY Storage Desk Hack
For a super simple Ikea desk hack, this one is great! You only need 2 Kallax 2×2 units and a benchtop to create your own DIY storage desk for a home office. This one can be put together in just a few minutes, aside from giving the glue time to dry. Find the tutorial.
Kallax Craft Room Inspiration
It can be frustrating to have all your craft supplies strewn across the room. If you want a tidy space for crafting, why not try some of these Kallax craft room ideas? There’s something in there that will fit every need and style!
This is how I keep my scrapbooking supplies organised at home and the majority of my other hobby related items in my office. I have a wall of Kallax shelving with an inbuilt desk and it’s one of my favourite spaces in our house.
40. Organised Craft Room Storage
The Kallax is the perfect storage solution for craft rooms and this was the very reason I got my first 4×4 Expedit unit back before they brought out the Kallax.
It is a very stylish way to keep craft supplies organised, with the use of different inserts or simply using each square for a different type of craft supply.
I love the look of this craft room storage, with all the perfectly fitted stamp pad inserts, paper shelving and pen dividers. This is pretty much a scrapbooking and paper crafting dream come true! Major craft room envy right here!
Check out more pics of this amazing room. You can find all these different storage systems for the stamps and paper on the website too.
41. The Ultimate Mobile Handyman Station
This Ikea desk hack is perfection! Find the tutorial on how to make your own mobile workstation which is perfect for any craft room or man cave!
This is such a great idea for a rolling sewing table, so you can move around to cut your fabric and pin. It would also work great for woodwork projects and similar handyman DIY projects. LOVE IT!
42. Bright Craft Room Inspiration
This is another beautiful home craft room inspiration that brings me envy. Loving those teal walls, but most of all, I adore the organised craft storage solutions they have installed.
Of course, the Kallax serves its function towards the back of the room holding stamp pads and also lots of different craft gadgets and tools. What a dreamy space this is!
Are you already planning how you can deck your house out and pull together your first Ikea Kallax hack?
Sometimes it is something as simple as a coat of paint to match your room decor, or leaving it perfectly plain and simple, embracing it as it is!
You can find many of the products featured in this post, as well as loads more of my favourite home decor and organisation products here.
Now time to put your Ikea Kallax ideas and hacks into action! Have fun…
For more Ikea Hacks, check out these Raskog cart ideas:
Do you have a favourite Ikea product that you would love to see some inspiration for? Let me know in the comments!
Kendra
Sunday 5th of September 2021
I need more information about #37. Can you tell me where you saw this?? Thanks!
Holly
Monday 6th of September 2021
This post was written many years ago so I'm not sure on the original source now. It is using Ikea products that have been attached to create a desk with storage though as I have a similar set-up at home. A 2x4 with a 2x2 on top and an Ikea desk top attached and an extra 2x2 at the end. You can purchase the desk and clips and a variety of legs or shelve units to make your own set up relatively affordably!
K Kuchiya
Wednesday 17th of April 2019
I love every single idea you've put across, but most especially, the one for the Kallax that can serve as a functional room divider. That's so cool, and something I could really use in my house