Want to turn Ikea Besta cabinets into custom built-ins? We created three straightforward hacks that transform our Bestas into high-end looking storage without the high-end price. The result: more concealed storage and added architectural detail flanking our bedroom fireplace.

Built-in storage is useful everywhere, especially in a smaller home like ours. We’ve added built-in Pax closets in our bedroom, a custom desk and bookcase to our son’s room, and a wall-to-wall media cabinet in our family room. When we needed a solution for the empty spaces next to the fireplace, more built-ins made the most sense.

Why Choose Ikea Bestas?

The fireplace pictured is directly across from our bed. When we first moved in we propped random furniture on either side, but the space always felt like it wanted built-ins. The recessed areas and natural symmetry made it an ideal spot for custom-looking storage.

Ikea offers a 47″ wide Besta cabinet that nearly fills the 50″ recess on one side of our fireplace. With a simple set of legs the cabinet height also fit neatly under the windows, making Besta a practical and cost-effective choice for achieving a built-in look without custom cabinetry.

We actually bought the cabinets in late 2020, so they showed up in holiday photos early on. At that stage they weren’t built-in yet—just functional storage. We held off on the full makeover while we updated the fireplace, but over the following year we finished the tweaks that made the units look custom.

Once we completed the simple upgrades, it became hard to imagine the room without the finished Bestas.

How We Hacked Our Ikea Bestas

There are many ways to customize Ikea furniture—paint, trim, hardware, wallpaper—but for these built-ins we applied three straightforward upgrades that give an overall custom impression:

1. Added filler trim on the sides
2. Added baseboard
3. Added a butcher block countertop

Besta Hack #1: Add Side Filler Pieces

Adding filler trim is one of the easiest ways to make an Ikea unit read as built-in. The basic idea is to attach thin strips of wood (for example 1x2s) to the sides of the cabinet to fill the gap between the unit and the wall. With a saw, screwdriver and nail gun, most DIYers can handle this task.

You may need two layers of filler: a back layer fastened to the cabinet box and a front layer that sits flush with the cabinet door. When painted to match the cabinet—we used Sherwin-Williams Pure White—the filler becomes virtually invisible and helps the whole run look continuous and built-in.

Besta Hack #2: Add Baseboard

Adding baseboard and quarter-round trim that match the room ties the cabinet to the existing architecture. We attached baseboard to the Besta’s stock block legs. Because that made the baseboard stick out slightly beyond the cabinet doors, we opted to use a thin plywood strip for depth instead of full baseboard, then nailed quarter-round and painted everything to blend seamlessly.

What We Store In Them

Hacking these cabinets dramatically improved bedroom storage. One cabinet holds miscellaneous supplies like spare paint and seasonal items. Since filming a quick tour video, we rearranged and now use one side as our official family game cabinet, making games easy to access while keeping clutter hidden.

The other cabinet stores overflow books, gift bags, tissue paper, candles, vases and rotating decor. Items stored here aren’t used daily, so the slightly tucked-away placement behind a small side table is not an issue.

The interior is simple but functional: cords and plugs route through the back, and shelves keep everything organized and accessible when needed.

Update: More Ikea Besta Cabinets

After finishing the initial project we liked the result so much that we extended the Besta run along the rest of the wall. We repeated the same three hacks—side filler pieces, baseboard, and countertop—so the entire wall now reads as cohesive built-in storage. The consistency of trim, paint, and counters makes a dramatic difference in the room’s overall feel.

We’re thrilled with the outcome: affordable, scalable storage that looks custom and maximizes use of the space.

Thanks to these built-in Besta cabinets, storage in this room is much better organized and visually cohesive.

Other Ikea Hack Projects

If you like Ikea hacks, here are several other projects we’ve completed that show different ways to make Ikea furniture look custom: building in Pax wardrobes, creating built-in Sektion cabinets, wood-wrapping bookcases, painting kitchen cabinets custom colors, adding brass and marble accents, converting dressers into bookcases, and more. These projects use similar principles—trim, paint, and thoughtful hardware—to elevate affordable pieces into polished, integrated elements.

• How to build in Ikea Pax wardrobes
• Creating built-in storage cabinets with Sektion
• A wood-wrapped bookcase
• Painting Ikea kitchen cabinets a custom color
• Adding brass & marble accents to a shelf
• Building a dresser into a nook
• Creating a sleeping nook with wardrobes
• Turning dressers into floor-to-ceiling bookcases