My child is finally getting his own room. So I would like to have a wardrobe suitable for his size, where he can easily see his clothes, make his choices, and actually access these choices by himself. It shouldn’t take up too much space, but having different dedicated spots for different items (e.g. socks vs. hats) would be great for keeping things organized. Something that can grow with a child would be a plus.

I’ve considered buying the SYVDE wardrobe (sharp corners and lack of flexibility in shelves). NORDKISA wardrobe (expensive and takes up more space than I’m prepared to set aside for clothes). Or alternatively hacking the KALLAX / TROFAST shelves, before realizing that HUTTEN wine racks are a great fit for my needs.

I was fortunate enough to find someone in my locality letting go of multiple used racks at a steeply discounted price. So the overall price I paid is far lower than any of the above options, too.

Materials 

(for a basic wardrobe unit with space to hang clothes):

• 2 x HUTTEN wine racks
• 1 long wooden dowel approximately 30cm / 1 foot in length
• 2 hooks or 1 piece of rope to attach the dowel

Tools

• Hex key (comes with each IKEA set if you are buying new)
• Pliers

How to DIY a toddler clothing rack

Assuming you are starting with 2nd hand / already-assembled racks:

Use an appropriately sized allen key to remove all the screws from each rack. Separate the vertical pieces (shown in grey in the diagrams below) from the horizontal pieces (shown in multiple colours).

Make sure the same wooden dowels used to secure the middle horizontal pieces remain attached to them, instead of the vertical pieces. If they are stuck onto the vertical pieces, use pliers to wriggle them loose.

Reassemble rack 1 without the middle horizontal piece.

Take the middle horizontal pieces from both racks, position them vertically over rack 1, and push down. You may need to hammer (gently) in order to have the pieces fit snugly.

Reassemble rack 2 with the bottom horizontal piece only attached on one side of both vertical pieces. (Refer to diagram 2).

Position rack 2 over the assembled parts and push down. Again, hammer (gently) if necessary.

Attach a long dowel below rack 2’s top horizontal piece. I happened to have one with metal eyelets already drilled into both ends. So I hooked it up with two metal hooks, but if all you have is a plain stick, a piece of rope and some hot glue should do equally well.

If you are starting with new and unassembled racks, skip steps 1-2 above.

If you have more HUTTEN racks, you can stack them together (with one or two horizontal pieces removed), possibly in multiple stacks, to make wider wardrobes. I had 5 racks in total for my project. So I made two stacks and attached them to each other using zip ties for greater stability.

Bonus points

I like the look of untreated wood, so I didn’t paint over the racks. But according to the IKEA website, painting should be easy if you want the racks to match your room’s existing decor.

If you need storage baskets, the 28/14cm  (11/5.5 inch) SKUBB boxes fit PERFECTLY within the inner dimensions of each shelf.

~ by Lin Zi

The post Unexpected IKEA item makes a fantastic toddler clothing rack appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

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