Football Picture Photo: IKEA Malm Headboard Hack

Monday, April 22, 2013

IKEA Malm Headboard Hack

IKEA Malm Headboard Hack
ikea frames
Image by Zoe-Rochelle
This is one of my IKEA hacks. I purchased the Malm headboard shelf with roll out night stands. It is designed to be used with the Malm bed frame.I turned it the opposite of how it is designed to be used and use my own bed frame.

Although I am usually very happy with my IKEA products, I was not happy with the original design of this product. The wheels were not large enough to ensure the unit could clear the carpet making it unusable in my carpeted bedroom. To remedy the problem, I added larger casters (.00 US for 8 casters) to the roll out unit so it now clears the carpet.

I needed to remedy the problem of the roll-out with its added height. It would no longer fit under the headboard shelf. I chose to add 8 inch Capita legs to the headboard. This required adding a 1” x 3” solid birch piece to bottom of headboard for a solid material to screw the legs into. I used wood glue and nails to attach the birch. After drying, I attached 4 Capita legs - 3 on the bottom of the headboard, and one on the middle support section that is perpendicular to the headboard. Adding the solid birch is essential if you add legs. Screws will not hold in the Malm material because it is not dense enough and your legs will not be stable.

If you don’t want to raise the height of your headboard shelf any more than to clear the roll-out, choose the correct size of solid birch to add the needed height and your roll-in should fit fine. I added legs for my own reasons but they are not required.

One other issue with the design is that the roll-out is difficult to grab to pull out especially if there is any weight on it. I’d add handles.