Today I will to show you how to create an IKEA Makeup Vanity Cart that rolls around! It’s the perfect solution for a too-small or shared bathroom. I love a good IKEA hack, and this IKEA Raskog hack has to be one of my favorite ones to date! Keep reading to find out how I did it.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from IKEA and the Mom it Forward Blogger Network. All opinions and hair-brained ideas are 100% mine.
DIY IKEA Vanity Rolling Cart
Table of Contents
Right now, my twins are sharing a bathroom, although they both have laid claim to the empty bathroom by my college kid. We will see who “grabs” that one first. Since they are twins and leaving at the same time every day, this creates a bit of a bottleneck in the bathroom in the mornings.
Especially for my daughter. She is at the age where she would like to take a bit more time on her hair and makeup in the morning. She has difficulty doing that when her brother is crowding her in the bathroom. This project would also be great for anyone with roommates sharing an apartment or college dorm.
So I created a simple IKEA makeup vanity cart to help her out. She can easily roll it back and forth between her bedroom and the bathroom, whichever is the easier place to get ready that morning. She then is able to have all her hair and beauty products in one place. You could even store a portable vanity mirror in it to ensure you have all your tools in one place.
Supplies Needed for IKEA Makeup Vanity Trolley
IKEA Raksog Cart
Metal Utensil Holder from IKEA
Zip Ties
IKEA Godmorgon clear plastic dividers
Vinyl Lettering for the Front of the Cart – I made mine with my Cricut Machine- the font is called Budmo and can be downloaded for free online.
More info about the Makeup Cart
The rolling vanity is a very slightly modified Raskog Cart. I have to tell you I LOVE THESE THINGS! I have 4 now. One for my office, one for sewing supplies, one for the “art” stuff in the kitchen, and now this one. They are the perfect functional piece of furniture and can be used in many different ways, not just as a vanity cart or dressing table.
How to add the Curling Iron or Hair Dryer Holder
It’s the handiest little cart (plus it’s super cute). To make the vanity, take a utensil holder from IKEA (similar one found here) and attach it to the side of the Raskog with zip ties.
To attach it, string two zip ties through the top and two through the bottom, tighten very well, and clip off the extra ties.
Now, she has a place to hold her curling iron and flat iron. The metal utensil holder is just the right shape to hold them, and since it’s metal, she can place slightly hot curling irons in it. Helping to optimize storage space so you can fill the cart with a lot of stuff, including jewelry and makeup storage.
I will say this is not intended to be used with a turned-on, hot curling iron, just one that is unplugged and in the process of cooling down.
How to Organize the Cart
Divide each of the 3 trays into separate purposes. I chose Face, Nails & Hair, but you can use whatever you’d like. I cut out some vinyl letters for the cart too, to help keep it organized and for a bit of decoration (more info on cutting out the vinyl lettering below).
Amazon is a great place to find organizational tools to help you maximize space and have enough storage in this DIY makeup vanity.
The Makeup Shelf
To organize the makeup on the top tray, use IKEA Godmorgon clear plastic dividers (another great makeup storage option found here). My daughter was then able to divide up her makeup collection into plastic dividers to keep everything organized.
The Hair Shelf
The bottom shelf holds her hairdryer (it also can fit in the canister on the side) and two more plastic bins, one large one for hair accessories and one smaller one for hair bands and bobbypins. This shelf is also great for storing any extension cords needed for electric hair tools.
Drawers and jars are also great for keeping hair accessories organized on this shelf. Mason jars can be used to store hair ties and bobby pins, and plastic drawers can hold larger hair accessories like headbands.
The Nails Shelf
Even though she doesn’t do her nails every morning, she definitely needed somewhere to keep all of her stuff, so we dedicated a shelf to that.
We also found out that the large Godmorgon organizer (similar to one found here) is perfect for holding bottles of nail polish; the one we chose has a lid to keep all her nail polish neatly organized and easily portable, but you don’t need one with a lid or even a large drawer, whatever works best for you is perfect.
How to Add Lettering to the Cart
You can cut the letters for the front of the cart at home yourself with an “e-cutting” machine.
The font is Budmo. It is cut with a Cricut Machine and white vinyl.
What is a Cricut? A Cricut Machine is an electronic cutting machine. It hooks up to your computer via USB or Bluetooth and cuts images you send to it, much like a printer. It just cuts instead of prints. It can cut vinyl, paper, fabric, and much more. The images are all digital; you can upload your own images or buy images in the Cricut Design space individually. You can read my full review of the Cricut Maker Machine HERE.
About IKEA’s First59 Program:
A few weeks ago, I shared with you one of the challenges that my family faces in the morning. Last-minute chaos. Most of this chaos is caused by us being slightly under-prepared and a little bit disorganized. Right now we are dealing with two big issues regarding mornings. One, “I can’t find my clothes”. Two, “There is no room for me in the bathroom”.
With the help of IKEA and lots of inspiration found online, I decided to tackle the second of these two problems, the bathroom. The clothing situation still needs to be addressed. But that’s a bigger project, and I realized that I had a quick and simple solution to the bathroom problem.
A little bit of chaos in the morning can get me a little bit frazzled. IKEA has done studies and found that the way that you spend the first 59 minutes of your day can affect your mood for the rest of the day. They have made it their mission to provide simple solutions to help you make the most of those first :59.
After one week of use I’m happy to report a “so far so good” with the cart, helping to streamline our morning routine. I’ll be sure to pop in here again and share with you how it works long-term.
We have learned a few things to help us at the beginning of our day. We do things like, laying out clothes the night before and setting out breakfast bowls. Also, we make sure everyone’s homework is in their backpacks.
Other IKEA Hacks & Ideas You Might Like
The Best IKEA Hacks to Simplify your Morning
IKEA Mudroom Hack; Bookcases to Lockers
Sewing Room Organization Ideas
andy says
this is very cute ,,love it 🙂
Natalie @ Threads & Bobbins says
Brilliant idea! Never seen it used like this before 🙂 I was thinking about getting one for my sewing bits and bobs but actually prefer this idea!
I have one for my sewing supplies and I love it for that too, it looks so cute loaded up with threads and needles in my sewing room 🙂
rebeca says
if I want one could I get it how much is it
Phyllis says
This is so clever and so cute! Love that trolly but would never have thought about using it in this way.
Amber says
This is such a brilliant idea! I’d never of thought of something like that but it looks really useful and cute!
Thank you!! So far it’s working — fingers crossed 🙂
Ami Rolston says
My granddaughter saw this & would love to have one. Can you tell me what it is made of? Hopefully not plastic.
Tara says
It is made of heavy durable metal. We bought two of these last year-One for me and other for my daughter. One of my all time favorite ikea purchases (and I shop there a lot!!)- can’t go wrong with this cart 🙂
Melanie says
Love this, I’m making one for my Daughter who’s turning 13 this month. Can you tell me how big your lettering was Heigh and width?
Adrianna says
Does anyone know what the name of that utensil may be? I tried to search for it on the ikea page with no success….was it in the office section of Ikea???
It’s actually from the kitchen section- it’s meant to hold utensils, I’ll see if I can find the name..
Adrianna says
Found it !! Thanks!!!
Cherilyn says
What is this called?? So cute!
Iris says
Love the cart. Where can I find the vinyls(Nails Hair Make-up)? I want to do this for my g’daughter for Christmas.
Kelly says
Hello,
Very cute idea !!! I just have a couple of questions,
Is the wording made of vinyl ?? And if so can you tell me what size your made them ??
Thanks
Tammy says
Where do you get the cart? Looks great !!
Michele says
How deep are the shelves?
Karen says
Love this!! Which Godmorgon sets did you use, and where did the plastic hair bins come from.. Also, the vinyl letters 😉 Thank you
Patti McGarry says
Hi Melissa, I’ve bought the cart, the utensil holder, the bins and I’m ready to go! I have a Silhouette, can you tell me the font and size you used for your vinyl? I’m making this for my daughter for Christmas, she just started beautician school! Thanks a bunch!
Sure! The font is Budmo. It’s free, I’m not sure of the size… I measured the bins and made the font to fit each bin separately.
Amanda says
Hello Melissa,
I was wondering what program you used to get the Budmo font? Or was it a cricut cartridge? I have the cricut but am having a hard time finding anything with that font.
Dinah says
Where did you get the cart from??
IKEA
darlene says
The closest Ikea is 5 hours away. Any suggestion on where to get a substitute for this cart?
lilly says
You could just get home delivery
Lindsey says
would you consider making and selling one of these? I love this!!
Trinity says
Just stumbled upon your blog and LOVE all your cute ideas! Definitely following along from now on. 🙂
Dee says
I keep seeing this cart pop up and I am determined to put one in the little corner of my bathroom that can be rolled throughout the apartment as needed! Heading to IKEA! Bye!
deidre says
Hi, I really loved this idea, but I can’t find a place that has the metal flat iron and curling iron holder. I am going to do this for my teenager’s room. Thanks for the awesome idea!
Laurie Zimmer says
My daughter found this idea. I am going to do this for her birthday. We even have a candle holder that we can use, like you did for the curling iron. Thanks for the idea.
Kadie says
Hello! Love this idea for myself but where did you get the Vinyl letters? Thanks!
I cut them myself at home. I’d check etsy to see if someone will do a custom vinyl lettering order.
Rave + View says
This is a must-recreate hack. Now, that my makeup collection is inevitably growing, I must include this in one of my projects. Thank you!
Yvonne says
How big did you cut the letters?
I used a Cricut Machine… there is a link to it at the bottom of the post under UPDATES
Ceci says
This item is available at Amazon. I just bought 2.
lilly says
Just a note: if anyone is wondering what the utensil holder is called it is: ORDNING
I just found it but you can just search ‘Kitchen utensil’ and scroll down a bit if it doesn’t work
lilly says
Melissa do you know the name of the white bins? Thank you!
Sally says
I love this idea, but I can’t find the clear plastic bins….. could you send me a link?
The tutorial is several years old, IKEA might not sell those exact ones anymore.
Cindy says
Hi, what cartridge is Budmo on?
It’s not on one. I used it with the Cricut that I hooked up to my computer so that I could use the fonts on my computer
cindy says
oh ok I am not real savvy with my cricut so I will have to figure out how to use my computer fonts on the craft room. Thank you.
Tara says
Did you spray paint it or use regular paint?
I did not paint the vanity cart
Brenda says
I love this! Ikea doesn’t have the blue anymore…or at least I can’t find it. Do you sell the letters?
Brenda says
If you go on Michaels.com you can get it in blue and….MUCH CHEAPER,! I paid $30 for mine! Got my stainless utensil holder on Amazon. Don’t know where to get the letters tho. I bought 2 carts for 1/2 of what the others wanted! Good luck!
Dianne Falcone says
Made this for my daughter for Xmas. Thanks for the inspiration!