Learn how to make your own Mudroom Lockers using IKEA Bookcases! We couldn’t afford to have custom mudroom lockers built in our home, so we figured out how to build them ourselves using IKEA bookcases.
We just turned them into IKEA cubbies! It’s a great and inexpensive IKEA Hack. If you like this post, you may also like this article on Laundry Room Storage Ideas.
I really, really love IKEA. I think I’ve said that here before, but it’s worth repeating. I realized I like IKEA because most of its stuff is simple, making it very easy to adapt to different purposes.
Right after we bought our home, we realized that the mudroom would not work for us, so we started brainstorming ideas for DIY mudroom lockers. With a new home, the budget was tight, and we had to find a way to build them ourselves, but we don’t have a lot of carpentry experience.
Table of Contents
How We Built Mudroom Lockers from IKEA Bookcases
FYI: The photos are not great; it’s a very narrow room with terrible light and even with a separate flash is very hard to take photos of.
Our Mudroom Before
This is our mudroom right after moving in; to say it was not working for us is an understatement. It’s a combo mudroom/laundry room and is far too small for our family.
This is it before. The shot is from the hallway looking at the door that leads into the garage. It drives me crazy and is the one thing I would change about my house if I could.
Now I will say, the laundry side of this room is still NOT working for me. It’s one of the next big projects figure out what to do with it, but I have NO idea… open to suggestions on that one. (UPDATE: Found a solution for Laundry storage!)
The mudroom side, thankfully, is now working for us. I’ll show you what we did about a year ago, and it’s still working great.
Our Mudroom Now with our IKEA Mudroom Lockers
When we were planning out the lockers we realized we had a few problems:
- Since the room is narrow and most “pre-made” lockers are wide at the base, none of the ones that I found online and in stores would work for us. They would all stick out too much from the wall, and you could not walk through the room.
- We have limited carpentry skills. We are very “handy” but would not know how to build mudroom lockers from scratch.
- I didn’t want just hooks on the wall; I wanted mudroom cubbies, so people had a place to “stash” their stuff.
- We needed to fit 5 lockers into a tiny space.
- We had a minimal budget.
How we solved our Mudroom problem by building our own Mudroom Lockers using Ikea Bookcases
One evening while I was perusing my IKEA catalog, I saw this… It’s the Billy bookcase, and it’s only $34 for the size I needed. It was not too deep, and we could easily fit 5 of them in the space that we had on the wall.
We bought 5 IKEA Billy Bookcases and installed them next to each other along the wall (5 of us, which is why we have 5 lockers). I also installed a hook at the end of the wall for long coats that would not fit the lockers.
How we turned the bookcases into lockers
The Billy Bookcase is designed with adjustable shelving. There are 2 fixed shelves, but they are at the top and the bottom, which left us with lots of space in the middle to work with. (Note: at the time we created our lockers, this was the design of the Billy Bookcases, it may have changed since then).
Instead of putting the shelves spaced evenly throughout the bookcase, we left a space in the middle to attach a hook for backpacks and coats. It worked great because the bookcases have holes all up the side to put the shelves exactly where we needed them. If you had tiny kids, you could install the hooks even lower.
We then left 2 shelves on the top for things like lunchboxes & books.
and 2 shelves on the bottom for shoes.
Tips for Creating the Mudroom Lockers
1. After you have the bookshelves where you want them, screw them to each other. So you have one large piece, it will help with stability.
2. The bookcases come with a pre-cut notch in the back to make them lie flat against the wall. If your baseboard is taller than the notch, you will need to cut the notch larger. They must fit flat against the wall.
3. The back of the bookcases is just particle board, not strong enough to hold a coat hook. You will need to buy a 1×4 piece of wood and cut it to the width of the bookcase between the 2 side pieces.
Place it behind the bookshelf. Then you will screw your coat hooks through the back of the shelves and into that wood. We used a bit of glue to hold it in place temporarily, then bought long enough screws to go through the back of the bookcase, through the wood, and into the wall. You will need long screws to accomplish this.
4. Use the anti-tip kit that comes with the bookcases so no one will try to climb up and pull the whole thing onto them. (make sure you install them into a stud in the wall, we installed as many as we could just to be extra sure). Do NOT SKIP this step!
I had plans to use the bookcases only temporarily then get custom lockers made later, but it’s been 10 years and they work so well that I don’t think I’m going to do that. I’d rather use the money for another project in the house.
Project Update – How they are Holding Up!
Since this project was posted many of you have made your own lockers. If you scroll though the comments you will get tips from other Makers.
The most frequent question I get is “how did they hold up”? They have held up great. Now almost 10 years later we are still using them. We have had kids move out and go off to college and we just “took over” their lockers for ourselves!
Many times of the years we have talked about swapping them out for something custom, but they work so well we have not seen the point of doing that.
You May Also Like:
See how the other side of the room turned out– check out the Laundry Room Shelving Post Here
IKEA Raksog Hack- DIY Rolling Vanity Cart
Pilgrim Days says
brilliant!!!
farmhouse mama says
Great idea to keep organized!
I’m loving this idea from another blog…. just a suggestion to add some sorting space to your laundry area
http://showandtell-sausha.blogspot.com/2010/03/laundry-room.html
Chris says
Perfect. I have some of these exact shelves, and never considered using them this way. Thanks for sharing the inspiration.
Angela Yosten says
that looks great! We have a mud room/laundry room combo too with the hooks and shoe shelves. LOVE IT!
Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com says
It looks wonderful!! My mudroom is similarly shaped — long and thin. Great use of space!!
xox
Jen
Lisa says
Awesome idea! What a great solution for your family! Is there no end to the fabulousness of Ikea? Thanks for sharing your mudroom – love it.
Julie says
absolutely love this!
Shannon Hairr Photography says
Love it!! For the laundry side, I saw a DIY project for building a topper for front loading machines that gives you a place to fold laundry ot store things. It makes it look customized.
Amy says
This is awsome. I love that each kid has a designated spot for school stuff! Thanks for sharing.
casserole says
we did the same thing at our house, except ours was with a Besta bookcase. Great minds, right??
–Anne
Sarah says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! GREAT IDEA!
Me says
What a great idea, I love them!
Angel says
You are SO clever! I just wish I had thought of it when I planned out our mudroom.
Christine says
Thanks for the great idea! I showed my husband and he agreed we should do this in our garage. Thanks for sharing!!!
Wani says
What a great storage solution!
michelleml says
OMG I love this idea but no ikea in our are.. Do they ship to your home
Thanks for sharing
Michelle
Cheryl says
Such a great idea. I can’t wait until we have a bit more space when we move. I am filing this idea away for future use. So inexpensive and really perfect. Accessible and simple and easy to use for all your storage needs.
Mrs. Vincent says
Thanks for posting! I love organizing ideas! We were just at Ikea last weekend…our oldest is finally ready to stay at Smaland!!! Bonus! 🙂
Keisha Lynn @ Project Campbell says
Thanks a GREAT idea!!! I have the same narrow laundry room!!!
Charlie says
one thing that a friend of mine had in her laundry room was a wall full of cubby cubes and each person had their own cube that had their clean laundry folded waiting for pick up, there was room for the detergent and baskets and so forth. What about something like that hanging on the wall. it would match what you just put up for the mud room area.
fyi, I like y’alls shoes, they are cute
Noni says
Oh I am so very excited. My husband and I were going to tackle my mud room last weekend but we ran out of time but this totally has me motivate. Wish Ikea weren’t 3 hrs away!!
Thanks!!! Oh and glad you’re enjoying the UT Mtns!!!
sewtara says
This is a fantastic idea!!
Totally plan to use it when I have a space for it.
Eileen says
Oh my goodness..Wonderful! How many times have I stared at Billy bookcases and never would I have thought to do something this clever! It makes me wish I had a mud room! 🙂
Debra says
Thanks for the idea. I designed built-in cubbies for our mudroom in our last house. Our current house has no mudroom. The foyer contains the front door, garage door, two tiny closets & the basement door. The kids just weren’t using the inadequate system I had set up.
We put together the Billy cubbies last weekend and installed them in the study….starting to look like we homeschool in there! The cubbies are great and the boys are putting their things away!!
Katte says
Are the Billy Bookcases you used the 15 inch wide or 31 inch wide one? I’m totally going to do this 🙂
anirak says
Excellent, someone has already done what I just thought of doing! I initially intended getting rid of my Billy bookcase and creating a nice little mudroom with bench seat etc. but this is such a better idea and you’ve told me how to hang the hooks! Fantastic idea, thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Heidi says
What an absolutely BRILLIANT idea! Thanks for sharing – you’re finished product looks GREAT! 🙂
~H
Patchy says
I love this idea and would like to use it in our mudroom. But can you possibly tell me how the board works that goes behind the bookshelf? Doesn’t this make the entire thing stick out from the wall by the thickness of the board?
Tiffiny Felix says
I saw this on Pinterest and I *love* it! So clever! 😀
Erica says
I had a similar question to another follower: I love this idea and would like to use it in our mudroom. But can you possibly tell me how the board works that goes behind the bookshelf? Doesn’t this make the entire thing stick out from the wall by the thickness of the board?
Thanks so much!
Hi,
The board does not run down the length of all of the lockers hooked together.
The backing of the bookcases comes in 1/2” from the back side of the bookcase so there is a space there that you an put a board in.
In each bookcase there is a separate board that is cut to the width of that bookcase. I hope that helps.
Michele says
What did u attach the board to? Where did u screw it to the back of the bookcase that was sturdy enough to hold all those backpacks, etc? Thanks!
The board is screwed into the wall. It sits between the back of the bookcase and the wall. Does that help?
Dawn says
I do not have a mud room but I did create the lockers (3) in my garage. I followed your directions exactly. After installing them, I screwed the cabinets together, put the 1×4 pieces of wood in the back to hold the hooks (Home Depot cut the wood to size for me) and secured it to the wall with the IKEA kit provided. My kids love it! Thank you so much for posting this!
Yeah!! I’m so glad that you were able to use the tutorial! We still have the lockers up years later and love them!
Angela says
I love this idea! we bought the BIlly bookcases tonight to give this a shot! I have a question though… what do you do about that “fixed” shelf right in the middle? It’s right in the middle of where we want the big vertical space for coats to be
Ours had a fixed shelf but it was the shelf one right above where I put the coat hooks, maybe they’ve changed since then?
Angela says
I just checked the instructions, and the fixed shelf is indeed right in the middle now! Has anyone else been able to find a workaround?
Clara says
We made these but used under shelf hooks that hang down like those I
n school lockers. Just screwed them to the bottom of shelf, no need for a board!
Denise says
This will work in my mudroom – and I don’t have to wait for hubby to build it! I’m wondering how the material stands the test of time, being that it’s particle board and melamine. How do you keep wet boots and mitts from ruining the shelving? Is it chipping or warping at all? Thanks!!
It’s not chipping at all. We don’t put wet boots on it, since we have a tile floor in there… We live in a very humid area and it has not been a problem.
April says
I wanted to thank you for this awesome post! Those Ikea bookcases fit my space exactly. Our laundry/mud room dimensions are very similar, except mine is more narrow, with the washer coming right up to the door molding. Plus I have a door to my back yard out the back. I was able to fit 7 of the lockers with about an inch to spare (I wish I could have 8). And the depth was absolutely perfect. You saved me a fortune in custom cabinets. I searched and searched for a solution to making a place for my 6 kids to put their stuff (besides all over the floor), and this was perfect! We had to rip out some hideous/useless cabinets to do it, but that was worth it. I was also able to put one in my front coat closet in this awkward spot where a vent comes up or something and created dead space. So now I have all this really useful shelving there! Thank you thank you! I love the internet/pinterest 🙂
Yeah!!!
I’m sooooo glad the idea worked for you!!! We still have ours up and use them everyday. They have held up really well!!!
April says
I’m back with another question. I saw your laundry side update. It looks great! Mine needs one as well, but I’m not sure what I want. I don’t want a front loader, and we won’t need new machines for a LONG time, so stacking won’t work for us. I have considered shelving like that though. Here is the real question I have. My laundry room door opens into lockers 1 and 2 and straight across is my washer, which is comes all the way up to the door molding, so the walkway is basically 3 feet. Very narrow space. That door drives me crazy. I’ve considered taking the door off the hinges and having it open, but it’s fairly messy in there most of the time (thanks to not having a laundry system I like). I like closing that door :). But I hate that the door likes to close on my bum when I’m loading the washer, or moving clothes to the dryer. To get to my Dyson (exactly the one you have mounted on your wall by the door), which is hanging n locker #1 along with my broom, mop, spray cleaners, etc., or to get to the first kid locker, I have to close the door and risk getting whacked by whatever kid is hot on my trail. If the person who designed this house had thought clearly, a pocket door could have been put in. To put it in after the fact would cost me about $1000 and a lot of mess. There is no room for any kind of sliding barn door. The only idea I have come up with is take off the door and put up a curtain door, kind of like the French use to cover under a sink. The downside would be my kids potentially ripping it down while playing some absurd game of peekaboo. Do you have this problem with your door being in the way?? Have you come up with a solution? I mean besides keep my laundry room clean and taking the door off?
No, I love the door being off. I don’t really care if someone comes over and sees the mess.. if anyone gets that far into my house they know me pretty well anyways and wouldn’t expect it to be super clean.
April says
So you have your door off? My laundry room is at the back of the house, but you walk right past it to go to the basement stairs. It is also directly in front of the door from the garage and next to the guest half bathroom. The one other solution I’ve found is double swinging doors, ala the Brady Bunch. I’m going to first try taking off the door, but then, I might try this. I kind of love the idea! Sharing in case it piques your interest as well. Sort of the best of both worlds, I’m hoping. I’ve found bi-fold doors that fit the space perfectly for sale on Craigslist for $30. The hinges are pricier, and then there is the labor that we will have to pay for. This is not a skill set we possess. Still mentally cursing the designer of this house for not putting in a pocket door…
In case you want to see how our locker room copy cat turned out, I posted this same question on Houzz, and someone there suggested the swinging doors. I included two panoramic pictures. Thanks again for the brilliant idea! People just don’t believe me when I say they are Ikea bookshelves.
April says
I went and took my door off right now and feel better already. That outside door window lets natural light into that hallway.
Eric Gilbertsen says
Thanks for the great idea! I bought two wide and two narrow bookshelves to make cubbies for mom, dad and two kids. It turned out great: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericgilbertsen/14293946227/. In my case, I was working within the confines of a 100.5″ closet, and the bookshelves luckily added up to 99.5″ so it fit like a glove.
Mandy Whitehurst says
In the middle of this very same project. Assembled the units but have a few questions about attaching.
1) Where did you screw the units together?
2) Regarding the 1×4 cut to the size of the shelf to go behind for screwing the hooks into, did you use one long piece the length of the whole unit or did you cut separate pieces to go behind each Billy. I’m wondering how you accounted for the 3/8 in. recess between back of unit and wall. Thanks!
trish says
where did you find the hooks- they look like coats wont fall off. THanks!
They are also from IKEA
Erica says
I built a two locker unit tonight – thanks for the awesome idea. I was wondering if you could elaborate on how you screwed the units together. I not a particularly handy or imaginative person so the more details the better!
Actually, we just screwed them to each other — we didn’t try to hide the screws or anything. Just find screws slightly smaller than the depth of two of the pieces.
Kia says
So what size were the shelves that you picked? Someone said that you could use the under the shelf hooks at the top, could you also just use the shelves on the sides and then not have to worry about putting a board at the back? Thank you
Michele says
Ok, getting ready to get 4 of these, can someone comment on the fixed shelf issue in the middle?
Does it have to be in the middle? Thanks!
For us the fixed shelf was at the bottom and the top… maybe you can move it if they’ve changed the design since then.
judy says
How wide are these shelves? 11 inches? Does it come way out in doorway? My laundry room looks similar with only about 3 inches to wall behind the door. It looks great..exactly what I wanted to do. Thanx ..just concerned about space.
The shelves come in different widths, check at IKEA and they will have dimensions on their website.
Tonia says
Was wondering if you used the narrow Billy bookcase (15 3/4″) or the wider (31 1/2″). Thanks 😉
They were the narrower. But you could use either, depends on the size of your space.
Ranessa Krause says
Hi Melissa,
This is a brilliant yet inexpensive way to revamp our disorganized mudroom.. thanks for this post!
I’d want to ask though how did you guys exactly screwed the billies altogether?
Shell says
I love billy and use them for everything. I have a hack I want to do, and your 1X4 may be the clue I needed. Let me ask anyway, usually the very middle shelf is a tight cam-locked fixed shelf for box integrity and stability. Did you relocate this shelf (and if so how), and if not, did you just achieve the same stability with the 1X4 or the bolting? If you did not relocate the fixed shelf, do you see any loss of integrity or strength in the “box” of the billy?
Thanks!
No, we left that shelf in place. When we bought the bookcases (in 2007) that fixed shelf was about 2/3 of the way down. It may have changed since then.
April says
I didn’t put the middle shelf in. Mine are bolted to the wall and to each other. We’ve been using them (with 6 young kids) for 2 years and no problems.
Kelly says
Hi – looking into a budget friendly way to organize a new mudroom and love this idea. Are these the dimensions of the size you used – Width: 15 3/4 ” Depth: 11 ” Height: 79 1/2 ” ? Looks like the price went up to $69.99 each. Not as much of a steal but still a good deal. Thanks for your assistance!
I don’t think ours were 79″ tall that might be the difference in price. Maybe they made them taller since then? It’s been 7 years since I made mine.
Ashleigh Bakker says
Hi! I have been researching building these lockers and your tutorial is very helpful. I have a question about the wood behind the lockers- did you buy one large piece to put on the back of all lockers, or did you put wood on the back of each individual bookcase? Does that cause any gaps on the wall? I don’t even know where to start with that wood on back or what type to get at Home Depot. I have 4 bookshelves I got from IKEA today. Thank you for your post and for answering my question 🙂
Micah says
Is there a gap behind the particle board and the back of the bookcase where the 1×4 board gets attached? Otherwise attaching this to the back of the bookcase will offset it from the wall, won’t it?
yes, there is a gap in the way that the bookcase is constructed so the board just fits in there flush.
Amanda says
Couple of questions about this… how does the bookcase fit flat against the wall if you put a piece of wood behind the particle board? (for the hooks)
I’m thinking about doing this in my basement- but the Billy’s that are double the size (31.5 inches) are so much cheaper. But then you lose the effect of having single lockers. I can’t find any images online- do you think it would look dumb to have the lockers wider? Without the separating piece every 15 inches?
The “panel” in the back of the bookcase is not flush with the back of the bookcase. It’s inset so the wood lies flush with the back of the bookcase when it’s attached to the panel.
Suzannah says
I love this idea and was so exciting to use it. Then I checked with IKEA. I don’t know if the design has changed, but they told me the fixed shelf in the Billy bookcase is the one in the center. They don’t seem to have any with fixed shelves on the top and bottom. 🙁
It’s been years since I’ve made these so it is possible that they’ve changed them since then.
Leah says
I wondered the same thing. There’s a thread on reddit that answers this question…basically you do not have to install the fixed middle shelf and the Billy lockers can still be done. If you google Billy assembly pdf you can see how.
Laurie Goldsmith says
Thanks so much for your inspirational ideas!! How did you put up the 1×4 board for the hooks behind the bookcase when the bookcase has to be flush against the wall? Did you have to cut out the wall (so it was like adding a lengthwise stud)? Do you think the 3M command hooks would work or would the backing of the bookcase likely rip/tear/break?
Leah says
I wondered about this as well and was happy to see I wasn’t the only one. I read through the posts ad saw that Melissa answered this question (above). Also, check out youtube “Ikea Billy Bookcase mudroom hack tutorial” Someone who did this after Melissa posted a video and placed their hooks on the inside locker walls rather than on the back. You could also use a hanging hook like a school locker.
Thanks! I had no idea that someone had made a video from my tutorial.
Leah says
I love your Billy Bookcase mudroom locker hack, Melissa, thank you. Custom lockers are soooo expensive and the clutter in my laundry room hallway (a.k.a. mudroom) is out of control. I was thinking of doing a long row of coat hooks and a long bench with shoe storage underneath, but that’s not really cheap either, and wouldn’t help with my sons’ miscellaneous clutter. The ikea lockers will work much better, I think. Thanks!
Sara says
Has anyone purchased these bookshelves recently? Where is the non-adjustable shelf? Is it in the middle? I’ve tried calling IKEA for the past 10 minutes and cannot speak to anyone to find out. It’s not listed in the product details on the website.
Melissa Leather-Smith says
Hi, Thanks for sharing this, I’m looking to do something similar. Are your billy bookcases the ones that measure 40 cm by 28 cm and not the 40 cm by 40 cm ones? Thank you!