A Shelf Made With Used Ikea Slats

An easy tutorial, perfect for beginners. Dirty cheap, especially if done with reclaimed wood. Doable in a weekend, better done by two people if you’re not super equipped.

This project is from two years ago. The photos were taken for personal use. Nevertheless, I think they serve the purpose of this post.

We needed a shelf/pantry for everyday use, but also for stocking up on supplies without overcrowding our small kitchen/living room.

Shelves prices are nuts and wood is not that cheap these days, plus the store is kinda far from where I live and, me not having a car, I should have rented a free-floating car resulting in the total cost of the self-built shelf being higher than a purchased one.

So, I bought some used Ikea Sultan Lade bed slats. These are the straight ones, not the arched ones!

For a set of 32 pine wood slats measuring 80 x 7 x 2 cm I paid 10€.

THE PROJECT

The shelf will be as long as the length of the slats, as deep as half a slat (for easy cutting) and as high as two slats stacked lengthwise. So 80 x 44* x 160 cm.

*(44cm deep -> 40cm cut slat + 2cm each perpendicular side into which it will be screwed)

Since the shelving unit is self-built, we can customize it based on what we already know it will contain: the shelves will be spaced as far apart as the tallest object that will then be on that specific shelf. Measure stuff you know you always have.

You can build a top shelf, I left it open for an easy dish drainer use. (see photo above)

1. 28 slats
2. 32 wood screws ø 4mm x 30mm
3. 32 wood screws ø 4mm x 50mm
4. 24 wood screws ø 4mm x 15mm
5. 4 perforated plates

1. Drill/electric screwdriver
2. 3mm wood drill bit
3. Screwdriver bits
4. Hand saw
5. Clamp
6. Sandpaper 40, 80 and 120 grit
7. Ruler, square, spirit level
8. Pencil

These boards come joined together by a ribbon. I suggest you keep it for now, so you can hang them for an easier cleaning.

I cleaned them with a damp cloth and a very small amount of neutral soap, then wiped them with just the damp cloth to remove any residue from the detergent. I then left them to dry in the sun.

Then, to separate each board, I cut the ribbon and gently removed it from under the staples with pliers.

Before screwing the boards together, pre-drill holes so that the wood does not split. They must be LESS deep and LESS wide than the screw that you will then insert into them, so that it remains firm. This is why the drill bit you use must have a diameter slightly smaller than the screws.

Start by measuring carefully and cutting 4 slats in half with the hand saw, then cleaning the cut with sandpaper, starting from the coarsest grain and working your way to the finest. This will give you 8 pieces of about 40cm. Try to make them as equal as possible. Let's put them aside for now.

To build the columns, which will be the height of our shelf, join two slats lengthwise with the help of a small plate. Use 8 slats, joined two by two, to obtain 4 columns. The screws used are 15mm.

Holding them at 90°, screw four 40cm boards (that we cut at the beginning) to one column and then to the other one. To do this use the 50mm screws. You will obtain a ladder. Repeat the procedure obtaining two.

In order for the plate not to be visible from the front, the columns must be directed to the same side, so the plates will not be facing each other, but one will be inside the shelf and the other towards the wall. See detail in the photo above.

Now you can make the shelves. On the short pieces of each ladder mark the position where the slats will sit. You can measure by hand or by spacing the slats using two boards placed on the 2cm side as a separator. In the photo up here I have recreated the method for an easier explanation.

Once everything is marked, screw down the slats using the 30mm screws. I suggest doing it upside down because it is easier to screw from top to bottom than the other way around, and then turn the shelf around, so the screws will not be visible.

This is the pantry shelf today. It contains both our supplies and everyday stuff. It holds a lot of weight: kilos and kilos of pasta, jars of legumes and various cans, bottles of condiments, bags of flour, small appliances and the dish drainer. The shelf is not nailed to the wall but it won’t move by a millimeter. Renter-friendly. Stout. Perfect!

WHERE TO FIND USED SLATS

I found them online from a seller nearby with whom I met in person. So no shipping costs.

You can also look into websites or Facebook groups where used beds are sold or given away for free. With the bed frame you can do other projects.

Another place where you can look for these slats is under your Ikea bed: if you have an easier time finding the arched kind of slats, you can substitute them for the ones you already have, then make this project with your old straight slats. They come in 70, 80 or 90 cm.

TOTAL COST

I’m from Northern Italy and the total cost for me was about 20€ for the slats, plates and some screws; some screws I already had.

You can spend 30€ if you have to buy all the materials and some tools*. But if you can find the slats for free, you can spend even less than I did.

I hope this tutorial helps somebody save some money! Thanks for reading!

* budget hand saw 4€ or 5€; budget clamp 2€ or 3€; three kinds of wood sand paper 2€; ruler+square+level tool thingy 3€. If you don’t own a drill, try renting it, maybe for free in a community/neighborhood initiative. Anyway, the small Ikea electric screwdriver will do for this project.

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(It's in Italian but you can Google translate it directly on site)