If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to organize your kid’s books and craft supplies, look no further than this IKEA MOPPE toddler bookshelf and craft storage box hack.
With a few simple steps, DIYer Kristina of @BonnyundKleid shows us how to transform this wooden mini chest of drawers into functional and stylish craft storage and kids’ book bin. Her stylish yet easy IKEA hack has received close to 60,000 likes on Instagram.
Kristina shares on her Instagram caption the craft bin was built for her oldest child’s nursery. The craft bin is placed beside his craft table for easy reach to art supplies. “When he’s standing right next to his little craft table, he’s got everything ready to go,” she explains. “Children will use what’s visible. What’s hidden in boxes or closets is usually forgotten. That’s why I like this so much because it basically invites children to be creative.”
To make this for your child or your own craft room, you will need.
Materials:
- MOPPE storage chest of drawers
- Furniture feet x 4
- SUNNERSTA containers
- SUNNERSTA hooks
- Containers with lid
- Paint
Tools:
- Drill
- Hole saw
How to IKEA hack a toddler bookshelf craft storage bin:
- Remove the drawers from the MOPPE chest.
- At this step, you can choose to paint the exterior of the bin in your desired color. Kristina painted it white using a foam roller. Tip: If the wood exterior feels rough, lightly sand it with a sanding block to smoothen the surface.
- Then lay the MOPPE chest on its front so that the backing board is facing upwards.
- Drill a hole at each corner to fit the furniture feet. Screw the feet into the holes and lock them with the supplied bolt and washer. Tip: If you find the backing board too flimsy for the furniture feet, add wooden strips on both sides to reinforce the board before adding the feet.
- Alternatively, you can add wheels to the bottom of the MOPPE craft bin to make it easier to move around. You can find wheels at your local hardware store or online.
- Next, using a drill, create holes in the front of the mini drawer. These holes are slots for kids’ scissors, pencils, or other tools. Make sure the holes are large enough to fit the scissors your child will be using.
- Once the holes are drilled, slot the drawers back into the MOPPE craft organizer.
- Hang the SUNNERSTA hooks and containers around the MOPPE organizer where you think it is best for your child. You can use the hooks to hang scissors, tape, or other tools, while the SUNNERSTA containers are perfect for storing markers and crayons. Drop in the right-sized plastic bins for extra storage and group small items together.
And there you have it – a simple and functional kids’ bookshelf that also doubles as a craft supply storage for toddlers. It can also be used solely as a Montessori-style book display.
Easy DIY toddler bookshelf
Yvonne Mäder turns a MOPPE mini chest into a toddler bookshelf. She says, “My toddler’s books used to be a mess. Normal bookcases never did the trick of holding all the different sizes of books. At the same time, as they were too big for kids’ books, it was hard to keep the books in order.”
Chancing upon the MOPPE chest of drawers, she had a moment of inspiration. The MOPPE storage box has shelf dividers that form three compartments. When the MOPPE chest is turned on its side, each compartment can hold a few books.
It’s barely an IKEA hack, but it is a very effective book display. “This makes it very easy for toddlers to take out and put back the books without them all falling like dominoes,” she adds.
If the book collection grows, it is possible to add a shelf to divider the tall compartments to fit two or more rows of shorter books. Use construction adhesive like Liquid Nails to stick angle brackets on the sides of the divider. Then cut short strips of wood to fit the space and glue the shelves down.
She admits that it isn’t quite large enough to store all her children’s books. But it’s a good small bookcase for her kid’s current favorite books.
More ways to hack the MOPPE mini chest
The MOPPE chest can be further hacked. You can paint or stain the MOPPE frame as you like. And don’t discard the mini drawers. They can be used as storage bins in your workspace or craft room. When the toddler outgrows the bookshelf, slot in the drawers, and the MOPPE can be used as a storage unit again.
You may also like these IKEA hacks for toddlers:
- Toddler Closet ideas and hacks: Grow with IKEA
- Toddler-sized bunk bed with slide and den
- Unexpected IKEA item makes a fantastic toddler clothing rack
The post This clever IKEA hack combines a toddler bookshelf and craft storage box appeared first on IKEA Hackers.