My Very Own Ikea Hack - Sprutt Cabinet

Ikea SPRUTT cabinet hack, new tags, legs

The "hacking" on this Sprutt cabinet is minimal and simple, however I was excited that I discovered and purchased this beauty before it even made it to the Ikea website, leaving me feeling very "in the know", and just had to share.

I was at Ikea recently to look for a cabinet to put between two student desks in the breakfast area. I was leaning towards shelves with baskets, maybe even something like a nightstand - simple, clean, easy to keep tidy, and, preferably, white.

While I failed to measure the open space before going to Ikea, I knew it was about "two chair widths" wide. This coffee table caught my eye, though I wasn't convinced about the color. Ultimately, I decided on this night stand with white drawers from the children's section.

Ikea Sprutt cabinet mod with legs gone and new labels

In the warehouse I went to get the night stand, only to realize it came in way too many pieces and I was way too tired to try to comprehend all that and figure out which pieces I'd need. Not happening. I headed over to Aisle 9, which is where I recalled noting that the coffee table would be. I didn't find it.

Instead, I found this most awesome thing. I hadn't seen it upstairs, but the line drawing on the box sold me. It looked like a library card cabinet. I googled it, to see if I could find a picture of it, and found this one. Sold, sight unseen.

At home I read the measurements on the cabinet box and measured the space. Perfect fit, with maybe 1/8" to spare. How much more perfect could it be? It was meant to be.

Adam was in charge of putting the cabinet together and delegating tasks to his brothers. Once the cabinet was together we put it in place. Except it didn't fit. The measurements on the box were 1/2" off. Uh oh.

My Ikea hack: I removed the casters from the legs and cut off the legs using my handy dandy sawzall (thank you, camper, for forcing me to buy tools), which made it fit just under, but still between, the two desks with no room at all to spare. I was able to add the plastic "feet"/casters back into the leg openings, but not the adjustable bits below the feet. Wonderfully, now that the cabinet is shorter it blocks much less light from the window and gives the kids an extra counter for "in use" stuff. The simple, necessary hack made the piece an even more perfect addition to the space than it would have been otherwise.

The cabinet came with bright white, pink, and yellow labels, which were lovely but not quite what I wanted, so I made my own.

The labels are simply fabric fused to super stiff interfacing. They give a nice little touch of color to the white end of the room and make the awesome cabinet stand out, creating intrigue as to what's stored in the drawers. Of course, they can easily be changed out as desired, allowing the piece to be used in a variety of spaces or even decorated seasonally.

SPRUTT cabinet mod, legs gone, new tags, perfect for desk area

Of course, now that we have nine drawers to fill and organize another trip to Ikea is a necessity, right?

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6 Comment

  1. Looks really nice! now you made me want to hack it too, hehe! Does this have to be fastened to the wall somehow? Or can it stand on its own?

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    1. Thanks! It does stand on it's own but it's not a very deep cabinet and it's super lightweight, I'd definitely attach it to the wall if you've got any concerns about it tipping. I didn't attach it, but it's wedged between two tables so it's not going anywhere. :)

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  2. What are the actual dimensions of the cabinet. Ikea's website only lists the package dimensions. How deep and wide is it? I know your height is different because you removed the legs.

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  3. Hi Jody - I just came across this blog post via a Google search. I just wondered - could shoes fit inside the drawers of the SPRUTT? It comes up when you search for 'shoe cabinets' on the Ikea website, but it's not clear as to whether this actually could be a shoe cabinet...Thanks. I love your hack by the way - feet-less cabinets look so clean and pleasing :) Good job! mayaguthrie@hotmail.com

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  4. How high is the cabinet with the legs removed? Thanks!

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