IKEA Kallax to Mid Century Modern HiFi Console

I did a hack on the Ikea Kallax shelving unit, to give it a more of mid-century modern Hi-Fi cabinet vibe. The legs are from Lowes. The stain is from Home Depot, Ebony colored wood stain by Minwax. It matches the dark color of the Kallax very well.

I found out about that here.

I attached the legs to a panel of plywood, to make sure they were more secure than going directly into the semi hollow Kallax. I was able to secure the plywood securely to the Kallax, no issues with weight or stability. A painless project. Fun stuff.

It was my attempt at this look, from Atocha Design, which I think is beautiful. Mine is about $5,000 cheaper.

The mounting hardware is available separately from the legs.

There are six legs in total. I bought four angled mounting plates for the corners to give the mid-century modern look, and two straight mounting plates for the middle. I bought a plywood panel and cut it just shy of the dimensions of the Kallax. The plywood is attached with just three screws, running the length of the board, down the middle. It was secured to the Kallax firmly and I didn’t want to over do it with the screws, knowing weight / gravity would be a big help when the records were in the Kallax. The legs and the plywood have two coats of the ebony minwax. The mounting hardware felt securely attached to the plywood.

Here’s a link to the doors. I cut a square in two doors for the speakers and covered them with speaker fabric.

I attached the plywood to the Kallax using 1″ screws. For the leg mounts, I think I used the screws that came with package. 1/2″ screws probably.

Final touches on the HiFi cabinet. My Totem Dreamcatchers are rear ported, so I wanted to have the back of the speaker cubby open. I removed 2 sides of the Kallax door insert and just left a bit of the 3rd panel so I could still attach the door to the Kallax wall. To help out with echo / vibration, I lined the cubby walls with Sonex Audio Tiles, cutting a bit out of one tile for the speaker. The speaker sits on 4 Square Fat Dots from Herbie’s Audio Lab. I didn’t like how during the day the light shined in through the back of the cubby and out the front speaker grille cloth, so I built some wood frames and lined them with some black Acoustone Stretch Fabric. This way the light is kept out but the rear ported Totems have some room to breathe. The frames just pop in, the fabric gives it a snug fit. So, if I’m going to keep the speakers inside the cabinet, I think I’ve done what I can. It sounds real nice.

I believe I’ve put in about $500 total, for legs & hardware, plywood, Panyl Rosewood door adhesives, speaker fabric, handles. The Kallax & doors from Ikea run about $200. So $700. Which is a very substantial sum for me. It was something I really looked forward to trying and the kinds of consoles I love being made now are in the thousands, like Atocha or Madison.

~ Chris Kennedy