IKEA Expedit shelving as AV stand

everett_psycho

Distinguished Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2009
Messages
9,599
Reaction score
3,433
Points
1,848
Location
Christchurch NZ
Does anyone think this on it's side would be any good to use as an AV stand:

IKEA | Living room storage | Bookcases | EXPEDIT | Shelving unit

it says on the series page it can be used on it's side no problem (here) but do you think it could take the weight of an onkyo receiver with all the usual kit underneath and potentially a 50 plasma on the top as well? Seems like a fairly cheap way to get what i think could be quite a nice looking set up
 
I have just bought one of these on Boxing day to give us some storage and somewhere to put the amp,htpc and ps3 now im moving everything out of the attic into the living room. I have it on its side as you suggested and it is fine. You can also buy matching glossy white doors for some of the holes which look good and give somewhere for the controllers to live (they are also open backed so useful for hiding cabling inside.

Build is typical IKEA which in my opinion for flat pack stuff is very good

I also bought a matching bookcase and coffee table from the same range
I also bought a matc
 
the unit looks very nice, but if this unit is placed on the wall how would you run the cable from behind the unit?
 
is it fairly sturdy? as i mentioned i'll be looking to give a 50 inch plasma a home on top of it if all goes well, wouldn't want that accidentally falling off now and where we are has a pretty bouncy set of floorboards which really won't help matters
 
It is solid enough but to be on the safe side if I was putting a plasma on top I would screw it into the wall.

Mine only has picures on top and amp etc inside so no issues.

The unit actually comes with fittings to hang it to the wall, i would be inclined to use these to screw it into the wall to be on the safe side. THey look discrete enough and fit on the inside of two of the "Box" sections at the back of the unit so when you have anything in it they will not be seen.

Hope that helps

PS - if you wanted to run a cable behind it to the plasma you could use some washers to space it away from the wall enough to let the cable through, mine site approx 1/2 inch from the wall anyway as the base of it butts up to my skirting board
 
Last edited:
I've got the 5x5 Expedit filled with LPs, it's a solid piece when assembled, make no mistake.

Are you going to put it on spikes, castors, or sit it straight on floor? If so, carpet or wood floor?
 
i wasn't sure what to do with it to be honest. It will be on a thin carpet and i thought about just putting it straight on to the floor, once the it is in i can't see it going anywhere for a few years at least.

Unfortunately though I can't wall mount anything to secure it so whatever we go for has to be freestanding and sturdy enough to hold everything
 
You might consider building a base for it that's deeper than the unit itself (longer at the back, say) to aid stability.

If using spikes, I'd be inclined to put a solid wood base on it anyway to attach the spikes to. The thick outer pieces of the Expedit are hollow, and I'm not sure what thickness their walls are, so unsure what loading they would take when spikes were fitted - the weight loading would then be taken by the three or four spikes, rather than being spread over the whole side piece.

I think you'd have to see how stable it felt on your individual carpet without being loaded up before deciding on a strategy....
 
I've done this too, and am really happy with it. TV isn't a plasma, but it all feels very solid and as you can see I've left out 2 shelves. Have filled the centre space with a fabric-covered box they sell to specifically fit:

166565_10150381541670495_541895494_17933904_6897743_n.jpg


163447_10150381542700495_541895494_17933926_2949656_n.jpg


From my own online searches you'll be fine so long as you don't try and screw legs to it (or if you do - be careful as it's hollow).

What I really want is something slightly higher, with doors to hide most of the components, made out of solid oak or a good veneer. The problem is finding such a thing that doesn't cost over a grand! Time to find a good cabinet maker I think.
 
I was after using the bigger unit i linked to in post 1, my main concern was it being a bit top heavy with a TV on top, if we can stay where we are i'll have to measure up and i might just stick 2 of these smaller ones in side by side to be on the safer side
 
Ah, I see. So long as you leave all the internal bracing intact, it should be OK with an average-weight TV. I'd be tempted to fasten it to the wall though, as others have suggested.

Can you get to an Ikea easily to try sitting on one? (I practically did a handstand on one like mine before I bought one) ;-)
 
well we find out if we can stay where we are this week so i might see if we can both take a day off together next week and go to ikea (I'm not going at the weekend). If we are going to stay we need start getting our own furniture so an ikea trip is inevitable. Shockingly my girlfriend has never been to one :eek:
 
well we are now definitely staying, my girlfriend had her interview and got the job so we keep the flat for as long as she works there :clap:

I'm trying to talk her in to going to ikea early on satuurday morning and will try and pick up some units if she likes them. Time to measure up the room it's all going in to see what we can have, do a quick google sketch to run by her first and then buy the things and finally replace the 32 inch TV with a new 50 inch on the top. I know she will think us owning a washing machine and fridge is more important but i'm not wiring up old gear when it and the stand it's on are being replaced in a matter of weeks.

If it fits i'm hoping for the unit you have on it's side and then one of thhe units that is 2x2 shelves at each end of it, only problem is it says our local ikea doesn't have the walnut finish I was really after. Anyone know what the black-brown finish is like?
 
Great news - congrats to your girlfriend.

Each to their own, but I prefer Ikea's brown-black finish to the walnut. Neither of them are exactly convincing as wood finishes go, but the brown-black seems to hide this fact better since it's darker.

I went for white as it was the cheapest - once I've decorated I'm aiming to save up and get something in solid wood with doors on it. Must say though, it looks many times better than I thought it would - there are plenty of 'designer' places selling open-fronted TV benches that don't look too dissimilar.
 
Great news - congrats to your girlfriend.

Each to their own, but I prefer Ikea's brown-black finish to the walnut. Neither of them are exactly convincing as wood finishes go, but the brown-black seems to hide this fact better since it's darker.

I went for white as it was the cheapest - once I've decorated I'm aiming to save up and get something in solid wood with doors on it. Must say though, it looks many times better than I thought it would - there are plenty of 'designer' places selling open-fronted TV benches that don't look too dissimilar.

thanks, i'm sure i'll change my mind when we see the units in store, the brown-black doesn't look nice online though. I find it hard to justify paying loads when this will do us perfectly well for a fraction of the cost. We have to get everything now so cheaper the better for a start up
 
Sounds like a good plan. My whole place is currently furnished from Ikea's budget range, mostly all from when I moved into shared rented in London 8yrs ago. Only now that I've finally managed to buy a place I'm gradually replacing it all. It might be cheap, but I've found that their stuff does last if looked after.

The 5x1 Expedit makes for a cracking TV bench at the price - haven't seen anything even approaching that size for <ÂŁ150.
 
I've done this too, and am really happy with it. TV isn't a plasma, but it all feels very solid and as you can see I've left out 2 shelves. Have filled the centre space with a fabric-covered box they sell to specifically fit:



From my own online searches you'll be fine so long as you don't try and screw legs to it (or if you do - be careful as it's hollow).

What I really want is something slightly higher, with doors to hide most of the components, made out of solid oak or a good veneer. The problem is finding such a thing that doesn't cost over a grand! Time to find a good cabinet maker I think.


Hi

Could you take a couple of measurements for me.
The larger space
The middle space

Trying to see if it would meet my requirements for
Denon 1909
HTPC in Silverstone ML03
PS3
Freeview HDR

Would appreciate it.
 
i think (within reason) you can pick which shelves to put in and leave out so it should be semi customisable to accomodate all your kit. Based on ahodgekins photos it should accommodate most of your stuff, you may have to stack some bits or put things like the PS3 on the top by the TV

I think our plan is ikea it up to the max and as we tire of it or it dies we will phase in better stuff. Even with budget furniture we are looking at over ÂŁ2k of spending this weekend on our place, we could stretch to more but this is a step up from the hand me downs we've both lived with until now, it will be nice to finally have our place with furniture we chose not what was available for free at the time

edit: for anyone after them theres some great models of the units on google sketchups library that measure up to the specs on the ikea page, i've done some doodling and swapped out my basic to scale frames with the models to get a good depiction of what to expect
 
Last edited:
Just to update and say a huge thanks to ahodgekins for their help. Went to ikea on saturday and got the unit, after seeing them in the flesh and having time to reflect with SWMBO we (more she) decided walnut wouldn't work in our flat after all, and neither would black-brown or birch. So now we have exactly as you do with the white unit on it's side with the identical shelves in to support the TV, all wired up to get us started, i just need to sort out the rear speakers this week and she has agreed the LG 50PK590 would make a worthy replacement for my old LG 32" that now looks lost. They had run out of the white 2x2 units though so my dad has offered to go to ikea at some point this week to pick 2 up for us. All in all it's a great bit of it for the price we paid, lovely looking and functional AV stand for under ÂŁ100 :thumbsup: So once we have those units and I can be bothered to sort the networking out as well we are all set to kick back and watch some blu rays, just have to wait 8 weeks for our sofa now :(
 
I've got the same bookcase as ahodgekins, but in the black/brown. I have also left the end 2 shelves out to create more space for my equipment. I am going to make some fronts to hide the equipment, a wooden frame and accoustic cloth, held in place by some kitchen door magnets or something similar.

LR91.JPG
 
Last edited:
We have followed suit and very happy indeed - when the whole lot are up and running will post a pic.:smashin:
 
I'm interested in the 2x4 Expedit bookcase needs to hold PS3 / V+ box / media PC / and QA 1000ci centre speaker.. TV is mounted on the wall and would be about inches above the ikea unit if I purchase it! I assume the shelve's are adjustable?

what do you guys think? I'd go with the one you all used but 150cm wide is the max I can go..

cheers
 
I'm interested in the 2x4 Expedit bookcase needs to hold PS3 / V+ box / media PC / and QA 1000ci centre speaker.. TV is mounted on the wall and would be about inches above the ikea unit if I purchase it! I assume the shelve's are adjustable?

what do you guys think? I'd go with the one you all used but 150cm wide is the max I can go..

cheers


Shelves are non adjustable but you can leave out some to give you two rectangles and four squares below or vice versa etc.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom