Ikea Hack Hemnes Shoe Cabinet Storage | How To Raise Ikea Hemnes For Tall Baseboards

We recently moved to a Brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn. With all the charm of old 1900s building, they also pose some thinking on how to update and maximize the available space on a budget. I’ve had this little project in mind for some time now, and finally got all the pieces together to get it done….so let’s get right to it!

I originally, wanted this Ikea Shoe Storage Cabinet for our shoes, but quickly learned that we, a family of 4, keep more shoes by the door than this could handle (the shoe problem was resolved another way). I then thought that this shoe cabinet would work even better as a general entry way storage piece with each one of us having our own drawer. With winter coming up, I was also looking to find a solution on how to keep all the winter small gear organized by the door. Previous years we were just using a general bin and dumping everything in there. This was a pain when it came to digging through all the hats, mittens, gloves, scarves for all of us.

I had the idea of using gray and gold for this piece. When I went to the Ikea store to purchase the Hemnes shoe cabinet, I didn’t realize there was already a gray version until me and a friend were grabbing the super heavy boxes from the self service area (I wish there was video of us trying to get boxes off the shelf, it was definitely a hilarious moment!). This discovery was truly amazing. It saved me the whole extra step of having to paint the cabinet, which in all honesty, was the main reason I was dreading this project.

Now on to the simple hacks that I think make this piece even better! I knew we had to come up with an idea on how to raise the cabinet since our baseboards are pretty tall. I was looking online for some ideas and didn’t see anything that I liked. I decided to try and find couch legs that I could attach to the bottom of the two legs. In doing this search, I stumbled upon an Etsy vendor and asked him for two custom sized wood blocks. I am sure there are plenty of people out there that are more than capable and have the time and tools to make these themselves, but for around $15 including shipping (I would have probably spent more in cab fares), I chose to just order them online. I then used some Rub ‘n Buff in Gold Leaf (which I already had from a previous project) and gave the wood blocks a super quick coat of gold. If you have never used Rub ‘n Buff before, you will be addicted. It is so simple to use and dries incredibly fast. All you have to do is literally rub the gold paste with your finger on whatever surface you want to paint. After they were painted, I used wood glue to attach the wood blocks. I flipped the cabinet so the legs were facing up and used blue painters tape to hold the blocks in place overnight. The next day they were perfectly dry and the cabinet ready to be attached to the wall.

For the knobs, I knew I wanted to switch the ones that came with the cabinet and add something gold. I loved some designs I found at Anthropologie, but decided to save some money and just use some Rub ‘n Buff on the ones the cabinet came with. Maybe down the road I will change them up, but for now, I really like how it looks!

Next up, was finding a round mirror with a gold frame. I never knew it would be so difficult finding the perfect simple gold frame. I spent hours looking for something on Wayfair, Amazon, and all over the internet, and I can’t believe after all that time spent, I ended up finding it at Target online! And the best part, it was only $50! It is also the perfect size and compliments the cabinet perfectly.

Here you can see some pull back shots of the space so you can see how this piece was the perfect fit for this small area. I hope you enjoyed this quick Ikea Hack for the Hemnes Shoe Cabinet! I am sure this same idea can be adapted to any color combination. With the myriad of funky knobs available, and unlimited colors to paint the wood blocks, you can adapt this idea to whatever decor you have in your home.

For more Ikea hacks follow me on Instagram: ikea.hacks.mama

Here is a list of all the items used:

Ikea Shoe Storage (HEMNES) – Rub ‘n Buff – Wood Blocks – Wood Glue – Gold Round Mirror