You got the Besta me

Materials: Besta Cabinets, Framsta Panels, Tofta Doors, Inreda Drawers and Lights

Description: I ordered a new HDTV and my wife and I weren't going to be satisfied with just putting it on a stand. So we did what we always do....go to IKEA and try to find a cool, modern solution.

We'd been eyeing their Besta cabinets for a while, and always liked them. So decided it was time to take the plunge. But before, we dove in we had to know what configuration would fit in our space.

Using Google Sketchup, I drew up all the cabinet sizes and doors, and tried a few options until I arrived on something I liked.

We then got all the supplies and started putting things together. We wanted our whole cabinet install to fit against the wall, and this introduced some issues with wiring all the equipment.

To solve that, we drilled holes in the backs of cabinets, through the sides of cabinets, and through the metal Framsta panel frames with a circular bit. Now, wires could move up, down, and between our cabinet for connecting all our AV equipment.

We then wanted a couple drawers for storage of Blu-ray discs, and game controllers. But we found that IKEA only sold small height drawer fronts. We wanted drawer fronts the same height of our doors.

So we took a drawer front, and noted the hole locations for mounting to an Inreda sliding drawer. We then stuck our drill in the holes of the drawer front, and marked where the drill stopped with masking tape.

We marked the hole locations and then drilled the holes in the door in the same configuration and depth of the drawer front by drilling until the masking tape met the door.

Our chosen configuration spanned three Framsta panels wide, which was a little bit too wide for one set of Inreda lights to span across.

So we needed to do another hack. This time we simply just got some electrical wire and spliced into the Inreda wires to make them longer.

Last thing we had to do, was simply drill and mount speakers, and the Framsta TV mount to the Framsta panels themselves.

We then put all the equipment in the drawers, mounted the cabinets to the wall, and the TV on the mount for an end result that is something we're pretty proud of.

See more of the Besta TV cabinet installation.

~ Chris and Christy Perez, Austin, TX