The size of the Grundtal kitchen cart from IKEA was perfect for the little nook in my bathroom, but I was not digging the plastic top at all. And the plastic casters weren’t quite right for the bathroom either. So an IKEA hack was born. Continue reading to see how I transformed it into a beautiful bathroom shelving unit with a bamboo top.
The shelf feels much more high end and bathroom-like with the bamboo top. And here’s the best part… the top is from IKEA too! It’s the Aptitlig cutting board, and it fits absolutely perfectly. I also wanted the hand towel bar to be on the front so people would notice it, so I used one of the side bars on the front and left the other one off.
If you’d like to recreate this piece for your own home, here’s what you’ll need:
– The Grundtal cart from IKEA
– The 17 3/4×11″ Aptitlig cutting board from IKEA
– A hot glue gun
– E6000 glue
– Scotch tape
First, begin by assembling the cart. As far as IKEA goes, it’s one of the easier pieces to put together. But don’t put the two curved bars on the sides, and don’t put the casters on the bottom either.
Next, use your hot glue gun to attach the bamboo Aptitlig cutting board to the top of the Grundtal. Put a healthy dollop of glue on each corner and then place the cutting board on top and allow everything to dry. I just love the glue gun for things like this, but if you want a more permanent hold then give the E6000 glue a try here.
Now you’ll attach one of those curved bars that you left off the side onto the front bar that’s right underneath the Aptitlig board. I centered it, and then angled it outward a bit so the towel would hang out from the shelves. Use a large glob of E6000 glue on each side and then wipe the excess after the next step.
Use a few pieces of Scotch tape to keep the bar in place while it dries. Now is the time to wipe the excess glue from around the edges. Let it dry overnight. I would also recommend putting a dab of hot glue on the underside where each of the pieces meet just for extra reinforcement. Mine seems to be fairly stable and holds a regular hand towel, but I’m considering wrapping some silver wire around the connection points both to reinforce it more and to give it an extra aesthetic detail.
And that’s it! It’s a very functional little cart – you can fill it with extra towels, toilet paper, cotton balls, etc. And you can also remove the tray shelves to wash them if need be.
I think it looks great without the wheels, but you could certainly add them if you prefer to have your cart mobile for functionality reasons. Perhaps you could spray paint the wheels a fun color to eliminate the cheap-o plastic look.
Happy hacking everyone! And feel free to share photos of your own Grundtal hacks in the comments section below!!
delightful ~ congrats !
Thanks @valsj!
So glad I stumbled across this! I was just at IKEA thinking this cart could solve a bathroom storage problem, but was also not grooving on the plastic top. This is bloody brilliant, and super easy! Thanks for the inspiration!
So glad to hear that you like my Grundtal hack Rachel! Good luck with it 🙂
This is so helpful, thank you! I’m redoing some of my kitchen and have a very narrow spot where I need some storage. Hated the plastic top, so what you’ve done here will be perfect!! Thanks again!
I think I love you!
Hi! Nice job! What’s the height of the cart without the wheels? I need to fit this in a “tight” space. Thanks!
Hi @Cate, the height without the wheels is 28 inches.
so a $69.00 trolley has just cost you over a$100 good idea but why pay for castors you now cant use