IKEA Besta Storage in a Dining Room Makeover: BESTA is the BEST

IKEA BESTA FOR DINING ROOM STORAGE

Are you considering the IKEA BESTA cabinet as dining room storage? This affordable, good looking piece is versatile for every room.

I’m going to convince you how the IKEA BESTA system makes the best dining room or sideboard storage! First, let me start from the beginning before I tell you all of the wonderful things about the Besta.

Here’s a little background. I’m April and I’m making over our colonial style house in Williamsburg, VA. That’s the definition of colonial right? The house itself was built in the early 2000’s. However, being in a historic area, even builder grade homes from that time period were built with colonial details. Albeit not great ones, in fact nothing architecturally special.

Similarly, the baseboard trim is all colonial. The fireplace has colonial style trim. And lastly, the outdoor lights are colonial style square lanterns.

HOW TO DECORATE TO THE SYLE OF YOUR HOME

I’ve talked about this before, but it’s definitely worth discussing. Because the style of my home has colonial features, it’s important to stay true to that. Whether it’s a nod with light fixtures and paint colors or continuing the appropriate trim style you need to stay with the features of the house.

See more: Why & How to have a plan for a Decor Project

The full blue and green traditional Dining Room Reveal

BUT WHY?

RESALE

If you plan on selling within 5-7 years, buyers will expect upgrades to be timely to the current style in a way that makes sense. However, you plan to stick around to 10-15 years, trends pass quickly in this time period so buyers will expect to redo kitchens and bathrooms themselves, or for you to do so within the last year to the most current style.

- While we know personal taste varies and trends change and we shouldn’t decorate our houses with resale as the number one factor, you should be wise in your investments. Quality updates and furniture is expensive and I don’t want you to waste money that you won’t recuperate because you changed things up too much.

CONFUSION

Next, imagine walking into a beach house. When you look around it has dark wood furniture, covered windows, 70’s looking linoleum flooring and burgundy upholstered sofas. It doesn’t fit. The outside of the house tells a different story than the inside and you’re left confused.

Only a farmhouse is a farmhouse

I know, I know. You aren’t going to like me for this one. But repeat after me, I don’t live in a farmhouse (unless you do live on a farm). Farmhouse style decor, finishes and furniture are in style right now in DIY. It’s super popular and trendy. But, if you don’t live in a farmhouse, don’t turn your house into a farm house.

- That’s not to say you can’t incorporate farmhouse style pieces here and there. Inherently, using traditional farmhouse pieces in a newer home can help bring a sense of old to the new. Using it sparingly, an entry table, one light fixture, a rug, can be a great addition.
- Farmhouse isn’t modern farmhouse. Modern farmhouse is Pottery Barn and gray wood finishes. An actual farmhouse has medium to dark tone wood pieces, turned legs, windsor chairs, pedestal tables. Think of vintage farmhouse piece and how they relate to a working farm.

KNOW YOUR STYLE

Take the Design Society Quiz to find your style & then evaluate it against your home’s style.

As a result, staying close to the style of your home, you will have uniformity. The fixtures and furnishings will complement the home instead of compete with the style. There will be a natural flow throughout the home instead of a sense of confusion.

The Backstory of Dining Room Storage

I have to admit, I have tried out many things in my house- a little colonial, a little scandinavian, a lot of eclectic. Mostly cheap or small decorative elements and not a lot of large furniture. I have trouble committing to large purchases until I am 100% sure.

Fast forward a few years from when we moved in. I was watching and reading a lot about minimalism. Being overwhelmed with work and kids and a house full of stuff, it resonated. I began to think a Scandinavian minimalist style was for me.

Admittedly, it wasn’t. Ha! I tried minimizing. In fact I have gotten rid of a LOT of stuff. I continue to be intentional about what I bring into the house.

Picking up the same toy 500 times and the same laundry and the same loads of dishes was exhausting. It’s a constant work in progress of editing out what I no longer need and letting it go. We still have a long way to go, but I have to say that it feels good to get rid of things and only have things that I absolutely love, that serve a purpose, or that I use regularly.

THE CHINA CABINET

We used to have a large china cabinet in the dining room. It was too large for the width of the room so we moved it to the formal living room. We spend most of our time in the upstairs bonus room so it was no big deal. The piece was large and dark and took up a lot of visual space.

I was ready for a smaller piece that would fit better in the space and I would reuse the cabinet when/if we ever have a larger house for it. It’s sentimental. I will hold onto it in hopes of using it in another house at another time. But, for now it has to go out of the living room and it’s far too big for the dining room.

I have embraced a traditional style mixed in with some light wood tones, clean lines here and there, and lot’s of color. You hear the term “new traditional” when talking about this style. It fits for the home itself and I truly love the vintage pieces and inspirations for colonials.

China cabinet in the living room, oh my!

A NEW DINING ROOM STORAGE PIECE

Measurement wise, I was looking for a piece of furniture that had the same amount of storage space, but less bulk. Our colonial blue china (12 place settings with nine pieces each) is currently displayed in the glass hutch, but that isn’t necessary. We can enjoy it without having it on display.

I started by measuring the interior storage of the current china cabinet and then taking outside measurements. I wanted a white sideboard/buffet that wasn’t more than 15” deep. This would fit behind the table and still leave room to walk around and pull out the dining chairs.

See more: Make sure you’re buying the right size dining room furniture with this measurement guide

Using the Ikea Besta for Dining Room Storage

I had been eyeing the IKEA Besta cabinets and storage dressers. After taking time to really assess my needs, I was hung up on a door design. I was torn between the white honeycomb doors, the light gray-green high gloss, and white high gloss door fronts.

Additionally, I couldn’t choose between drawers or shelves for the interior. To keep things as simple as possible, I opted for the plain white high gloss. The other two options were too showy and not in line enough with the rest of the furniture and decor.

With the baby’s birthday approaching, I needed the living room to be cleared of extra furniture ASAP. I committed to the two door, shelved IKEA Besta combination with white high gloss doors.

Choosing the Right Ikea Besta Unit

{What I ordered: IKEA BESTA | Storage combination with doors, White, Selsviken High-Gloss/White; the unit size is 47” x 15” x 29”.} I opted to order wooden turned legs to add to the unit from Pretty Pegs. This will raise the piece off the ground so that it is table height. It’s also a nod to traditional furniture with the turning.

I ordered the Besta online and to my surprise, it would ship for only a $9 delivery fee. Win! It arrived in less than a week. I opened all of the boxes while FedEx waited to make sure nothing was damaged. Everything looked good so I sent the kids upstairs and got to work.

The cabinet itself went together quickly. However, I needed a drill. The instructions clearly stated not to use a drill, but the screws wouldn’t go into the pre-drilled holes and they were beginning to strip with just a screwdriver. Very slowly and carefully, I used a drill to secure the screws and a hammer for the pegs.

Are you ready to see the finished Ikea Besta sideboard storage cabinet?

STORAGE & ORGANIZATION with the IKEA BESTA

It’s time to talk about storage and organization. I’ve talked a lot about why I wanted this unit and what I was looking for, but it’s time to look at why this piece is universal. It provides excellent storage for dining room dishes, table linens, candles, a few table decor and more.

The amount it can hold is enormous. I was not expecting to have so much space left over. I can easily store cloth napkins, placemats, and seasonal runners as well.

The benefit of this configuration is that you can pick how many shelves you want to place and how you want to arrange them. This is perfect for storing tall items and vases on one side and plates and stacked items on the other side.

PROS OF IKEA BESTA

inexpensive
ships quick
ample storage space
relatively easy to put together
works well in narrow rooms
soft close hinges
can buy door fronts from SemiHandmade

CONS OF IKEA BESTA

not real wood
you have to put it together
it’s too low unless you add raised legs

THE VERDICT ON BESTA STORAGE

The list is clear here. There are far more pros than cons for this cabinet. Even so, it is worth noting the few downsides so that you can make an informed decision.

If you are in the market for a sideboard or dining room storage, the IKEA BESTA unit is a great choice for any style house. There are many companies that make legs, knobs and doors for these units so that you can have a custom furniture piece at a low cost.

You can easily choose the configuration that works best for your things that need storing. Also, the Semi Handmade door fronts are gorgeous. With so many styles to choose from, you won’t be disappointed.