IKEA HAVSTA Custom Entertainment Center | Setting up our Living Room | Moving to Georgia

[@megananne13]

So glad I found this video! It’s nice to see someone make an IKEA entertainment stand without doing a whole extra amount of wood work!

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Glad you liked it!!

[@Linda-pg3so]

Congrats on such a lovely storage unit. This is just what I was looking for in our mismatched mess of a living room. Loved the time lapse video, great music by the way, and well done👍🏻. The little helper is a cutie🥰.

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!

[@Imanirivera]

Thanks for the inspo. I'm so doing this. At least the 2 side pieces and mount my tv in the middle

[@WittyHarperDIY]

That will look great! I considered mounting the TV as well but ultimately decided we didn't want to deal with any wall repairs when we move out since its a rental. Good luck! I am sure it will look great!

[@taragibbons6616]

Great job! I am in NJ and my sister lived in Marietta...hope you like your new location (loved the Weird NJ mags)! AND I LOVED your assembly video! Excellent job!!!!

[@DanJohnson05]

That looks really good. I’m just such a sucker for the bridged look for some reason. Thanks for a bit of inspiration.

[@WittyHarperDIY]

We struggled with that too and debated adding on a bridge on the top but in the end, since this is a rental we wanted to alter it too much. When we move again we have no idea if we will have room for this entire unit or if it will have to be broken up and used in another way. This is another reason why I love a modular system like this.

[@livelife6329]

Thanks for the inspiration. We're currently building this same IKEA set for our home.

[@marynapier2007]

Hi, I am just seeing this. The cabinets look great. One suggestion: even though the cabinets are heavy it would probably be wise to anchor them securely to your wall. I just envision a toddler opening up the doors and climbing on up and everything tipping over. This is from a cautious community health nurse.

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Thank you for watching and YES, we did anchor them to the wall after. WE anchor everything because of our daughter, Great advice!!

[@GoodCompanyArtSpace]

Looks great. We are debating buying these for my art studio.

[@nicolajane6264]

Awwww well done Witty & family! Great job! Thanks for the inspiration! I am obsessed with these media wall cabinets. Going to build one too, would like to add a fire to myn. Pink 💖

[@WittyHarperDIY]

A fireplace in the middle would be AMAZING!! Wish I had thought of that! I want to see it finished!!

[@OctPSfever]

I would remove bottom border on the floor and stick the bookcase unto the wall to secure. Then bridge the middle and put crown molding. The crown molding gives the custom design feel to it.

[@WittyHarperDIY]

I would normally do that as well, but we were renting this house so cutting into the molding was not an option.

[@RuthiesVlogWorld]

I’m loving it

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Thank you so much for watching!!

[@enderbygloria9187]

I love this did you use 2 different book cases right upper one and lower one all from Ikea thanks

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Yes, the top and bottom are two different parts but they are both from the same Havsta Collection at ikea so they were made to fit together.

[@lgzz4885]

I’m so impulsive lol I get a new TV now I’m like nah nah I gotta upgrade it all! 😊 that’s nice little set up u put together I’m just thinking what I could fill it w/ 🤔 I have a few small 8-14” comic book statues I feel might serve well! Thanks for the ideas!

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Thanks so much for watching and good luck with your set up!

[@sdboykin1]

... amazing job....

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Thank you so much!

[@TATEone]

Very happy to find your video, as I'm in the process of doing this exact same thing today. Thanks for pointing out how you attached them to each other. I was a bit surprised that IKEA didn't do anything considering most displays have multiple next to each other. My quick question that I'm trying to figure out for mine is how did you deal with cable management, specifically blocking the electrical and network outlets behind it? Thanks!

[@WittyHarperDIY]

My pleasure! I am glad it was helpful! As for cable management, it was kind of a mess really LOL. You could totally see all the cables behind the TV but luckily we decided to invest in a sound bar and we put that on top of the cabinet, right under the TV and it was the perfect size to cover the empty space underneath the TV and hid all of the cords. Good luck!

[@Lookingtobuildforwillow]

I might purchase this for my son's room and turn it into a closet and give him a gaming space

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Sounds like a great idea!! Good luck!

[@DanJohnson05]

I’m going back and forth myself. I wanted a Hemnes set up but they only have a grey bridge in stock and I really wanted white, so I’ve been thinking about Hauga but I don’t like the lack of a bridge or that it’s particle board.

[@WittyHarperDIY]

I love the Hemnes with the wood shelves and white body and soo wanted that, but they didn't have it in stock. In the end i'm so happy with this because the base cabinets FIT SO MUCH STUFF!!! They are super deep and hold much more than I thought they would!

[@DanJohnson05]

@@WittyHarperDIY that’s good to know as we have 6 kids so we have stuff EVERYWHERE

[@kaleighwilliamson5332]

Hey this looks great! When you attached them together, you drilled pilot holes and then screwed through, did the screw stick out at the other end?

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Yes, that's correct, but my husband picked screws that were short enough that they didn't poke through.

[@aprilhoard6911]

What size is your TV for reference? 🤔 also can you link the cabinets?

[@WittyHarperDIY]

I believe our TV is a 65" Havsta Base cabinets www.ikea.com/us/en/p/havsta-cabinet-with-base-white-10388623/ Havsta Upper Units www.ikea.com/us/en/p/havsta-shelf-unit-white-70388639/

[@kirstieblues2]

Can you tell me how you guys attached them to the wall? We are having somewhat of a difficult time figuring out how to do this

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Ikea comes with brackets you can use to attach them to the wall

[@tamararamirez2515]

Where in Georgia did you move to first did you like it? We are moving in 6 weeks for work and I have no clue what suburb town to focus on looking at Dallas sugar hill and Lawrenceville ? Any advice? Coming from Ny with our 4 kids

[@WittyHarperDIY]

I am sorry for the delay, I honestly thought I had already responded to this comment but I don't see my response so I wonder if it got deleted??🤔 Anyway, finding the right area is definitely a challenge. We settled on the north side of Atlanta because we had friends in the area so it made sense to start our search up that way and be close to the only people we knew down here. We knew we were renting so once we got down here we starting exploring different towns to see where we eventually would buy a house and settle more permanently. Once we were down here, we drove around, asked around. Looked for things that were important to us like school ratings, proximity to the highway, public parks, close to friends, etc and narrowed down our search that way and then searched for something in our budget. The best thing to do is pick an area and drive around. I always suggest to people moving to a new area to rent for a while and NOT buy a house right away because you need to find the best location first and one you buy a house your kind of stuck. If you rent and hate the area, at least there is an end point when you can move again to someplace new. You aren't stuck anywhere for long. Good luck!

[@tamararamirez2515]

@@WittyHarperDIY yeah it’s just a little more complicated for us bc we have 4 kids 3 already in elementary schools so we really hate having to uproot them so much trying our best to get as much information on areas prior to settling down just to avoid renting a year in one area and then having kids change schools and make them need to start all over again in a year. I understand though about not wanting to be public on areas. Just thought to ask you since we are both relocating from similar areas and conveniences both having relocated from New Jersey area. We found a rental though hoping we picked a town that works for us. Thanks for your response

[@BrensBoutique]

Are the Havsta a pure white or are they a bit of an off white or cream white color? Trying to determine if they will match the color of my Nordli dressers and Kallax! :)

[@WittyHarperDIY]

They are not really a cream color, they are a pretty pure white BUT you can see the wood grain underneath. In some spots where the wood has a knot, you can see some variation in the color because you can see the wood from underneath. I like that look but depending on what you are going for, that may or may not work for you.

[@larissawhitt9922]

Love it! Question! Do you know how heavy your tv is? I’m trying to look at other options at IKEA since the Besta unit is always out of stock. I like this set up. My husbands only concern is how much weight these cabinets can hold. 😬

[@WittyHarperDIY]

I am not sure how heavy the TV is, sorry! I know I can't lift it on my own but my husband can. Its an LG 65" Smart TV that we got a few years back, if that helps at all. The reason I love these units from IKEA is because they are solid wood, not particle board like so many of their other bookcase systems. To me, that makes them more durable. For years I have issues with Billy bookcase shelves sagging after a very short time if something even remotely heavy was on them. These are holding up great! Good luck!

[@larissawhitt9922]

@@WittyHarperDIY no worries! We actually went for it after all! LOVE IT! It safely holds the 65” OLED tv with no issues ☺️

[@danielaurgelles456]

What size is your TV?

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Its a 65"

[@mfarris132]

What size is the tv?

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Its a 65" TV

[@Ivan-gd5ty]

What size is your tv

[@WittyHarperDIY]

It is a 65" TV

[@samanthamaryrose7996]

Did your husband drill his own holes to connect the cabinets to each other?

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Yes, he drilled pilot holes and the drove the wood screws through them to hold them together.

[@PastelCreationsByKatrina]

Hi so sorry but your voice is really quiet then the music really loud I have to keep alternating my volume… is there anything you’re able to do to help with this … again so sorry 😢 xx

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Thank you for the feedback. I can't do anything about the audio on an uploaded video but I am working on getting better with this.

[@PastelCreationsByKatrina]

@@WittyHarperDIY ok sorry hope I haven’t caused offence x

[@WittyHarperDIY]

Oh gosh, not at all!! :)

[@PastelCreationsByKatrina]

@@WittyHarperDIY oh that’s good then was worried 😟 lol x

[@JSK_USA]

What is the use of this video ? Listening her talk ?