Before & After: This IKEA hack shows how a Metod cabinet can easily become a Scandi-style media unit

This super-stylish IKEA Metod hack is further proof that the kitchen cabinet series is one of the most versatile for clever customizations - for any room. Why limit it to food storage when it can also become a media unit? Its fuss-free doors lends itself to anyone looking for a pared-back, Scandi-style aesthetic.

When it comes to IKEA hacks, they don't tend to come much more doable than this. The Metod is slimline, making it ideal for narrow spaces, and all it needs, really, is a lick of paint and a new top to turn it into a treasured piece of design.

Which is exactly what interior designer Melanie Lissack  (@melanielissackinteriors) did in her own home. Transforming the Metod cabinets with a sophisticatedly subtle  pastel-hued paint, she created her own media room in less than a weekend.  Here's everything you need to know about how she did it.

Ikea Metod Media Unit: Before

Melanie previously had a freestanding unit below her TV, but wanted to upgrade it to a floating cabinet that offered more storage and a sense of space to her small living room.

'I had been wanting to erect wall-mounted units below our television for a long time,' Melanie says. 'Our living space is quite narrow, and the previous freestanding unit was all the wrong shape and proportion. I wanted a sleeker, more streamlined look that offered loads of storage space.'

Budget was part of the issue. 'I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a carpenter coming to create something bespoke from expensive wood, so the obvious thing to do was buy flat-pack,' Melanie says. 'I used three IKEA Metod kitchen wall cabinets as the basic structure.' 

Melanie continues: 'While I knew this was the best budget solution to get the floating wall unit I required, I hated the glossy, white finish of the melamine cabinets and, ideally, I wanted a marble top for the unit which would hide the joins. Yet, the price for a 240cm length of marble (plus delivery of the heavy item) was eye-watering, so the best option was cut-to-size MDF. The final look, however, as you can see above, wasn't very appealing.'

Ikea Metod Media Console: After

So Melanie tapped Cover Styl' to create a solution. The brand offers over 470 surface covers that can be used on melamine and MDF.

She says: 'In the end, I chose NE70 Mat Beige Marble for an incredibly realistic marble top to transform the MDF, and AB06 Painted Wood for the base unit to color match the walls and provide a bit of texture and interest.'

The TV unit has been completely transformed into a sleek, contemporary media unit that adds a soft splash of color to the space as well as being a chic storage idea.

'I am so thrilled with our new TV unit,' says Melanie. 'It looks completely bespoke and unrecognisable to how it started out!

'The transformation was quick and easy and the quality of the film is second-to-none - there is no way I would think the marble top was actually MDF under the surface.'