Ikea Greenhouse Cabinet Hack
Fun Projects,  Reviews And Buying Guides

Ikea Greenhouse Cabinet Hack

What You Will Need For An Ikea Greenhouse Cabinet

The hacked Ikea plant cupboards have become really popular recently, especially for taking care of plants that need more controlled light an humidity needs in a small apartment. We’ll run down the items you need to make an Ikea greenhouse cabinet hack for under 250 euros.

The Cabinet

The Fabrikor and Milsbo are the most popular cabinets for these projects. Currently my local Ikea has both Fabrikor sizes priced at 149 euros each (the dark grey and blue ones in the images below with rounded corners). One is double fronted 81x113cm and the other is thinner but taller 57x150cm. Then there is the Milsbo units 101×100 cm currently at 165 euros (the black one in the images with squared corners) and the taller one at 179 euros at the moment (the tall white one with squared corners in the images).

Obviously you can buy almost any glass cabinet for these projects, from second hand stores and the like, I’ve seen a really good looking antique one too.

Grow Light

It obviously depends on what you’re growing in the cabinet and how much natural light it will get, but I would recommend a T5 tube led grow light, just make sure it will fit the cabinet: measure it first before buying! You can secure it in place with velcro stickers so that the light can be easily removed for cleaning. These lights are not expensive they go for well under 50 euros. Try searching on Google Shopping for a good deal.

Fan

A lot of people use a USB desk fan as they are low power and small. Also you can use a computer cabinet cooling fan, the sort of which you can get for cooling an Xbox or hi-fi cabinet, which are really cheap about 20 euros for two fans on sites like Amazon. Try Amazon, Ebay or Google Shopping.

Humidifier

A humidifier is a great idea for a pro set up, these cabinets lend themselves to getting the best out of plants with extra humidity and temperature requirements to recreate a tropical humid environment. But if you’re on a budget you can mist the plants with a spray and keeping the doors shut with moisture inside. These go for 20-40 euros.

Humidity And Temperature Meter

Thee are not essential but for a pro set up they are really good to allow you to get very exact humidity and temperature conditions for your plants. Lowest and highest temperatures that happen at night and day so you can keep these constant. These will cost less than 20 euros, compare deals on Google Shopping.

Tip: we recommend Etsy for buying plants. Look for the best rated seller you can, and try to buy as close to your home as possible so the plant does not travel too far.

A note about affiliate links: when you buy a plant, pots, soil, or other goods through links on this article we sometimes earn a commission. It doesn’t cost you anything, but it really helps us out if you do use them. Thanks a lot! An example of this is if you buy a plant on Etsy using this link. Read our privacy policy for more information. Thanks again.

Velcro Stickers

These are really handy to stick all the equipment in place in the cabinet so they can be removed easily. Buy here.

Power adapter

A four-way power adapter can be fixed on the bottom or back of the unit to power the fans and lights. Buy here.

Plants

The main ingredient! These units will be great for humidity loving plants or fussy plants like calatheas, philodendrons and so on. See our article Rare Plant Shops for links to buy rare houseplants for your cabinet.

Optional Extras

These optional extras a upgrades you can do at the start or at a later date if you find you need them…

Some people replace the Ikea shelves for wire shelves so that air travels through the whole unit. You can get these from hardware shops. Another great idea is to put a peg board on the back of the unit so that plants and equipment can be hung from it. Ikea do a good one called Skadis, also I’ve seen people put a wire mesh at the back for a cheaper way of doing things.

Notes:

You may need to drill a hole in the cabinet bottom for wires, for the Milsbo they have holes for cables, but might not be enough. You can take the door off it’s hinges and put the cabling through the hinge then re- hang the door. This way you do not need to drill a hole.

Summary

Hope you found this guide to the Ikea green house cabinets useful, please tag us on Instagram if you make any of these Ikea hack cabinets or similar plant cupboards. You might also like our other articles on Alocasia Care, Geogenanthus Ciliatus, Monstera Deliciosa Care and Water Propagation.

Comments Off on Ikea Greenhouse Cabinet Hack