IKEA Traby Review

I remodeled a room in my basement and needed some storage/shelving to finish off one corner. It was made a bit more difficult because there is a post about 19.5 inches from the corner. The post is boxed in and sticks out from the wall about two inches, so anything placed against the wall would have to stand out from the wall by two inches.

Then we spotted Traby shelving modules at Ikea. The basic wood-finished Traby modules start at about $40 per cube, and there's all sorts of options for doors, shelves, multiple cubes, legs and other accessories. We bought two single cube Traby modules, one four-cube module and one two-cube module. We added doors and legs to make for a finished product. See the pictures to the right to see the assembled and completed Ikea Traby shelves in my home. The cubes were just the right size to fill the space between the wall and the post, making efficient use of the space.

What it is

The basic Ikea Traby shelf is a wooden box that is about 16.5 inches square. It can be stacked on shelves, hung on the wall or placed on the floor, with or without legs. Traby shelves are available in a couple of different plastic laminate finishes or with a natural light wood finish. I like wood, so I got the wood finish modules. They all come knocked down in flat boxes and have to be assembled. Inside the cube is 14 inches wide by 14 inches high by 14.75 inches deep.

You can get Traby modules as single cubes or multiple cubes. I think the biggest is a two-by-two module, which has a total of four cubes. Traby units can be oriented either vertically or horizontally, giving you some freedom in how you arrange the cubes. I have a two-unit module standing vertically, but it can lay on its side for a horizontal orientation.

All Traby cubes are made from thick particle board, overlaid with either laminate or wood veneer. The disassembled boards are attached with metal hardware and the overall assembly process is pretty fast and simple. The assembled Traby shelves are fairly sturdy but they are not meant to be used in places where there is a lot of vibration, such as an RV or pickup truck.

Using them

My Ikea Traby shelves look very nice. There were no flaws in the units I bought and there was the correct amount of hardware. They really dress up the corner of the room and hide clutter with the optional doors. I got legs for the shelves on the slight chance that the floor might flood, and I like the look of the cabinets with legs on them. My intention was to mount the right-upper cube on the wall so that the cubes have a stepped appearance, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Don't ask as to why there are two TVs on the Traby shelves... I have more TVs than I know what to do with!

Summary

I like my Ikea Traby shelves. They are inexpensive, attractive, practical and efficient. That stack of shelving probably cost me $250, and it hides a lot of clutter and is practical for a variety of uses. I recommend Ikea Traby shelves.