IKEA Plant Cabinet DIY – How To Hack IKEA RUDSTA Into A Greenhouse!

Do you want to create an indoor greenhouse for your rare plants that keeps them in the optimal growing conditions? Look no further! This is an easy-to-follow tutorial for hacking the IKEA RUDSTA glass cabinet into a functional DIY plant cabinet. Enjoy! Affiliate links in post.

Overview of IKEA Plant Cabinet DIY

Hello, beautiful people, and welcome back to my corner of the web! Before we jump in, allow me to set me set the tone for this post: I am excited. To the point that your girl is probably going to have a ramble before we get into the nitty gritty - so if you want to skip to the DIY stuff, you go right ahead!

Since COVID came into our lives, I have developed a coping mechanism called spending all my money on plants. And, look, I'm not mad. As far as hobbies go, it's rewarding, challenging - and interesting. I feel like I'm constantly learning!

(Plus, I got a little side hustle out of it. There's good money in propagating and selling rare plants!)

If you're a fellow plant lover, it's almost impossible to miss the stunning IKEA greenhouse plant cabinet hacks floating around on the web. In fact, when the lovely Ming tagged me in a tweet about his own, I immediately fell down the rabbit hole. And, boy, was it deep.

Added lights to an Ikea rack for my plants!!! First Ikea DIY project ever???

I'm in part inspired by the DIY projects on @awholeassblog. Go check out her content! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/bowsBD0Y8X

- Ming Qian | Undergrad Blogger (@mingqianwrites) January 14, 2021

(Aren't his plants just stunning? I want them!)

I've tackled DIY solutions for my plant addiction before. In fact, this isn't even my first IKEA hack rodeo. If you're looking for cute plant storage solutions, you've got to check out my faux marble plant stand DIY.

However, as anyone who loves rare plants will know, those babies are fussy. They want it warm, humid and with lots of light... and I might be in Australia, but I'm living in Melbourne. It's cold.

So the prospect of a plant cabinet that could solve all these issues? A dream come true.

Is It Worth Making a Plant Cabinet?

My first thought when the IKEA plant cabinet hacks first started making the rounds was: is this just a fad?

Let's be real - we're all susceptible to jumping on the social media hype.

Mostly because of this skepticism, I put off creating a plant cabinet for ages. In fact, the the only thing that finally got me over the line? My plants going into dormancy.

My house is so cold that my precious plant babies were just not having a good time! However, this puts me in a great position to confirm that yes, the IKEA plant cabinet hacks work.

Since building this bad boy, my plants are growing quicker than ever - even in the dead of winter!

Now, this isn't to say you need to run out and splash your cash. All in all, this greenhouse cost me around the $400 mark (AUD) - which is a lot for plants! If you're just starting your plant hobby, you definitely don't need this .

(That being said, the RUDSTA is a cheaper alternative to the normal MILSBO cabinet.)

However, if you're like me in that you have rarer plants with fussier needs, I highly recommend creating a DIY indoor greenhouse. Some of my plants cost more than this project (plus, I sell them) so this is definitely a worthwhile investment.

Step by Step: How To Hack IKEA RUDSTA Into A Greenhouse!

As always, I would love for you to watch this tutorial in Youtube format and subscribe to me over there too!

1. If you want your IKEA plant cabinet to be gold, spray paint all the pieces before assembly. ( For the doors, use masking tape to protect the glass while spray painting. )
2. Follow the IKEA manual to assemble.
3. When assembling, leave the top of one or two of the backing panels unscrewed. ( This is so that you can feed cables through it. ) You can always unscrew these later if you're unsure which to leave loose.
4. Add in the features and accessories I mention below for the best results! (If you have smaller plants, you can leave all the glass shelves in.)

Products & Accessories of My Plant Cabinet for Growth

FOR HUMIDITY - A HUMIDIFIER - Price Link

FOR LIGHT - GROW LIGHTS: To make sure all my plants are getting sufficient light, I installed some grow lights. This also helps to keep the temperature in the greenhouse a little warmer - Price Check

FOR AIR CIRCULATION: Mini fans! Air circulation is so important for plant growth. It can prevent mould and rot, plus provides fresh CO2 for plants - Price Check

FOR TIERS & HOLDING SMALLER PLANTS: A magnetic shelf rack(as the back of the RUDSTA cabinet is magnetic!) - Price Check

FOR INCREASING WARMTH FOR THE CABINET: Soil heating mats. Our house is always absolutely freezing, so to make sure my plants are growing at their optimal temperature I have soil heating mats. These are designed for use with plants, so they're waterproof and only increase the temperature by 5-10 degrees, without causing heat stress - Price Check

FOR MONITORING CONDITIONS : A humidity and temperature thermometer - Price Check

Aside from the grow lights, I'd say the heating mats were my most important purchase. Most people probably won't need them, but our house is always a solid 5-10 degrees colder than it is outside.

Video Time for A Tour of My Rare Plants

If you want a little tour of my indoor plant cabinet, have a watch of my Youtube video! There are tons of cute (and rare!) houseplants, as well as some variegated babies to check out.

Alright my loves, we shall end at the end!

I'm so excited to finally be sharing this post with you all. While researching my 20 genius and practical IKEA plant hacks post, I saw something similar and the idea just would not let go of me.

I hope you love the finished project as much as I do! Would you give this a try yourself? Did you enjoy my video? Are you a rare plant collector? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Peace,

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