This Clever IKEA Hack Is A Game-Changer For Air-Drying Laundry In Small Spaces

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Learning the complicated nuances of your wardrobe's ever-changing laundry requirements is no small feat. Even once you've proudly mastered those mysterious laundry symbols (or rather discovered this iPhone feature to make laundry day easier) and know which items of clothing need to avoid the dryer at all costs, actually finding the space to air-dry your line-dry-only items in a small laundry room can still be a real challenge. For spaces with limited square footage, a traditional drying rack, hanging rod, or clothesline may not be in the cards. Thankfully, social media has come in clutch once again with a fantastic small-space-friendly laundry hack for hanging all of your air-dry items.

Instagram user klk.interiors shared how to use two affordable IKEA items from the PAX wardrobe series to create the handiest wall-mounted fold-down air-drying rack for the laundry room. By using the FORSAND door as the mounting board and two KOMPLEMENT pants-hanging racks on hinges and ropes, klk.interiors built an air-drying rack that can be tucked away when not in use but easily tilted out when it's time for laundry day. Depending on the product variations you choose, these three items will set you back about $130 at IKEA, plus another $15 to $20 or so for hinges, cord, and hangers. That brings the project total to just under $150. This small investment certainly pays off in spades when you consider the incredibly flexible day-to-day functionality the space-saving laundry drying rack adds to your laundry room.

To complete this project, head to IKEA to grab the $50 FORSAND door back panel (in the 19.5-inch wide by 76.6-inch high size) and two of the $40 KOMPLEMENT pants hangers (the 19.6-inch wide by 22.8-inch deep version). If you opt for the taller 90.3-inch FORSAND door, check that you have enough height from baseboard to ceiling to accommodate the taller panel and adjust your rack height placement (see below) to ensure you can easily reach both.

While Instagram user klk.interiors chose the white stained oak effect color option for both the FORSAND and KOMPLEMENT, that tone appears to be unavailable in the U.S. However, for those of us in the States, there are white, gray-beige, and dark gray color options for both items. If you'd like an alternate wood-look back panel, you could use a door from the PAX system with an oak effect tone. One such option is the STORKLINTA door, which you can pair with one of the KOMPLEMENT color options for a pretty two-tone style.

To complete the project's shopping list, snag some sturdy rope or twine for suspending the racks. You will also need four butt hinges that are roughly 3 inches long by 2 inches wide (such as this set of AxleCore Black Stainless Steel Butt Hinges on Amazon). While the hinge length is flexible (you could use a long piano hinge instead of two butt hinges for each rack), this specific width will allow one side of the hinge to fit entirely on the 1.375-inch edge of the KOMPLEMENT. Once your supplies are in hand, it's time to jump into this beginner-friendly DIY that will transform the functionality of your laundry room.

To create this wall-mounted, fold-out IKEA clothes hanger, lay the FORSAND door on the floor, flat side facing up (no hinge holes visible). Remove the pre-assembled KOMPLEMENT pants hangers from the boxes, setting aside the unneeded PAX mounting hardware. Place the two racks centered from side to side on the back panel, adjusting the height until you're happy with it. For the version of the FORSAND door that's about 76.5 inches high, mount the top rack about 1 to 2 inches down from the top and the second rack about 2 to 3 inches below that to allow room for the hinges and hanging space underneath when tilted out.

From there, use the hinges to attach the bottom edge of the rack to the back panel, spacing them apart toward the corners. To keep the tilt-down rack at 90 degrees when open, drill two holes through the back panel located just outside the rack's top corners. Insert your cord through the back panel, knotting the end in the back. Drill a hole through each side of the rack near the top (right beside the holes you drilled in the back panel) and thread the rope through. For the correct cord length, tilt out the rack until it's at 90 degrees, then tie a knot in the rope as a stopper to prevent it from hanging any further. Repeat for the second rack. Using two heavy-duty keyhole fasteners attached to the upper back of the FORSAND, mount the rack to the wall studs, which can be located with a stud finder. Finally, add an adhesive magnet to the inside top of each KOMPLEMENT and to the front of the FORSAND. This will keep the racks in place when upright.