[gregmac]

That's a great idea, I'll definitely be doing that in the future!

I've added L-brackets to key spots on Ikea furniture before, and it often increases how sturdy it feels by an order of magnitude.

Just the other day I fixed a 5 year old Billy bookshelf (that I broke while moving it, while partly loaded with books) by securing the cardboard back with screws instead of finishing nails and adding a couple metal brackets to the bottom. Cosmetically, despite being (ab)used by my kid, it still looks fine, and now feels even more sturdy than before. Wish I had thought of adding some glue (or maybe No More Nails) to secure the back even more.

[bmitc]

I only started doing it because I have a bunch of the Regissor line. It actually has a screwless assembly process, only being held by friction joints. Over time and after being moved a lot, the coffee table started to loosen. So I took it apart and reassembled it with wood glue in the joints, and now it’s as solid as a rock. I mainly buy the “higher-end” IKEA stuff with real wood or at least stronger particle or plywood or whatever it is except for the Kallax line, so that helps as well.

I just like IKEA so much because they have well designed stuff for good prices, even their more expensive things relative to their cheaper stuff. And with mild care and tweaks during assembly, it can be quite solid. I wish I had thought of the wood glue sooner as well because I’m too lazy to redo my bookshelves.