Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
IKEA Hack: Creative Blanket Storage Solution
Years ago, I saw an IKEA design inspiration ad with a really cool designed wood wall. It had everything I wanted and needed for our guest bedroom/office, including a cool way to store extra blankets, so I created a wall just like it for our space. I wrote about that full room transformation in a separate article.
Minnie Pearl and Johnny Cash are also inspiration for our wall art I created
IKEA showcased a blanket hung on a rail, which I loved, but they didn’t say anywhere how to do it or what they used. They also did this with a curtain I loved in an ad, and then I had to figure out what they were in order to use them for my poolside curtain tutorial. See that in the 1 minute video below or via my website article by clicking here.
I analyzed their blanket storage solution photo ad, which included rails with the blanket attached somehow, and finally figured out how to do it and LOVED it. The storage actually becomes a part of a room design, but I’d do it in a kid’s room for sure, as kids have sleepovers and need extra blankets. I figured others might like it too (or have very little closet storage space like our current Sanibel Island Florida house), so I decided to break down the steps of the creative blanket storage solution into this tutorial for you.
The bedroom portion of our home office
The bed we bought (the IKEA UTAKER) is two that stack on top of each other, so I wanted to have an extra comforter in the event that two different people would sleep on the bed separately. The beds also push together to form one queen size bed, and it’s actually very comfortable! The extra comforter (it’s a twin size) hangs well on the rails. It could be done with any size comforter if you fold it and use the right number of straps. You do not have to use IKEA products either as I found some Amazon products you could use too.
Minnie Pearl and Johnny Cash with me on our completed bed project
Here’s what I used for my version of the IKEA creative blanket storage solution:
I used two 31 ½ inch IKEA HULTARP rails but you could use a couple of these rails I found on Amazon (which come with S hooks for hanging other things off the rail too)
I ordered a set of adjustable 78” x 1” inch buckle packing straps on Amazon, but it may work with some large leather belts too (think thrift store finds!)
Comforter of your choice (I used a twin size I already had, but you could find a similar one on Amazon)
Optional: The rails can also house hanging baskets and hooks. We have 2 IKEA Hultarp 12 inch baskets and the $3 pack of HULTARP hooks. My father-in-law slept in this space once and commented how he liked using the hanging baskets for his phone. The rail and baskets/hooks definitely act like a night stand when you have a bed without one.
See the 1 minute video tutorial below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How to:
1—After taking some measurements on where and how I wanted the twin sized blanket to hang, I adjusted the straps to be 42” inches each
I bought my straps on Amazon
2—Our rails were already hung, but if you haven’t done this yet, do so first. If you are hanging multiple blankets on the rod/s, make sure the rod can support the weight AND make sure you get the rod into a wall stud, as the drywall alone may not be able to support the weight. We used a drill and the included rail hardware when hanging our rails.
Similar rails can be found on Amazon too
3—Lay your blanket out flat (design facing down) and fold it in half once, and then fold the other half over the first half. You may need to adjust how many folds you need to make depending on the size of the comforter you use.
I bought my comforter at Target on sale
4—Roll the blanket from one end to the other while it’s folded, kind of like you roll a sleeping bag
The comforter is rolled like a sleeping bag
5—Lay the straps under the blanket (one on each end of the roll), then while holding the blanket roll (this is easiest when done with a second pair of hands), take a strap and clamp it over the rail and clamp over the blanket. Repeat attaching the straps and buckling them over the rail and blanket on the other end too.
You can also just roll and strap blankets like this for closet storage too.
6—Adjust your blanket roll and straps as needed. We added lots of throw pillows around ours to make it fit in and look more like a couch or daybed since this is in our home office.
The rolled up comforter hanging from the HULTARP rails
This is a very easy and creative way to store blankets, and I’m sure there are many other ways you could do this. I think it’d look really nice with leather straps too. You could even thrift some leather belts to do this too! Have fun with it if you tried this or come up with your own idea after seeing this, tell us in the comments section at the end of this post.
If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too: How To Hem Curtains Without Sewing + a Pinch Pleat Hack
My dogs love to be included in on our projects!
Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.