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Since IVAR storage system is so good at what it does, it has faithfully served customers’ needs across the home for over 50 years. Attics, living rooms, pantries and bedrooms – they all love IVAR.
Article Number904.846.49
Product details
Untreated solid pine is a durable natural material that can be painted, oiled or stained according to preference.
Solid pine is a natural material which ages beautifully and gains its own unique character over time.
Designer
IKEA of Sweden
Good to know
Possible to separate for recycling or energy recovery if available in your community.
To be completed with OBSERVATÖR cross-brace 39⅜", sold separately.
For higher stability, add a cross-brace to every second section.
Materials and care
Material
Solid pine, Solid pine
Care
Wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Stains can be removed by using an eraser or fine sandpaper.
Safety and compliance
To build a safe and stable section with 48⅞" side units, always use at least 3 shelves or 1 shelf and 1 cabinet (drawers do not contribute to the stability of the section).WARNING! Tipping hazard – this product must be securely anchored. Use suitable screws and plugs for your home. If you are uncertain, seek professional advice.
Assembly and documents
Measurements
- Height: 48 7/8 "
- Depth: 11 3/4 "
Packaging
IVAR
Article Number904.846.49- Width: 3 ½ "
- Height: 1 ¾ "
- Length: 49 ¼ "
- Weight: 4 lb 12 oz
- Package(s): 1
Reviews
Used as a rackCarolRather than pay an exobitant amount for a blanket or towel rack, I sanded smooth and painted white to lean in my bathroom for towels and mats. It would also work great for throws or blankets.
Found a workaround!AllisonFor those of you who also struggled to assemble this, I found a decent solution to getting the pins into the holes with more ease: get a 6mm flathead (or any flathead that just fits into the hole). Twist it around while gently pushing down, until the screwdriver connects with the bottom of the hole. Keep twisting it to make the hole slightly bigger. Then hammer in the pin! It was a MUCH better solution to get these totally flush than the pins I tried to hammer in without digging to the holes. I also used some wood glue on the connecting parts for extra sturdiness.
Ikea, please bring back the older pre-assembled model. I’m used to having to put in a little muscle when assembling your furniture, but the increased cost for less convenience is not equal in any capacity. I would pay more for these if the quality control was better.
NOT assembled!DeniseI was absolutely in shock when I received this in pieces that I had to assemble. There was nothing I recall seeing in the catalog description indicating this new change. They are incredibly difficult to put together. In fact of the 4 I bought, I only assembled 1 before giving up. They are no longer my "go to" shelving units.
What happened with quality control?AnonymousIKEA is our go-to for furniture, but this piece is just not made right. Even with hammering in the cross braces for the side pieces until they are perfectly flush, you can clearly visualize how the hold that the peg is supposed to go through is not in alignment with the hole in the leg of the side piece. We have pegs sticking out everywhere. Hint if you're still going to buy it--you have to hit it with a heavy hammer, not a mallet. The heavier the better. Put a carpet underneath it or you'll wreck your floor. Oh and the flimsy cross braces that need to be attached? No pilot holes that we could see, so get a good drill driver for those.
Living Room ShelfMaryVery strong and well made
Living Room shelfMaryBeautifully made very strong
IKEA you’ve ruined ivarMeghanI love ivar and have been using it for years! The simplicity, combined with the millions of ways you can customize it make it the perfect storage solution for any room. Unfortunately they have changed the design of the side units so that you now have to build them yourself.. it’s such a pain to hammer in the wood pegs and I can barely get them all the way in. Also the little wood block to help prevent dents in the actual unit are useless and make the job even harder. Absolutely a shame because there was no reason to change it except to lower costs for the company.. I’ll be buying them used from now on.
A total workout!NinaI have many ikea products as many others have said here in the reviews. This side unit is absolutely impossible to assemble. We literally deserve our money back for the pain this product has caused.
Inconsistent sizeEkaterinaUnlike many I had no issue hammering all the wooden pieces into place, but the resulting pieces’ size is inconsistent. I was putting drawer sides into those and while one side fit well, the other didn’t and I had to hammer them in and of course I splintered one side. In the end, I managed to fix it all but the result is all warped and not pretty. It was probably better to go to Home Depot and just buy wood rather than use those side legs.
How to put these together easily and save your sanity: get a square and place it over the pegs!KristinThese are impossible to put together with the tools IKEA provides. Save your sanity by going to the hardware store and picking up a "square" (2-foot piece of metal shaped like an L) and use that directly over the pegs, and place the soft pine block on top of the square as you hammer.
The pine block will absorb the force from hammering so you don't kill your hand. Be sure to keep the square flat by placing the edges of it on the other rail so that it doesn't move around as you hammer.
Keep checking the side pieces - they will shimmy out a bit as you hammer so you may have to adjust them and push them back in.
The pegs should be flush with the wood after about 4 blows with this method. Good luck!
The Construction Process Is AwfulCarlaFor context, you should know that I'm basically an Ikea superfan. My couch is the Finnala. My bed is the Brimnes storage bed. My bedside table is the Eket cube. I have 3 Pax wardrobes, and 3 Billy bookcases. My desk is Hemnes. And 99% of the time, if people say the construction of an Ikea piece is problematic, they haven't read the instructions carefully. But not this time. This thing is an awful experience for the consumer, unless you happen to have, say, a pneumatic hammer laying around. And even then it would still be a huge drag. I checked the reviews on Reddit, and figured there had to be a translation error when someone said you had to "violently" hammer in the side rails. That was not an error. It is so hard to get the dowels in (& there are so MANY to pound in) that it has taken me two weeks to assemble the thing. I live in an apartment, and I'm trying not to drive my downstairs neighbor insane. And you will damage the wood at some point when you miss the little block.
Not as good as they used to beAliceWe have been using IVAR for decades. It was always our go-to for flexible storage in utility rooms, closets, kids' rooms, college dorms and apartments. We have used every version of shelves, cabinets, and drawers. It was always easy, reliable, and affordable. This is the 1st time we have had to assemble the side frame. We are Ikea veterans and capable, handy people (like actually, not just confident diy-ers, but can build from scratch) I am very disappointed with the new BYO frames. The mortises are messy and full of splinters. The pins don't seat completly. The long pieces aren't completely straight. We had to use the flush cut saw to cut the protruding ends off 23 of 24 pins. AND they kept the price the same, but now we are the labor. I am begging you, IKEA, PLEASE go back to the factory assembled frames!
Love itGabrielaI use it in my brick and mortar store- love how it looks and so easy to build
Used to make a cat tower/treeMayraI needed a customizable and sturdy shelving system to accommodate my tall and heavy cats. I connected 2 units - a total of 3 sides and 8 shelves. I did not used the dowels, based on reviews (I am a senior and not strong). Instead, I drilled the original holes all the way to the other sided I used heavy duty screws with bolts. After adding the cross wire to the back of one of the Ivar, and putting the pine shelves in, the unit is solid. I put carpet squares on the shelves, and we are all happy. It will be easy to add more units as needed. I will stain or paint it when I have time to take the unit outside (to avoid the fumes) so my cat room does not look like a garage.
Oh IKEA, this is not the wayRebeccaThis is my third Ivar shelf unit. I love them so much for their sturdiness and modularity. The side units used to come preassembled, but no longer. The wooden dowels don’t fit, and if you follow instructions not to hammer on them directly they simply won’t go in all the way. For my second side unit assembly, I’m heading to the hardware store to buy screws to replace the dowels. IKEA, this was a terrible idea.
D O N O T B U Y !!!!!!!!! Don’t touch the side units, they are firewood at bestAnnaI lovED Ivar, I’ve been recommending Ivar, I have Ivar shelves in all heights in my house. Been expanding and expanding. Tried the new assembly requiring side units, thinking, “how bad can this be?” I’ve been putting IKEA stuff together for the past 25 years. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I’m never touching Ivar again and I’m telling everyone as well. Now everyone who visits hears about the trauma you put me through with your stupid idea. This is beyond horrible, dangerously so even. IKEA, you destroyed a perfect product. Bring the old concept back please. This new concept is a reputation killer. Trust me.
Normally I LOVE assembling IKEA furniture - NOT THISAshleyI love assembling IKEA furniture that I've thought about becoming a TaskRabbit to do so. I'd rather buy a new IKEA item than get a discounted one near the checkout solely because I love the assembly process.
NOT THIS! The IVAR was such a pain to put together. Instead of the spiffy ikea screw system, it was all hammering. Hammering in pieces that hardly fit together. Oh, and I had to drill pilot holes for the support brace - I like IKEA for making it easy with pre-drilled pilot holes without needing to measure.
I had to have my family leave the house so I could hammer for an hour. Normally my kids like being with me when I assemble. This was a nightmare.
Nice unitThongIt is a nice unit, I didn't have any major issues putting it together. You need a mallet (hammer is fine as well since they give you a scrap piece). One of the dowels didn't go in easily and did not sit flush, so I ended up sanding it down. Tools you probably need: hammer/mallet, sand paper/small saw.
what a nightmare!ErikaI bought my first IVAR unit over 25 years ago and have expanded it and added it to multiple rooms in multiple configuations -- using both depths and all three (?) heights.
I winced when I realized this was unassembled. Quickly I was furious. This is impossible to assemble as the video shows.
At minimum, you need a rubber mallet and multiple c-clamps to get the wooden pins inserted properly.
I this were my first IVAR unit, it would be my LAST. You'd have lost my 25+ years of expansion purchases.
You'll not get another.
Assembly is annoyingChristineI love the IVAR system, and have purchased and expanded what I have over the years. I really disliked assembling this piece--it did not go together easily, and I can't getting the wooden pins to seat flush. I'm really glad I didn't have to put this together in the middle of a humid summer because it would have been impossible. Please switch back to a pre-assembled unit.
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Material
What is solid wood?
Solid wood is one of our favorite materials and is part of our Scandinavian heritage. It is also a timeless material with many uses. Regardless of the tree species, it is durable, beautiful and renewable. We strive to use this raw material as smartly and efficiently as possible to avoid waste – and we also invest in facilities and logistics so that we can increase the use of recycled wood.