ᐅ How can I assemble Malm furniture more securely?

Hello everyone,

I recently bought several Ikea Malm furniture pieces (bed frame, dressers), and during assembly, I noticed that some of the joints don’t feel as sturdy as I had hoped. Especially with the drawer dressers, the connections at the side panels seem a bit loose or not fully secure.

My question is, what options are there to increase the stability of these Malm furniture pieces during assembly? I don’t just want to put them together, but build them in a way that ensures long-term durability, especially if they are subjected to heavier use or frequent handling.

Do you know any tips or materials that can improve the typical joints? Maybe additional screws, dowels, glue, or special tools? Or does it help to follow certain assembly steps differently?

I’d love to hear your practical experiences, as I want to avoid unpleasant surprises later with sagging drawers or wobbly elements.

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice!

Leelis schrieb:
Do you know any tips or materials that can improve the usual joints?

Hey Leelis, it’s great that you’re putting so much effort into building the furniture really solid! 🙂

For my Malm dressers, I always use extra wooden dowels, especially for the joints held only by small screws. That keeps everything very secure! I also strongly recommend reinforcing all joints with wood glue, even though Ikea doesn’t usually suggest it. Just a bit of glue between the edges and the dowels, and everything stays rock solid!

And if you haven’t tightened all the screws properly yet, go over them again with a cordless drill, but don’t overtighten. Otherwise, you risk compressing the wood and weakening the joints.

Keep it up, you’re doing great! :-)

fasau schrieb:
And in case you haven’t tightened all the screws properly yet: go over them again with a cordless screwdriver

I completely agree! That’s brilliant! I would add that an extra corner bracket on the inside corners of the dressers significantly improves stability. Just attach two small brackets that aren’t visible and reinforce the structure.

I have also found that assembling on a firm surface makes a big difference. If the floor is uneven, stability can suffer because the furniture then has to withstand wobbling stresses.

The most important thing is not to rush and to carefully check every step :-)

Leelis schrieb:
What options are there to increase the stability of these Malm furniture pieces during assembly?

Use screws with a larger diameter, apply wood glue to the dowels, and add corner braces. That’s it.

I always attach plywood strips to the back panels whenever possible. This increases the torsional rigidity. This is especially helpful with Malm drawer chests. Simply screw on thin strips, and nothing will wobble anymore.

Garth49 schrieb:
an additional angle bracket on the inside corners of the dressers significantly increases stability

I want to emphasize this again!

I once completely rebuilt a Malm dresser for a client and installed steel angle brackets inside.

The result was amazing: no more wobbling even when fully loaded with heavy items!

If you attach the brackets inside with small screws, they are invisible from the outside, and you get an extremely stable connection that easily handles any load. 🙂