ᐅ Two KALLAX units side by side – any experiences with stability?

Hello everyone,

I am planning to place two KALLAX shelves from IKEA side by side and would like to know how this affects their stability. In particular, I am interested in whether it really makes sense to connect the two units—either by screwing or gluing them together—to increase their sturdiness, or if they are stable enough standing on their own. Are there any experiences with placing them side by side, especially when heavier items or even a TV are placed on the shelves? I want to avoid the structure wobbling or tipping over eventually, especially if the shelves are used as a TV stand.

It would also be helpful to know if there are any special tips or recommendations on how to best join the two KALLAX units, if that is advised, or if other users have preferred to use two separate shelves. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

I have two KALLAX units placed side by side but not connected to each other. As long as they are secured to the wall, they remain stable. Without wall mounting, I would always screw them together.

I think that’s a good question, because the stability of two KALLAX units placed side by side is often underestimated.

nofomu schrieb:
As long as they are attached to the wall, they are stable.

That’s exactly my experience as well. At first, I was skeptical and worried that the shelf might tip over, especially with children in the house. But after securing both units to the floor and additionally fastening them to the wall with brackets, the feeling of safety improved significantly. My advice would be: wall attachment is truly essential, whether you connect the KALLAX units together or not.

If you don’t want to attach them to the wall, I would definitely recommend connecting the two shelves to each other, as it noticeably increases their stability.

Hey, I love my KALLAX setup with two shelves side by side! 🙂

Alberto51 schrieb:
Wall mounting is really key

Absolutely! I even screwed the shelves together for extra stability, and it looks great! A real eye-catcher. Especially if you plan to put heavier items on them, I highly recommend it.

And honestly: assembling it with the Ikea screws is really easy. You’ll see, it makes a big difference. No risk of tipping! I’m really impressed, good luck :-)

Two KALLAX units placed side by side without wall mounting tend to wobble quite a bit. Connecting screws between the two provide more stability. However, wall mounting is definitely the best solution.

Thank you for the responses so far!

I understand that wall mounting is the most important factor for stability. However, I am specifically interested in whether anyone has experience with how stable two KALLAX units are when they are only screwed together and not attached to the wall. In my case, the wall is unfortunately not completely flat, so wall mounting is difficult.

Kolepau schrieb:
I even screwed the shelves together, it’s super stable

– do you use regular wood screws or special IKEA parts? Do you have any tips for connecting them?

Thanks!