DIY Indoor Greenhouse Cabinets for Houseplants

Benefits of growing your houseplants in an indoor greenhouse cabinet include:

• Complete control over your growing conditions, including light, humidity, & airflow (especially helpful if you live in cold/dry environments like the Midwest)

• Ability to protect your pets & children from accidentally ingesting plants that might be toxic to them

• Aesthetics! (You’ve got to admit, these greenhouse cabinets are PRETTY)

Length x Depth x Height

Small: 17 ¾ " x 8 ¾ " x 13 ¾ "

Tall: 28 3/4 " x 16 1/2 " x  68 7/8 "

Wide: 39 3/4 " x 15 " x 39 3/8 "

The grow lights I have linked and recommend for indoor greenhouse cabinets is the “yellow” color because they are easier on the eyes. In contrast, the sterile white, pink, and red/blue colored grow lights are uncomfortable to look at for long periods of time and are not significantly more beneficial for growing houseplants.

Weatherstripping is optional. My recommendation is that if you only plan on keeping a few plants per shelf, then weatherstripping will probably be needed to keep the humidity up. However, if you plan to keep the greenhouse cabinet pretty full, then the natural transpiration from your plants will keep the humidity above 80% without the need for weatherstripping. I fall into the latter category, so I do not use weatherstripping.

I recommend replacing the IKEA shelves with the Modern Aqua acrylic shelves in your indoor greenhouse cabinet because:

• Included slots allow for airflow within the greenhouse cabinet

• Included mounting holes make it easy & seamless to install grow lights in the greenhouse cabinet

While drilling a hole is recommended for the cleanest look, alternatively, you can run cables for grow lights, fans, etc out through a gap in the door at the top or bottom of the greenhouse cabinet.

In theory, yes, but keep in mind that the acrylic shelves, grow lights, fans, and other supplies curated here were specifically selected based on the dimensions & materials of the Akerbar & Milsbo cabinets. Other IKEA cabinets may require additional modifications.

Not significantly. Exact costs depend on how many grow lights & fans you’re running as well as where you live. In my experience, running a Milsbo Tall Greenhouse with lights on for 12 hours a day costs less than $5 per month.

Not with proper airflow provided by the USB-powered fans mentioned in the tutorials.