DIY IKEA Hack Desk
After moving house and finding myself with a bigger WFH space I was excited to create a more functional and beautiful home office nook.
High quality desks from a furniture store are quite expensive and I really couldn’t find anything I liked that offered a decent amount of storage and plenty of desktop area. Using Jenna Sue Design’s work/playroom renovation as inspiration (see link below) I decided to build a custom desk using IKEA drawers and a timber project panel. The project cost me around $400 AUD.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Aluminium Trim
Silicone Sealant
Caulk
Cabinet Knobs - I used Prestige 34mm Antique Iron Knob - Bunnings Australia
Clear Polyurethane (or wood stain of choice)
Timber Screws & Pin Nails
Circular Saw & Mitre Saw
Drill, Driver, Hammer
Sandpaper & Painting Equipment
STEP 1
Start by assembling your IKEA SMASTAD / PLASTA drawers.
STEP 2
Now onto the build. To hold up the opposite end of the desktop we built a simple frame using 90x35mm framing timber. Here you will need your mitre saw (or circular saw) and timber screws (or nail gun if you have one).
STEP 3
We then cladded the frame with VJ panelling leftover from another project. This is a great way to use up offcuts! We used screws on the internal piece so that it could be removable and allow us to attach the frame to the wall and also the desktop. We attached the external panel using pin nails.
STEP 4
Cut your desktop to size using a circular saw and attach the desktop to the frame and the drawers from underneath using timber screws.
STEP 5
To finish the front of the table ‘leg’ we simply used a piece of VJ panel but installed it with the back side facing out. Using silicone sealant, we installed aluminium trim to finish the edges.
STEP 6
To create the baseboards and give the IKEA drawers a built-in look, we also used pieces of VJ panel installed back side facing out. We cut the pieces at a 45 degree mitre for a more seamless looking corner join. We nailed these into the drawer legs using small pin nails.
STEP 7
Use paintable caulk to fill any gaps e.g. between the baseboards and the drawers, and along the aluminium trim.
STEP 8
Now it’s time to prime and paint. I used one coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer and two coats of Dulux enamel in the colour Limed White.
STEP 9
To protect the desktop apply two coats of Cabots clear polyurethane.
STEP 10
Install cabinet knobs of choice.
STEP 11 (optional)
With my offcut from the desktop I decided to make a laptop stand. I cut two side pieces and the top using a circular saw and joined using pocket hole screws. I also applied two coats of clear polyurethane.
I love how this DIY x IKEA Hack turned out and it can be easily replicated and customised to suit your space. You could have a SMASTAD drawer on either side for extra storage, or even try the slimmer ALEX drawer unit if your tight on space.
