How I Customized my IKEA Desk
When we were planning to build the office, I knew I wanted a desk for two that would allow Trey and I to work side by side– especially since we work together. It was quite challenging to find a desk that was affordable, minimal, and gave us enough space to work both individually, and together.
After months of searching for our desk, I decided the best way was to just DIY our own, with the help of IKEA! I’ve gotten so many requests on the exact details of our IKEA Desk, and here is the breakdown of the cost and materials used to build it.
The Materials
IKEA has so many options for table top customizations, but we actually opted for a kitchen counter top as our desk. Most of the table tops vary from 40 inches to 55 inches (3 1/2 feet to 4 1/2 feet), and I didn’t want to buy two and put them side by side. I felt like they may slide and I didn’t want the obvious line that it was 2 pieces of table top. What I ended up opting for was the KARLBY Countertop.
- KARLBY Countertop in Birch / Veneer, length 98×1 x 1/2 — $179
- Alex Drawer Unit in White — $100
- Adils Legs in White, 4 pieces — $7.50 each x 4 = $30
Total for Materials: $309
The cost of these materials have gone up since writing this blog post — I know many of you have found this blog post through TikTok, and at the time, it came out to $204. Now the current cost of materials (as of 2022), is $300. In my honest opinion, it’s still a steal, even though inflation is a bitch 😭
THE ASSEMBLY
We measured about two inches from the edge of the table top and drilled the legs into the counter top. The Alex drawer floats in the middle and supports the weight! We’ve never had any issues with it moving around so we decided not to attach the drawer permanently. The Alex Drawer comes unassembled so the combined time of putting this customizable IKEA desk together shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.
OTHER OFFICE ESSENTIALS
MY VIRAL TIKTOK
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What camera do you use?
I use the Canon EOSR mirrorless! 28-70 f2.0 🙂
Hi! What is the height of your desk? Do you think if you put Alex drawers on each side as well as in the middle, it would be too tight?
the height of our desk is the height of the alex drawers! you could probably put 3 underneath but i feel like it would be pretty tight. depends on how big your chairs are!