Hacking IKEA Furniture

When something desired is not available for purchase, one can always build it themselves. Recently, the author moved and needed a workbench with the appearance of regular living room furniture. Workbenches or industrial shelving units had too much of a garage look and were not approved by the girlfriend. Regular cabinets were only available with a maximum depth of 40 cm, too small for the author's taste.

Custom-made furniture was slightly outside the budget at around €1,000 per unit. ChatGPT suggested looking at kitchen cabinets, which had suitable dimensions and a better price point, but the design, layout, and sides were not appealing.

The author decided to build the workbench using IKEA Kallax shelving units, inspired by a similar setup in a previous apartment. The desktop board from a previously upgraded desk became the top of the new creation. The basic 2x2 Kallax unit was only €40 in black and €30 in white. The author used two Kallax 2x2 shelving units, inserts with drawers and doors, MDF boards cut to size, screws from the hardware store, decorative foil, and rubber mats from Amazon. The old desk, still in the basement, was used for the work surface.

The author cut the MDF boards using a mini circular saw and a Japanese saw, which took about 30 minutes for the initial cut. Pre-drilling and countersinking holes were crucial to prevent screws from breaking through one side of the panel. Rubber sheets were placed on top for vibration absorption, intended for a 3D printer and pen plotter.

The final assembly went quickly and smoothly, with the desktop board screwed to the base, significantly improving stability. The author had extra MDF boards from the previous unit, but they were cut to 355 mm instead of the required 335 mm.