Kari says, "I recently moved to a new house and am lucky enough to finally have a whole room for my crafting hobbies/business. I do a lot of sewing so I wanted a big, flat, and high (to save my back) work surface where I could lay out fabric. I also needed a lot of storage space.
My solution was to buy four Ikea base kitchen cabinets (2, 30" and 2, 18"). After assembling the cabinets, we (my husband and I) bolted them together on the bottom and added turned feet (to make it higher and prettier).
We flipped it right side up and built a top out of MDF. We covered the MDF with nice fabric (actually a shower curtain, for the width) which we stapled on underneath the edge.
We had a piece of glass cut to cover the whole top. As finishing touches, we added wood trim to hide the 'seams' between cabinets, glass knobs, and an Ikea rod (Bygel). I think it turned quite nicely and it functions just as I had hoped. A huge work surface (with a knee hole for sitting), with tons of storage underneath.
On the other side of the room, I needed a desk. We also used Ikea kitchen cabinet bases for this (one 24", one 18"), one side with drawers, one with a door. Then we just used the Ikea white kitchen counter top (Pragel) for the top. We also added feet and glass knobs to the desk. When I pulled up a chair to the desk, I realized that (duh!), this desk was higher than a regular desk, because it is counter height. Therefore, I had to go buy a counter height stool (Ikea Henriksdal). I modified their standard cover by sewing on a little Ikea fabric (Fredrika) around the bottom for a more custom look."
These are AMAZING!!!!
ReplyDeletewow. that is beautiful, and I'm totally jealous. ;D
ReplyDeleteUnbelievably cool! Great work and totally inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I LOVE the huge craft area, and the desk!! They look so great!!!
ReplyDeleteBoth hacks are extremely useful and also very neat.
ReplyDeleteThe towel rod is cherry on the cake. I'm always looking for a reasonable place for the kitchen towels.
Now you gave me the idea. Good work!
Michaela
I love this!!!! Good thing I'm just starting to put together my craft room :D
ReplyDeleteDon't forget a nice little footrest under that high desk!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely beautiful. You and your husband did an awesome job!
ReplyDeleteWow, brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThe large work table is great and looks really useful.
ReplyDeletenow this is what i call a hack. love it.
ReplyDeleteOMG this is s a real inspiration! Thanks for sharing this. Now I have to bug the hubby. LOL.
ReplyDeleteA whole room for craft!
ReplyDeleteI'm completely jeleous. I don't even have a whole room to call my own, let alone space to leave my craft projects ready to get on with when I have the time.
That project was sooooo cool.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing...you guys did an amazing job. clutter free hobby room...very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful job!! I am totally envious!
ReplyDeleteAre those knobs from Restoration Hardware? I think I have the same ones in my kitchen...
Great hack!
Can Kari please say what doors she used for the cabinets? This hack looks awesome! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jules and everybody! Anon -I used the white STAT cabinet doors.
ReplyDeleteWow. You're a rockstar. Can I be you when I grow up? Definitely coming back here, especially since we're getting an IKEA in a few months. Woohoo!!! No more driving six hours!
ReplyDeleteThis is seriously brilliant! I'm going to use this in my craft room... been looking for a fabulous cutting table with storage! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was looking for a more grown up Lego building station for my nine-year-old, because the Lego tables ready made are for toddlers. This is it!!! Thanks so much. You are a friggin genius. :o)
ReplyDeleteKari did you attach the top of the desk to the two cabinets? if so, how? thanx!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely FABulous!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!! Love the clean crisp look of the white!
ReplyDeleteI did attach the top. Just drilled up from underneath.
ReplyDeleteVery clever and a fantastic work area.
ReplyDeletewhat a fantastic idea and they look great, too
ReplyDeleteWonderful!
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired me to change some of my renovation plans re: the dining and adjoining sewing/office.
Thank you so much.
looks great! Kari, can you please share how much the whole project cost you?
ReplyDeleteWow! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI love that! I too would like to know how much this cost you. I've been debating whether or not to just buy this one and save myself the trouble of making one. Now trying to convince my hubby of the need. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.target.com/Coastline-Counter-Height-Desk-White/dp/B00155CIHW/ref=in_de_display_children?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=1KTRKNTJDJH3C44R0BJB&pf_rd_p=465352811&pf_rd_i=B0017L6CQW&pf_rd_s=bottom-8&altString=Coastline%20Counter%26%2345%3BHeight%20Desk%20%26%2345%3B%20White&pf_rd_m=A1VC38T7YXB528&pf_rd_t=5201
~Angel
I think the whole room cost around $1200. My Ikea receipt for all the cabinet materials was about $800 (for both the work table and desk). Add to that the extra wood, fabric, glass top,knobs, etc. You could do the whole project cheaper by making different cabinet selections and skipping some of the finishing details.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
ReplyDeleteYour craft table is so awesome! My husband is going to build one for me. I was looking at the Ikea website though and was wondering if you used base cabinets or wall cabinets? Since you said you had to use a counter height stool, it makes me think you used base cabinets. But the only ones on the site have metal feet. Maybe they have more in the store than online?
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to get mine built! Thanks for the idea.
What are the dimensions on your table? I'm lucky enough to have a hubby who can build me something like that without having to buy Ikea cabinets. If you could email me, I'd appreciate it, I REALLY like your table! <3 simplysassyg@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteMy husband doesn't know it yet, but he is going to build me one of those. I am so excited. Thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteYou have done an exception job putting this together. I love all the finishing details. Your hubby is a good man to help you put this together! Can you share where you got the turned feet? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThese look great! Thanks for the inspiration!! :)
ReplyDeleteFor those who are wondering about the feet they are 'tulip' style wood feet that I got at my local woodcraft store. They are also available online.
ReplyDeleteDeena - I used Ikea BASE cabinets. Stephanie, the dimensions are about 4 feet 5.5 feet. Thanks all!
Your post is something that would be a Godsend for any crafter. Thanks for sharing your Ikea idea Kari.
ReplyDeletethat is awesome, I want one. thank you for sharing and I love your new room.
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed reading through this posting.Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteI recently used this as my inspiration for my office, and now I'm in LOVE with being in my office! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteWe are in the process of building this craft table!!! I am so excited! What an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!!! You just solved a huge problem for me. :-) I have a Hermann Miller Counter Height Task Chair. We recently moved & I'm having trouble finding a counter height desk. I sure don't want to get rid of the chair! I've been searching for a solution for 3 weeks now. Thanks to you, I can get to the planning stage finally! :-)
ReplyDeletethis looks awesome, very well finished.
ReplyDeleteOnly have one issue, u built it in the room, what happens if you wanna move in the future? hehe :)
Wondering if it could it be built so it could be split into two cabinet pieces that join together with the table top free floating but recessed underneath to join the two bases (like a cap) so it can get through a door?
This is a great idea. I need more workspace as well as storage. This will solve both of my problems.
ReplyDeleteWhat size is the counter top for the desk? (49", 73" or 96")
What are the measurements for the glass?
Found you via TipNut - I am *in love* with this. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: So it's been a few years since I made this and after pushing it around the room several times, 2 of the base cabinets did get stressed and cracked, which prevented the door from closing. Ikea only guarantees their cabinets if they are installed per instructions and never moved. We love the table so we disassembled it and built it better than ever. Since I had to replace 2 cabinets anyway, I rebuilt it without the knee hole so that it is now a solid base (instead of U shape). This makes it stronger and now has more storage. We built a solid platform with rolling casters on the bottom so moving it now will not stress it at all. Then we just bolted the cabinets together and to the solid base.
ReplyDeleteFor Anon on 7/3/11, we do have double french doors to that room that it fits through, but the whole thing is easily disassembled if we needed to move it. Top comes of, cabinets can be detached from each other and the base.
Thanks everyone for continuing to check this out!
Kari
Very clever. Love to see how ingenious people are.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Love Ikea, Mich
Can you give approximate measurements of the table shown? I have a fairly small room to work with and a small bet with my hubs that a table like this would fit! Thanks!!
ReplyDeletesweet!..wish i had the room for something this nice
ReplyDelete