"I wanted a solid built-in office solution with heavy duty wall-mounted bookshelves above a long (12') counter top/desk/workspace with ample storage that would fit into an 18" deep nook under a sloped ceiling. Ikea doesn't really have anything purpose-made for this situation. Most of the bookshelves are either free-standing units or rather weak decorative wall shelves. So for the upper shelves I found that horizontal Akurum kitchen cabinets (30"x15"x12") were good for heavy books and inexpensive without the doors/hardware.
For the work surface/drawers, I found that none of the kitchen or office products were exactly the right depth/height. The solution: Godmorgon bathroom sink cabinets (without sinks; on 4 inch legs). Pricey, but well made with solid wood drawer interiors. Three units fit perfectly in 12' of space, but the units are conveniently (intentionally?) designed so that they can be assembed as a 23.5" wide two-drawer half-unit. So I did this with one of them leaving a sitting/desk space. I ripped 96" and 49" Numerar kitchen countertops (metal edges and matching wood grain surface) down to the right depth and combined they are the perfect length. Draw bolts and black automotive silicone adhesive made the seam practically disappear (it looks worse in the pictures than it really is). I finished off with minimal Grip drawer pulls instead instead of the large handles that were included."
For the work surface/drawers, I found that none of the kitchen or office products were exactly the right depth/height. The solution: Godmorgon bathroom sink cabinets (without sinks; on 4 inch legs). Pricey, but well made with solid wood drawer interiors. Three units fit perfectly in 12' of space, but the units are conveniently (intentionally?) designed so that they can be assembed as a 23.5" wide two-drawer half-unit. So I did this with one of them leaving a sitting/desk space. I ripped 96" and 49" Numerar kitchen countertops (metal edges and matching wood grain surface) down to the right depth and combined they are the perfect length. Draw bolts and black automotive silicone adhesive made the seam practically disappear (it looks worse in the pictures than it really is). I finished off with minimal Grip drawer pulls instead instead of the large handles that were included."
Wow, I've never though of that before! A really great hack!
ReplyDeletevery nice - and good inspiration for a project I am planning next year!
ReplyDeleteGreat hack!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the height of the work surface? Is it too tall to use as a desk?
ReplyDeleteare the drawers file drawers? i couldn't tell from the dimensions and description.
ReplyDeleteGosh... the bookshelve is an idea that TOTALLY made my day!!! :D
ReplyDeleteThe work surface is about 27 inches high--typical of desks. You could make it higher or lower depending on what legs you use. The drawers are not designed for files, and I'm not sure I'd they could be made to work for that purpose. I try to run a paperless office anyway...
ReplyDeleteJay
How did you mount the bookshelves to the wall?
ReplyDeleteThe bookshelves (Akurum kitchen cabinets) are mounted on rails. One long rail for each row of cabinets is mounted directly to the wall studs. Then the cabinets are hung on the rails. So it doesn't matter where the studs are located, as long as you can find a few the cabinets (bookshelves) hold A LOT of weight.
ReplyDeleteJay
That is an AWESOME hack! Congratulations, you must be very satisfied.
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks wonderful. Nice and clean. I am thinking of doing the same for a audio-video cabinet in the living room.
ReplyDeleteA few mounting questions:
- You are saying you use rails for the Akurum cabinets. What kind of rails are you using? How are the cabinets mounted on the rails?
- How did you mount the countertop onto the Godmorgon bathroom sink cabinets?
- How did you mount the Godmorgon bathroom sink cabinets to each other?
are those drawer fronts high-gloss white? they don't look glossy in the photos which i like, on the ikea website they look very shiny and the only option for white is high gloss white
ReplyDeleteThe rails are sold by ikea, they will tell you what to buy when you order the cabinets.
ReplyDeleteThe countertop was mounted using little angle brackets purchased at a hardware store.
I screwed the bathroom cabinets together with two inch wood screws.
The drawer fronts are not glossy, they're matte.
Jay
How deep are the top cabinets. if you put a 12" record inside does it protrude over the edge of the cabinet.
ReplyDeletei am asking because i wanna do something similiar but with doors and wanna make sure records will fit inside with the doors closed. the depth on ikea is listed as 12 7/8 but i am not sure how accurate that is for the actual inside of the shelves
This really helped me in finding a room design ideas for my sister ... I like the simple design like this.
ReplyDeletethank you very much for the frequent articles ..
Thank you.
alice