Lack Media Bench with Tiled Top

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Materials: Lack Shelving Unit

Having very luckily acquired an upgrade to our Television, we spent hours searching for something to put it on. This was when I stumbled upon Ikea Hackers. I was inspired by the range of creative ideas people were coming up with. Could I do the same?

We already had an old Lack Shelving unit that was looking a bit tired but it was too long to fit in the space we had but it was the perfect depth.

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After making a few measurements, scribbling a few sketches and searching for a few raw materials from the local DIY stores, I set to work.

Im afraid I forgot to take some ‘work in progress’ photos but hopefully the following description will be easy to follow.

1. I dismantled to the unit to remove the middle shelf.
2. Cut an equal length off both ends of the two longest panels.
3. Drilled new holes for the fixing screws at each end.

I now had the basic structure but was left with some very messy ends. To cover these, I cut some sheets of 6mm plywood to size and glued them in place, covering the two ends and bottom of the unit.

I cut some 25mm beading to create a frame around the top surface.

After some filling and sanding, I applied a dark oak satin varnish to the whole unit. This created a nice match to an armchair and rug in our lounge.

Once this had all dried I drew a grid on the top surface to plan out the positioning of the 100mm square tiles. These were once again glued in place and left to dry.

A large amount of ready mixed tile grout was then applied to fill the gaps.

The end result, see for yourself. I like to think of it as a retro inspired makeover of a modern piece of furniture.

I may modify it further with some legs, if I can find some. At the moment it sits on two of the leftover offcuts. This gives it a nice floating effect which I am fairly happy with.

The only other thing, might be to fit a panel on the back to hide the many many wires.

We are delighted with the result. I find myself looking at other items around the house, what will be my next victim?!