It was time to eliminate my cute little classic mid century desk and improve to one thing I may really sit at comfortably. After I noticed the IKEA Alex Drawers I knew I may give them the proper makeover and create my dream desk.
In the event you’ve been following together with my tasks these days, you recognize I’m barely obsessive about all issues cane. We just lately used it on the bench within the child’s playroom and I beloved how that turned out and wished to make use of extra of it.
My pal Aniko additionally used it just lately on an arched cane headboard that turned out SO fairly.
My earlier desk had restricted counter area and was too small for my lengthy legs. I couldn’t cross my legs beneath it or sit comfortably at it actually in any respect.
So I figured it was time I did one thing about that. I wished to have the ability to customise it so it could match my little nook completely and the IKEA Alex drawers had been the proper answer.
After all as is, they aren’t my fashion in any respect. So it was time to hack these infants. I had a really particular imaginative and prescient for them that included cane webbing and wooden trim/accents. So I set to work bringing that imaginative and prescient to life.
SUPPLIES FOR CANE AND WOOD DESK MAKEOVER
I’ll stroll you thru my course of step-by-step so you possibly can create this desk too!
*Notice: I assembled my Alex items first earlier than including all of the wooden/cane items however discovered it could have been simpler to go away it unassembled.
HOW TO BUILD YOUR CANE AND WOOD DESK
STEP 1
Minimize your 1/4″ plywood to suit every of the drawer fronts. These will probably be rectangular in form and canopy the dip on the high of every drawer. They need to be approx. 12 3/4″ x 4″ for the smaller drawers and 12 3/4″ x 5 3/4″ for the bigger ones.
STEP 2
Minimize the remainder of your plywood to cowl the edges of the Alex Cupboard. Since my desk sits between two partitions, I solely wanted to cowl the within panels. In case your desk isn’t going to be towards any partitions, you’ll want to chop 4 panels.
STEP 3
Utilizing a mitre noticed, minimize your trim items that may sit on high of every drawer entrance. All of those cuts will probably be at 45°.
I used this pine screen trim I acquired at Lowe’s that has barely rounded edges.
STEP 4
Subsequent up, minimize the trim that may go across the total set of drawers on every unit. I couldn’t discover trim that was the suitable dimension, so I purchased 1.5″ trim and we needed to minimize it on the desk noticed all the way down to 1″ extensive. You’ll be chopping these at a forty five° as nicely.
Listed below are these measurements:
4 @ 14.75″
4 @ 28″
STEP 5
Give all your wooden a light-weight sand to take away any tough edges. I used my Ryobi corner cat sander however you need to use any kind of sand paper or sanding block.
STEP 6
Stain! I used Varathane Darkish Walnut Gel Stain making use of it with a staining pad in a single coat.
STEP 7
As soon as dry, you possibly can end all of your wooden items. My favourite high coat proper now’s Vermont Pure Coatings.
STEP 8
If you wish to change the colour of your cane webbing so it isn’t pure then you possibly can stain it by utilizing Polyshades spray. I used it within the colour Mission Oak. I like the way it softens the colour and offers it a extra vintagey look.
STEP 9
Minimize your cane webbing to the actual dimension of every of your drawer fronts. I minimize a few of mine a bit smaller and it made it more durable to connect the trim.
STEP 10
Connect your 1/4″ wooden items to the fronts of every drawer. I did this by making use of a beneficiant quantity of DAP speedy fuse glue.
I swear by these things. It’s wonderful! Maintain it in place for about 30 seconds. No have to clamp except it feels prefer it isn’t sticking.
Repeat with every drawer.
STEP 11
Take your cane items and fix them to every drawer entrance on high of the wooden you simply hooked up utilizing a small staple gun. Be sure that your staples are small and are as flush to the drawer as potential. This can make it simpler to connect the trim.
If any are sticking up, you need to use a small tack hammer to hammer them in.
STEP 12
Utilizing your Fast Fuse glue once more, glue a line alongside the sting of the drawer and fix ONE piece of trim at a time. I discovered that these had been a bit extra cussed and didn’t need to stick as nicely, so that you’ll need to use some clamps to carry them in place for a few minutes.
I didn’t have to clamp all of them, so you possibly can attempt holding them in place for 30 seconds and seeing it that works. In the event that they’re wiggling then clamp.
Because of this you shouldn’t assemble the items first. In the event you do (like I did) the best way the drawers are put collectively doesn’t offer you sufficient room round all sides to make use of a clamp.
Repeat for all drawers.
STEP 13
As soon as all of your drawer fronts are lined, you possibly can assemble the Alex items.
STEP 14
Now you possibly can connect the trim across the total set of drawers on the entrance and the facet panels. We did this utilizing only a nail gun. If you would like a bit extra additional assist on the edges, you need to use some liquid nails too.
STEP 15
Connect your {hardware}! I ordered these Edge Pulls from amazon, and was decided to make them work though the colour was off.
They had been the proper dimension, form and got here in a pack of 10. After some bother with Rub ‘N Buff, I ended up utilizing Rustoleum’s Metallic Spray Paint in Champagne Bronze and it was the proper gentle gold colour.
STEP 16
If you wish to do the identical factor we did for the highest of the desk then maintain following! In any other case, connect a high of your selection and your desk is able to use!
We used a door slab from Lowe’s that price us $40. It’s hole so whenever you minimize it to dimension, you will notice a gap. This didn’t matter for me because it sits between two partitions. You could possibly simply cowl it with a bit of trim to cowl the opening or simply not minimize it in any respect if it’ll slot in your area.
The width was good, we simply wanted to chop down the size a bit. We did that utilizing a round noticed.
STEP 17
Subsequent you possibly can stain your door to match the desk. Since they’re various kinds of wooden this may take some trial and error. I ended up utilizing common Minwax Darkish Walnut stain for mine after which sealed it with the identical high coat I used on the remainder of the desk.
STEP 18
Put all of it collectively! One factor to notice is that with the scale of the trim across the entrance, the highest piece sits a bit above the precise cupboard. Earlier than you place your door or high on, you’ll need to put one thing underneath there to carry the highest up a bit so it isn’t resting proper on the trim.
We simply used a scrap piece of 1/4″ plywood on all sides and it labored good!
I can’t inform you how completely happy I’m with this piece! The remainder of my little workplace nook continues to be a piece in progress however having this additional counter area and leg room is AMAZING!
I can’t wait to complete adorning this area however I’ve been loving it thus far! My DIY Cane and Wooden Desk turned out even higher than I imagined and I had a lot enjoyable hacking my first piece of IKEA furnishings!
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