Make a Scandi-Style Table from IKEA Cabinet Yourself? Easy!

American designers Katlin and Menda create furniture and interior items and run their own blog where they post instructions and hacks for their DIY projects. The friends strive for rational consumption: they try to buy less and make more with their own hands. At the same time, they both work with eco-friendly materials, mostly wood. They love the Scandinavian style.

In this style, the friends decorated their son Menda's room, a teenager's bedroom. To make the work desk fit perfectly into the new interior, they made it themselves. We provide a detailed instruction that you can follow to replicate this project.

You will need:
✓ Circular saw
✓ Clamps (hooks)
✓ Drill/Impact driver
✓ Drill bit
✓ Table saw
✓ Miter saw
✓ Hand saw
✓ Electric planer
✓ Wood screws
✓ Wood glue
✓ Hammer
✓ Sandpaper
✓ Water-based polyurethane finish
✓ Birch plywood
✓ Maple board (1 thick and 1 thin)
✓ Round maple legs (about 3 cm in diameter)
✓ IKEA ALEX cabinet with drawers.

Step 1. Determine the Size
Measure the depth of the drawer, subtract the thickness of the maple board edge. This is the width of the plywood for your tabletop. Measure the width of the drawer, add the width of the working surface you'd need for working at the table, and add about 5 inches for the table legs. Subtract twice the thickness of the maple board edge. This is the length of your tabletop.

Step 2. Cut the Tabletop
Using a circular saw, straight board, and clamps, cut the top of the table from birch plywood. It's better to use a thin blade with 60 teeth to avoid chipping. Plane the edges.

Step 3. Make the Edge Banding
Cut an edge band 1 inch wide from the maple board with a table saw. Cut the end and side parts with a miter saw. We suggest gluing the edge band to the front side of the tabletop and sides, but leaving the back side without an edge band so it fits tightly against the wall.

Trim the edges of the edge band at a 45-degree angle. Join the edge band to the plywood tabletop using glue and clamps.

Step 4. Assemble the Parts
Cut three strips from the maple board, about 5 cm wide and 1 cm high. Attach them to the bottom of the plywood tabletop and place the tabletop on top of the cabinet.

Step 5. Make the Legs
Cut a strip 5–6 cm wide, 3 cm thick, and about 13 cm shorter than the length of your tabletop. Leave 5 cm from each end and drill holes for the legs.
Measure the height of the drawer and add the height of the strips between the drawer and the tabletop. This will be the height of your legs. Cut the legs to length.
It's not necessary to sharpen the legs, but if you decide to do so, here's how: Measure 30 cm from the bottom of the legs and make a mark. At the bottom of each leg, draw a circle 2 cm in diameter. Using a belt sander, move around the drawn circle, gradually moving upward and removing less wood each time. Eventually, you should get a conical shape. Don't forget to sand the legs afterward.

Step 6. Attach the Legs
Glue one of the holes on the strip and insert a leg until it's flush with the strip. If necessary, use shims for a tighter fit. After the glue dries, remove the part of the leg that protrudes from the top. Attach the strip with legs to the plywood using wood screws.

Step 7. Finish the Wood
Sand the resulting structure and treat it with stain, varnish, or special wood oil.

Step 8. Attach the Drawer
Attach the drawer to the tabletop using wood screws.