Make a Scandinavian Style Table from IKEA Cabinet Yourself? Easy!

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

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

What You'll Need:

✓ Circular saw
✓ Clamps (holders)
✓ 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 edge band. This will be the width of the plywood for your tabletop. Measure the width of the drawer, add the working surface width that would be enough for working at the table, and add about 5 inches for the table legs. Subtract twice the thickness of the maple edge band. This will be 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. Smooth the edges with a planer.

Step 3. Make the Edge Band

Cut an edge band from a maple board with a width of 1 inch using a table saw. Cut the front and side edges with a miter saw. We suggest gluing the edge band on the front and sides of the tabletop, and leaving the back side without an edge band so it fits tightly against the wall.

Trim the edges of the edge band at 45 degrees. Join the edge band to the plywood tabletop using glue and clamps.

Step 4. Join the Parts

Cut three strips from a 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 about 5–6 cm wide, 3 cm thick, and 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 it, 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 with a diameter of 2 cm. Using a grinding machine, move around the drawn circle, gradually moving upward and removing less wood each time. In the end, a cone shape should be achieved. Don't forget to sand the legs.

Step 6. Attach the Legs

Glue one of the holes in the strip and insert a leg until it is flush with the strip. If necessary, use a spacer for a tighter fit. After the glue dries, remove the part of the leg that protrudes above the strip. 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

Secure the drawer to the tabletop using wood screws.