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    Home » Home & Decor

    IKEA L-Shaped Desk Hack

    Published: Sep 11, 2016 · Modified: Dec 3, 2021 by Kelsey Smith

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    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    I confidently title this post "IKEA Desks & Office Makeover Part One" because there's so much more I want to do with my new office!

    The guest room in our house was a multi-use space, have sleeping space for guests and half my office and vanity. When guests stayed, I had to remove my makeup setup. Fun times.

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a commission on qualifying purchases.

    Since we really only have guests 2 or 3 times a year, it felt like a wasted space.

    My photography set up (two white foam boards next to the window) sat on the foot of the guest bed. The bed itself became a place to throw all of my "to review" items.

    A few times when Xavier's best friend stayed the night he couldn't even use the guest bed because it was so overrun!

    My desk was pretty small. I purchased in almost four years ago, and I outgrew it quickly. Between my Muji drawers for makeup storage, my desktop and my filming setup, I never had any room.

    The idea of reclaiming this space and transforming it into my dream office and vanity is thrilling.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    My number one priority was to get a basic desk setup. I turned to IKEA because of the affordability factor as well as the ability to customize exactly what you want.

    My dream desk was an l-shaped corner desk.

    Unfortunately, there are hard to come by, and what I found online was very expensive. Then I found The L Shape Desk Hack post from Leah Remillet's site, and the pieces started to fall into place.

    The IKEA Linnmon desks all have the same thickness, so you can piece together different desk sizes to get the look you want. The table tops can be purchased separately from the legs, so if you want to have part of the desk sit on a short Alex Drawer instead, you can mix and match.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    On the IKEA website you can pick out all of the items you need, add them to a list, and email it to yourself for all of the item numbers and locations in your local IKEA warehouse.

    My setup totaled about $360 after tax. I sold all of our guest room furniture on Craigslist for $260.

    What You Need

    LINNMON Table top, white (the one my computer sits on)
    Length: 59 "
    Width: 29 ½ "
    Thickness: 1 ⅜ "

    LINNMON Table top, white (the long vanity side) - Note: This Amazon listing comes with legs (different from the legs I used)
    Length: 78 ¾ "
    Width: 23 ⅝ "
    Thickness: 1 ⅜ "

    GODVIN Leg, white (I purchased 6 legs - Note: This Amazon listing is a 4-pack)
    Width: 1 ⅝ "
    Depth: 1 ⅛ "
    Height: 27 ½ "

    ALEX Drawer unit, white (the short 5 drawer unit)
    Width: 14 ⅛ "
    Depth: 22 ⅞ "
    Height: 27 ½ "

    ALEX Drawer unit with 9 drawers, white
    Width: 14 ⅛ "
    Depth: 18 ⅞ "
    Height: 45 ¼ "

    How I Put It Together

    The long 78 inch Linnmon table has two legs on one end and a short Alex Drawer unit on the other. It butts up against the 59 inch Linnmon desk which has more depth and is on four legs.

    If you want the Godvin legs to be squared with the edges, check the alignment before putting in the screws.

    I started the assembly with the short Alex drawer. It had a TON of parts, so I was terrified at the prospect of assembling the larger 9 drawer!

    Luckily, the time it took me to assemble both units was about the same. I hit my groove and knocked it out.

    The Alex drawers were the most time intensive part of the project. If you were just assembling the Linnmon table tops with the Godvin legs, you could finish in 20 minutes.

    I haven't attached the two desk corners in anyway because I want to be sure this is the desk setup I want. Drilling holes into things is pretty permanent.

    My New Desk Setup

    My computer station is on the 59 inch desk. It's nice having a deeper desk with my desktop computer and the keyboard. I plan to get a taller desk chair so my elbows are more at a 90 degree angle.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    Next, as you slide over to the larger 78 inch table, I have a hair station where I plan to put a large mirror on the wall. For now I have my old laptop setup there as I try to refurbish it and get it back up and running.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    On the far end of the larger desk is my vanity and a small light up mirror in front of the window.

    I love having the window and getting ready every morning in the natural light. I know that will change come fall, but it makes for good natural lighting in the afternoons when I film YouTube videos, too.

    The vanity end of the desk is where I put the short Alex Drawer unit. It now houses hair tools, makeup, skin care and more.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    Across the room I pulled out my cube shelf unit (from Target I think) and set up the larger Alex 9-drawer unit. This drawer is largely empty, but I plan to use this as a library for item I've review or need to review.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    What's Next?

    I have my eye on a couple of upholstered desk chairs from Wayfair at the moment, but color scheme is still TBD. I'm not in love with my yellow paisley curtains from Target anymore, so once I decide on a color scheme I'll purchase two new sets.

    On the same note, I'd like to purchase a new rug for the space as well. I have an old brown rug from Walmart that's there for now.

    I have my eye out for a large mirror for my hair station. Ideally, I will find one on Craigslist or at the thrift store and paint to border with a bright pop of color.

    Eventually I may have shelving somewhere, but jury is out.

    IKEA Desks & Office Makeover

    I hope you love this space as much as I do!

    More Home & Decor

    • How to Declutter & Streamline Your Makeup Collection
    • Living Room Updates
    • DIY Glitter Candle
    • Living Room Color Scheme: Sage & Purple

    About Kelsey Smith

    I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working on college textbooks, you might find me here, sharing recipes, social media tutorials, and more.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Renay says

      March 29, 2021 at 3:20 am

      What did you use the extra legs for?

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        March 29, 2021 at 9:11 am

        I bought the exact number of legs I needed from IKEA, the desks do not automatically come with legs when you purchase through IKEA. If you purchase IKEA desks through Amazon though they do seem to come with legs, so double check any listings before you purchase.

        Reply
    2. Fani says

      January 20, 2020 at 9:48 am

      Its just i wanted for mi room!!!!! Thankyou for idea.
      Grazie mille per la spiegazione!!! Proveró a fare la scrivania ad angolo per mia figlia ...

      Reply
    3. Manco Painting says

      October 01, 2019 at 10:22 am

      I love the result! Great workspace.

      Reply
    4. Karen says

      May 22, 2018 at 1:02 pm

      Hi,

      Thank you for the great ideas! Is there a part two?

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        May 29, 2018 at 10:16 am

        I need to! I bought some decor from Houzz recently.

        Reply
    5. Kristine says

      January 16, 2018 at 9:30 am

      It looks great. How well is the white holding up? I am debating between white and black.

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        January 17, 2018 at 7:10 pm

        Good! It gets dirty pretty quickly as you might suspect, but it cleans very easily. I keep a container of wipes nearby.

        Reply
    6. Nicole says

      September 21, 2017 at 12:58 pm

      I love this! I have been looking for an l-shaped desk, but find that it's so expensive! Thanks for the post.

      Reply
    7. Maddie Brown says

      July 19, 2017 at 1:58 pm

      Hi this is the exact idea I have for my new desk. I am a college student and all I do is study. I really need a sturdy desk. Is your desk sturdy or does it move when you move? I just need something that's inexpensive and durable

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        July 23, 2017 at 9:30 am

        On my wood floor it does move sometimes. You can buy little rubber pads for the bottom of the feet (try amazon) to prevent it from sliding.

        Reply
    8. char says

      January 15, 2017 at 2:44 pm

      This is an awesome setup. I need a new desk and this is they type of L-Desk design I wanted. Thank you for the info. I will be making my ikea shopping list soon. 🙂

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        January 20, 2017 at 2:41 pm

        Good luck with your setup!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Kelsey! I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working, you might find me here, sharing easy family recipes.

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