IKEA hacks aren't always for the faint of crafting. But if you've got the time and the skill, this hack isn't just clever - it's downright stunning. Just get an unfinished Ingo Table for $69 and you're on your way.
The Ingo is a simple pine table, which you'll find in the kitchen section. It's small, measuring only 47 1/4 " long by 29 1/2 " wide, so it is more than suitable for a larger workspace. The project comes courtesy of fellow Apartment Therapy Contributor Katie Steuernagle and her blog matsutake.
After sanding and painting the table, she got started on constructing the new sides. She cut sections of wood into 1 foot by 2 inch strips to form the bases that make up the squares and then one 2 foot x 2 inch strip to create the new bottom or base. Then, she joined all the pieces together with wood glue and dowels by drilling a hole in the end, filling it with glue and sticking a cut piece of dowel inside. To join it to the rest of the structure, she drilled a hole in the adjoining area of the corresponding piece of wood, filled it with glue and stuck the first dowel inside it. Be sure to wipe away any excess glue.
After four coats of fresh white paint, the result is pretty stunning.
You can see her full explanation of this $5 IKEA Hack on her blog.
(Photo Credit: Katie Steuernagle)

Sheex Bedding
This is genius! I have been looking all over for a new (and inexepensive) coffee table that is simple. Now I am going to get the IKEA LACK coffee table and do the same thing to it! It will be perfect! I am so excited! I'll do it this weekend!
That's awesome!!!
i love it (and her desk chair, too!)
I've seen the chair in a before and after and I have to say that the chair impresses me more than the desk...but it's still a freaking cool after desk.
Repost?
Found the link to the chair!
http://matsutakeblog.blogspot.com/search?q=chair#!/2011/10/before-after-orale-louis-chair.html
very snazzy!
What a great idea! simple and beautiful!
WOW looks greet !!!!!!
I'm also super-impressed with the denim bull on the wall!
I ment to say looks great !!!!!!!!
This is good - but old.
nicely done!
Very chic. One of the more clever Ikea table hacks I've seen.
tetegrondona ; me too!
wow I like!! but is it sturdy enough if someone was to rest their leg? either way, good hacking!
Stunning! Keep seeing desks in this style for well above the 1k mark. This is even better than a bought one :D
That's a wow!
So what is it's a re-post? Some of us are newer to AT, and some don't have perfect memories anyway. The desk is stunning! Good job.
Nice results but for all the effort involved I would ditch the crap from IKEA and source this entirely from a lumberyard using better grade wood.
Gorgeous! I have that table in my breakfast nook, and now it seems a little ... boring! (However, for my needs, I can't change the legs -- I need to get chairs to slide under the ends.) Myabe mine needs to be painted, though! (And you can't beat the price!)
As for the chair. I swoon!
Maybe re-posts could be labbeled reposts (in the title)? So oldtimers know that they already know the post will newbies know that it is a post so good that it got reposted. I think one annoying thing about reposts is, that you try to remember where you have seen something similar before and then finally realize: its a repost.
I got this same table and its chairs for free on Craigslist while furnishing my current (and first ever) apartment. It's painted a tragic chipped matte black and I can't wait to spruce it up once the weather is nice and I can work on this project outdoors. There's a really great re-vamp on this table on a blog I found:
Check out nimi design
I love what she did with it and plan to do a similar project on mine staining the top with vinegar.
Whoops, wrong link!
Nice!
Whoa!