I Can’t Stop Thinking About This Sofa Table IKEA Hack (It’s Genius!)

Have you heard the rich couch TikTok sound? The one that argues, “If the back of their couch touches the wall, then they’re not rich,” that rich peoples’ couches are “out there in the open. They don’t touch a wall”? The rich couch theory may or may not be true — there are plenty of chic spaces with the sofa snug against the wall — but scooting your sofa off the wall does give you more room to play with fun lamps or sofa tables. 

In New York, I don’t have the room (or the funds, if TikTok’s theory holds true) to have my couch in the center of my space, but my grandparents did when I was growing up. I had an affinity for their tan leather sectional (with an indent where my grandpa sat), but I also fondly remember their sofa table, aka the console table that was nestled right up against the back of it. It had a cool clock on it and a kaleidoscope that I loved to look through. 

All of this to say: While I don’t necessarily believe in the rich couch theory, I know not to underestimate a good sofa table. It might add some extra storage or extra style — or create a formative memory for future grandchildren — who knows?! 

When Annie Williams (@champagne.chaos) was looking for a white oak sofa table that was long enough for her couch, she was coming up short (literally), so she decided to combine multiple IKEA dressers to make her dream piece come true — and it has storage to boot. 

Annie connected the $90 chests to make them look like one undivided unit, using pieces of trim between the gaps and peel-and-stick veneer that looks like wood. (You can read her full process here.) “By using the IKEA nightstands, I was able to get the custom size I wanted,” Annie previously told Apartment Therapy — and she got it for a fraction of the cost of the $3,000 to $5,000 pieces she was eyeing online. 

Annie’s sofa table cost about $900 to make, and it gives off the luxe vibe that the TikTok sound touts without the wallet that’s sometimes necessary.

Note: IKEA has since recalled the three-drawer, four-drawer and six-drawer MALM dressers, but not the two-drawer chest Annie used for her hack. Still, if you’re attempting a similar hack, I’d recommend going with the Swedish retailer’s similar STORKLINTA.

I love an IKEA hack, I love a sofa table, and I love that this project combines the best of both worlds. Much like my grandparents’ sofa table in their living room, “it’s the first thing you see when you walk in our front door, and it makes such a statement,” Annie says.