I’m back! As you may know from my previous post, I recently purchased a house! I had planned on posting several fun projects by now, but the realities of homeownership quickly set in. I had a series of more pressing, infinitely less fun things to deal with since moving in, including frozen pipes, a flooding basement, and a rodent problem. All I’ve managed to to is one small project. I had a craft desk set up that wasn’t fitting into my new craft room aesthetic, so I thought I would outline my IKEA ALEX desk hack for you 🙂
Original Setup
In my previous apartment, I had put together a simple IKEA desk to hold my craft supplies and serve as a craft/sewing table. The tabletop I chose was the IKEA MÅLSKYTT. I wanted something that could hold up to a little more abuse than the very affordable LINNMON. The drawers are the very classic ALEX drawers in white. These were really hard to find during the pandemic, but over the last two years I’ve managed to get ahold of three of them (two for my craft desk, one for my work desk).
Staining the Top
I don’t have a lot of photos of this process, but I can tell you it was a bit frustrating. I made a fair number of mistakes! I have some furniture refinishing projects planned coming up, so I am glad I used this as an opportunity to learn and practice techniques a bit.
Sanding
The first step was to sand the wood to remove any existing finish and prep the wood for the stain. First, I purchased a RYOBI orbital sander to make the process a bit easier and to get used to the tool. Because I had no idea how thick the birch veneer was, I was very concerned about sanding through it. I therefore chose a pretty high grit sandpaper (220) and went over it very cautiously. In retrospect, I probably should have been a bit more aggressive with the sanding, as I’m not sure I sanded enough of the existing finish off, which in turn affected how the stain applied.
Staining
Having never stained wood before, I chose a gel-stain because they are supposed to be easiest to apply. Some resources had the stain applied and then the excess wiped away immediately, while others showed a more paint-like application with thicker coats.
Attempt 1
The first time I attempted to stain, I tried the wipe-away method. However, once I wiped away the excess, the wood color had hardly changed at all. I couldn’t figure out if this was because I hadn’t completely sanded-off the original finish or if I was wiping way too vigorously. I tried another coat with less pressure wiping it off but the result was patchy and unattractive.
Attempt 2
I utilized the more paint-like application for the second attempt. I laid down a thicker coat going with the grain of the wood, and very, very, lightly wiped away excess. This almost completely hid the original grain of the wood, but at least gave the tabletop sufficient color.
Finishing/Sealing
This was probably the most frustrating part of the entire process for me. I chose the easiest method I could find for finishing the wood, which was to use a wipe-on polyurethane. I researched the best methods for applying it in conjunction with the directions on the container.
Attempt 1
The first time, I worked in very thin coats and applied about 3. I then chose to sand prior to the final coat. However, the coats turned out to be too thin, so when I sanded with a fine grit sandpaper I immediately scratched the stain underneath, ruining the look. I had to sand down the entire thing to bare wood and start over.
Attempt 2
This time, I applied two thicker coats before sanding. The thicker coats resulting in more bubbles than I would have liked, and took longer to dry resulting in many more Jacko hairs floating down through the air and sticking in. However, after sanding and applying the final coat, the result was at least passable. It definitely could have been smoother and shinier, but to be honest my patience had run out and I deemed it ‘good enough’ for a work table.
Adding Label Holders
As I hope you’ve noticed, I have an eclectic mix of interests in terms of crafting, so I have many different categories of supplies. I wanted a way to easily see from the outside which supplies were in which drawers. I chose to add in some brass accents to my ALEX drawer fronts in the form of label holders. I found mine here.
Measuring and Marking
First, I found the center of each drawer front and marked it with pencil.
Attaching the Holders
I centered the holders and marked the nail placement. I found attaching the holders to be quite difficult in the vertical orientation, so if you attempt this be wiser than me and attach the holders before putting together your ALEX drawers! To keep the nails in place while I hammered them, I applied a little glue and pressed them firmly into the drawer fronts.
Making the Labels
After measuring the opening of the holders, I cut out 1″X1.75″ slips of card-stock for the labels. Since I have yet to unpack all of my calligraphy supplies, I wrote out each in faux-calligraphy for the time being. I worked out the basic spacing with pencil and filled in the letterforms with black ink.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m quite pleased with this IKEA ALEX desk hack. The tabletop refinishing was frustrating but a great learning experience. The brass holders really elevate the ALEX drawers and add a nice detail to the pieces.
