Alicia's store-it-all desk

Materials: Faktum (Akurum) 5 drawer base cabinet, Faktum pull-out larder cabinet, Applad drawer fronts, Numerar white/aluminium effect worktop, Grip handles

Description: I work from home on my invitation design business Akimbo. Since the office is small we had to make all of the space work hard, which meant a traditional desk didn't fit the bill. Instead, we hit up the Ikea kitchen department for the perfect combo.

The cabinets are designed to be put on feet, making it too high for a desk. However you can't just plonk them straight on the floor (as we were initially intending to do) because the drawers won't open properly. We glued on some timber blocks in each corner of the cabinets to elevate them off the carpet.

Using a benchtop that could be cut to length maximised desk space and ensured a perfect fit. Plus, when we move somewhere larger we only need to replace the top. To prevent the desktop sliding around (but without permanently attaching it) we screwed on a couple of tiny L-shaped brackets.

The drawers on the right contain stationery and my vast array of art supplies. To free up desk space, the pull-out cabinet on the left houses my monster A3 printer, scanner and paper. We attached a magnet so that the drawer can attach to it, otherwise the drawer would just slide in and out when the printer was doing its thing! We drilled holes in the back for cords (making sure they were long enough when the drawer was pulled all the way out), plus holes for ventilation.

I love it and can happily work here all day.

See more of Alicia's desk.

~ Alicia Murphy, Adelaide, Australia