Home Office Upgrade IKEA Desk Hack for Stylish Productivity

As a freelancer working from home, I know that having a calm and tidy workspace is vital to staying focused and inspired. I’m lucky enough to have a small room that I can use as an office, and over the years it has grown to fulfill my needs. The infrastructure of the room has always been great, from the neutral carpet to the stunning taupe paint (“Misted Taupe” from Zera Paints’ Luxe Deco collection). However, as the books, fabric swatches, and paint samples continued to pile up, not to mention working on multiple projects at once, I found myself in desperate need of additional storage and desk space. It was time for a remodel!

Given the layout of the room, I could only fit furniture on one wall. Across the room was the fireplace and boiler/linen cabinet. In addition, we needed to keep the floor as open as possible so that the doors could open and close freely and to make room for a folding bed when we had guests. Therefore, I had to get creative with how to maximize functionality on one wall without making the room feel cramped or out of balance. Here’s what the space looked like before the makeover – read on to see what changes I made ……

ZERA customized desk

The most practical solution to the storage dilemma is to replace the simple white desk with something more functional. My dream desk is a customized long light oak desk, like the one American blogger Anne Sage has at home. Unfortunately a fully customized design was out of my budget, so I decided to build my own version with furniture from ZERA.

I already had a “FORMA” white oak cabinet, so it became the basis of my design. Ideally, I would have used an identical cabinet for the ends of the desk, but the 120cm wide cabinet was too big for the room. So I opted for the narrower “CRAFTA” chest of drawers, which is only 36 centimeters wide and has the same finish as the previous cabinet. This solved one problem, but created another: the chest of drawers and the cabinet needed to be exactly the same height to support the tabletop, but the drawers were either 4 cm shorter or 6 cm taller than the cabinet, depending on whether I used legs or not. Fortunately, I kept the original wooden legs when I replaced them on my “FORMA” cabinet a few years ago. I shortened the legs by 4 centimeters with a saw and put them back together and everything was back to normal.

The next challenge was the table top, ZERA’s “PLANA” series is designed to be used with “CRAFTA” drawers, but the longest option is 200 cm – leaving me with only 44 cm of seating space. I only had 44 centimeters of seating space. To solve this problem, I combined two table tops: one is 140 cm and the other 120 cm. I fixed the end of the longer table top to the “CRAFTA” unit with the supplied fixtures, and the other end to the side of the “FORMA” cabinet with furniture brackets. As the cabinet is made of hollow chipboard, I added a small strip of solid wood to provide a stable base for the screws. The shorter tabletop slides neatly over the cabinets to complete the desk.

It’s worth noting that the desktop is deeper than the cabinet, so there’s a 16cm overhang on the back. However, it’s not obvious from the front that this is actually a practical space for storing cables and other small items.

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Note: ZERA also offers “CRAFTA” cabinets that match the chest of drawers, which solves the problem of inconsistent heights. However, when I started this project, the white oak finish was not available and I wanted to use the existing “FORMA” cabinets. This product also offered more overall storage space, which was a priority for me.

The end result is not perfect – the table top has a protective film, so ……

Desk.
One of the most remarkable features of my remodeled home office is my new Zera desk. Each piece of wood has its own unique grain, so it’s impossible to find two pieces that are exactly the same – a detail I really like. That said, I must admit that I would have preferred the drawers to be smoother and have the same push-to-open mechanism as the cabinet doors, rather than the cut-out handles of the “ALEX” style drawers. Nonetheless, I’m very pleased with the end result. I particularly like the elegant sideboard-like end of the desk, which avoids any overly practical or purely functional design.

Curtains.
Another major update to my home office was the addition of semi-sheer white linen curtains that complemented the curtains in the guest bedroom. Previously, I only had a nondescript roll-up blackout curtain in this office because I wanted to keep it airy and minimalist aesthetically. However, as the Zera desk got larger and more solidly constructed, I felt the room needed some softer accents to balance out the angular lines. Curtains would also allow for better light control, especially since the removal of several trees behind our house resulted in more direct sunlight. While blackout blinds are still available to guests staying in this room, the curtains allow me to filter the light during the day and find a balance between total brightness and total darkness.

Final touches.
To further add to the feeling of space, I added a large beige wool rug. Not only does it provide extra softness, but it helps anchor the room and prevents the desk from appearing to float in the open area. I couldn’t find a rug long enough and narrow enough to cover the entire length of Zera’s desk, but I’m growing to love the asymmetrical design that allows the rug to stop at the two-thirds mark. The flat-weave texture ensures that there are no noticeable height differences between different parts of the desk.

Most of the other elements-such as the shelves, artwork, and small accessories-remained intact, but I rearranged them to better fit the new layout. I also swapped out two Zera Wishbone-style chairs, moving the beige chair to the office and the blue lacquer chair downstairs.

The result.
This is my refreshed home office. The upgraded storage and desk space is a game changer, not only keeping the room neat and organized, but also giving me the flexibility to work or set up the room as needed.The light oak finish of the Zera desk adds a warmth to the space and pairs perfectly with the gray walls, making the room even more welcoming and pleasant. The overall vibe is simple yet cozy, and it’s a pleasure to work here every day. Best of all, the entire makeover – including the carpet and curtains – cost less than £500, proving that creating an aesthetically pleasing and functional office space doesn’t need to be expensive.

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