I needed a new nightstand, and all of the linen-wrapped nightstands I saw online were much more expensive than I wanted to spend.
Linen-wrapped furniture would have fit perfectly in my space, but unfortunately, their price tags were well above what I wanted to pay for a single side table. In the end, I decided to make a linen side table out of the LACK side table.
One of the big problems with trying to use LACK tables is that the legs are hollow. So in order to use them to build anything, you need to fill them with wood.
1. Cut off a few inches from the bottoms of LACK table legs until the hollow cavity is exposed. Make sure all legs are the same length.
2. Insert 2x2s into hollow table legs, and mark where the legs end.
3. Use a miter saw to cut 2x2s to where you marked
4. Put wood glue on two sides of 2x2s, and fill hollow legs with cut 2x2s. There will still be little space between the wood and two sides of the legs. Fill these gaps with wood shims. You just need material in the legs that nails can hold onto.
1. Take the LACK table with shortened, filled legs and assemble it following IKEA’s instructions.
2. Try to screw on the legs as tightly as possible.
1. Measure spaces between legs for the two sides and back of the nightstand, and use a miter saw to cut the 1×5 to those lengths.
2. Use Kreg jig and Kreg screws (follow manufacturer’s instructions) to secure boards between legs.
In order for drawer slides to work, the inner surface between the legs where the drawer slide is installed needs to be completely level/smooth.
You will notice that this is not the case because the legs are about 2″ thick, and the board you added for the sides is only 3/4″ thick.
1. Cut a piece of 1×5 to the length between side legs. Cut this piece of wood in half horizontally. You should end up with two pieces of 1×2.5.
2. Using wood shims to make sure the 1×2.5 lies level between the two legs, attach this piece using a Kreg jig and screws
3. Add drawer slides per drawer slide instructions.
1. Measure the opening between the left and right front legs and subtract 1″
2. Cut the plywood to this width using a circular saw. The length is determined by the length of the drawer slide.
3. Use a miter saw to cut 1×3 to build all sides of the drawer box.
4. Use Kreg jig and screws to assemble the drawer box.
5. Attach the plywood bottom using a brad nailer.
Follow drawer slide instructions to add drawer slides to the drawer box. Drill pilot holes beforehand.
1. Turn the nightstand built so far upside down so the legs are up in the air
2. Stack the tabletop of the second LACK table on the legs of the first table with the holes for the legs to screw into facing the sky.
3. Drill 3″ wood screws through the tabletop into the legs of the first table (make sure you are drilling into where the 2x2s are and not into the gaps), avoiding the holes where the legs of the second table will be attached to.
4. Cut the legs of the bottom LACK table to the desired length. Make sure all legs are the same length and preserve the ends with holes to screw the legs onto the table.
5. Add shortened legs to the second table.
Due to the imperfect nature of LACK tables, the surface of the legs and table tops will often not align smoothly. In order to wrap the table with textured wallpaper, it is best to smooth out all of these uneven joints using a joint compound.
This step is the most time-consuming because the joint compound takes 24 hours to dry, and you want to apply it in thin layers. Apply joint compound to any uneven surfaces, sand down, then repeat until joints are all smooth.
Cut the drawer front from 1×5 using a miter saw and attach it to the drawer box with a brad nailer.
Follow the guide on wrapping a table in this video.
Make sure to wipe off any dust created by sanding the joint compound before applying wallpaper. Drill hole for hardware and add ring pull hardware.
This linen-wrapped nightstand was a side project that I did not work on every day. It took about 3 weeks and cost about $100 ($60 for a 27′ roll of wallpaper, the wood was the cheapest pine wood from a big chain hardware store, and most of the tools I already had, LACK tables were $9.99 each)
Smoothing joints with joint compound and wrapping wallpaper.
Jules Yap started IKEAHackers.net in 2006 as a personal blog to showcase the most impressive IKEA hacks from all over the world. Since then, she has learned a lot more about power tools and DIY. Her site has helped thousands modify IKEA furniture with step-by-step tutorials, craft projects and home styling. Jules is the author of IKEAHackers.net: 25 Biggest and Best Projects".
Love this! Can’t wait to try and build 2 of them! Where did you find the wallpaper that you used? Also, I think the link to how to wrap them with the wallpaper isn’t right. It takes me to a table setting ideas list on Southern Living’s website.
Katie Schneider says: I get sent to SOuthern Living and can’t figure out how to wrap them…. Jules Yap says: Katie, they’ve removed the link, but this video may help. ShelleyP says: Beautiful work. Beautiful result. Nick says: Beautiful job. Looks so expensive at a fraction of the price. Bravo. Courtney says:Amazing! Seeing only the “after” photo at first, I assumed the ‘drawer’ was a fake front! The wallpaper was the killer of the budget. You have tools and know-how – I bet you could just make the side table from scratch and give it a nice whitewash stain finish for less money! I wish you showed a photo of the legs. I tried a LACK project that ended up being sCRAP. You mean beneath the corrugated ends of the legs are merely “faux ends” and only
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