Ikea Home Office Ideas: My New Design Studio Reveal!
This Ikea home office makeover is full of simple Ikea home office furniture ideas to inspire you! It features the Kallax bookshelf as a room divider.
Ikea Home Office Ideas…
As my design business and blog have grown, I’ve realized that I need a larger dedicated workspace, as well as some storage for files and camera equipment, backdrops, art supplies, etc. Today I’m excited to show you my brand new home design studio/workspace! The best part about this makeover was the price tag- about $400 total!
ikea home office Location
I chose this spot for one reason: It’s near two windows and has the best and brightest natural light in the whole house. So, of course, it’s where I want to spend my time. I also need that light for photography. Oh, and I have a nice view of the pond from here too. Hello, otters!
Before the Ikea Office makeover…
This isn’t a transformation from terrible to amazing. I liked the look of my drafting table before. It just had zero storage. And contrary to what they would have had me believe in design school, I really don’t need a drafting table that tilts up- though it was nice for keeping the dog off of it.
And after…
We have this big rectangular room at the front of our house. It’s the entryway/not-sure-what-to-do-with-
My neighbors all have a room like this, and no one seems quite sure what to do with it. I’ve seen exercise equipment, random junk, grand pianos, and more. We mostly use the space as a playroom for the kids.
You can see a bit of the soon-to-be-made-over playroom area on the right in the picture below. UPDATE: The new playroom & distance-learning room is done!
ikea Kallax Bookshelf
I got this IKEA KALLAX bookshelf to use as a room divider. I love all the storage it offers- and that it allows light to pass through. Eventually, I plan to use the lower shelves for toy storage bins on the playroom side. But one project at a time! (Actually more like 12, at least in this girl’s head).
I love this Serta Valetta home office chair. It’s comfy and I’ve had it for almost two years now- and it still looks brand new!
My thinking was that this would create a separate, dedicated workspace. No kids allowed! No tiny pieces of construction paper cut into bits and stuck to the desktop with strawberry jam. But who was I kidding?
I love these IKEA KVISSLE stacked letter trays because they fit perfectly into the cube shelves, and they’re great for client projects. Plus, “KVISSLE” is kind of fun to say!
I also picked up some of these TJENA magazine files to hold fabric and paint swatches, window treatment samples, flooring pieces, and more. I suspect my collection will grow, so I may have to go back and get more. And they’re all labeled with my favorite chalkboard sticker labels from Amazon, (which can be found all over my house).
ikea Linnmon Desk
The Ikea LINNMON tabletop is designed to work with the Kallax bookshelf- so the top of the desk lines up with the third shelf.
We used these brackets to attach the desk and bookshelf. I got this LINNMON corner desk piece, and two 4′ long LINNMON tabletops to extend it in both directions. Then we used these white ADILS legs.
Indoor Plants
This is the first spot in my house that I’ve really gone nuts with indoor plants. I decorated most of the inexpensive plant pots in the photos myself with paint pens and/or spray paint. You can see the tutorials below. You can also check out my tips to style indoor plants.
And here’s a list of all my favorite artificial plants that totally look real!
ikea Skadis Pegboards
I love these
Now my only problem is that Zoe likes to hop up on my desk to look out the window. I’d been wondering why my desk was getting mud on it. But with kids, you never know.
Then I caught her in the act the other day. I was sitting at my desk and she brazenly hopped up next to me in one leap. She likes to look out at the pond and bark at the ducks.
So it looks like I’ll be adding another leg to this section of the desk- just to be sure the whole thing doesn’t come crashing down!
I’m sure this design studio space will continue to evolve.
UPDATE: Many of you have asked to see the other side of the bookshelf. And there’s a good reason I wasn’t showing it to you before- it was ugly over there! But no more! You can see our brand new homeschool/distance-learning space here. It has an Ikea-hacked desk too!
More Home Office Ideas…
The Best Home Office Desks On The Cheap!
Home Office Lighting: How to Choose The Right Desk Lamp
How to Style Indoor Plants: 6 Designer Tips
Turn Dollar Store Pots Into Modern Indoor Planters!
DIY Faux Cement Tile Fireplace Makeover
Love the new office! Haha!…Zoe jumping up on your desk barking at the ducks. So sweet! I have two dogs who love to jump up on the back of the couch and look at the window. They like to bark at the deer crossing our front yard. ❤️
Thanks Sheila! That’s so cool that you have deer! I’m kind of surprised we’ve never seen any here.
Hello Jess,
Respect your wonderful idea. It is very helpful for decor of my new office. I very appreciate to your hard work.
Thank you Suhana! I would love to see a picture of your office when it’s done!
Love the idea, is fantastic and i’m planning to “grab a liitle of inspiration” for my new home…if you don’t mind…
But I wonder…seeing these 3 tabletops with only a couple of legs…won’t they bend if you put a little weight on them? especially the center, the one with the curve, this part troubles me a lot…
Thank you! And you’re right- it was okay for a little while until the dog (she’s a lab-ish mix so not small) started jumping up on my desk so she could look out the window. Nothing catastrophic happened, but we’ve added another leg or two to the desk since I published this post. I’ll update the notes.
IKEA Is one of the most Popular company all over the world. And I like all of their furniture designs and home decor ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! I’m a big fan of IKEA too!
Hi,
I bought this desk because of your post! I love it, but I have one question. Did you attach the corner part to the two extenders with a specific bracket or something? I assumed mine would come with something to attach them together, but I thought wrong.
Hi Brooke! Oh that makes me so happy! I’m working on getting you some photos and finding out which specific brackets we used. I’ll try to get them to you this afternoon:)
Ok so I asked my husband and he bought the brackets at Home Depot. I’m going to email you some photos.
Would you mind sending them to me too?
Hi Roxy,
Of course! One of these days I need to just add them to the post. But I’ll e-mail you the pictures. Let me know if you need anything else!
I need pics of these brackets from Home Depot as well. Ordering because of you but couldn’t for the life of me figure out how u connected the corner desk to the two extenders on either side.
Hi Rebecca! I just e-mailed you:)
Can I get the info for the brackets to attach desks together? Thanks!
I spent so much time trying to figure out how to connect those darn desk components, I’m glad I wasn’t the only curious one. Would you be able to send me that information as well?
I absolutely love this office and can’t wait to create my own 🙂
Thanks so much! I just emailed you:)
Hi Jess,
Thanks for sharing your home. Wondering if you’ve finished the other side and if you have a photo?! I’d love to see the Kallax unit from the other side.
Hi Jamila!
Um that would be a no:) I still haven’t gotten around to re-doing the playroom, so the other side isn’t especially pretty at the moment. But hopefully it will be coming in the next year or so!
I was so happy I came across your post when I was looking for a new desk for my office. I bought the same one and am very excited for my hubby to bring it home today. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Julie! How exciting! We used a few brackets from Home Depot to attach it all together. Let me know if you want me to send you pictures of them. I would love to see a photo of your desk when it’s done!
That would be great! Thank you. And I will send pictures when Im all done!
I emailed you this morning.
Hi there –
I am getting ready to build this almost exactly – can you send me photos of the home depot brackets as well?
I emailed you. Good luck!
I was searching for home office ideas and came across this, it looks great! I just bought the same Kallax shelves and was wondering if you bolted it to the floor and wall somehow? I want to use mine as a partition too, but wasn’t sure how secure it was. Thanks!
Hi Caroline,
Thanks so much! The Kallax bookshelf isn’t bolted to the floor or wall… but it is connected to the desk. This thing is pretty stable. It’s been in our playroom for about a year and a half. I wouldn’t let the kids climb on it, but it’s not like a dresser, where the drawers have a bunch of weight in them and are being pulled out and changing the weight balance all the time. Did that make any sense? I’ll email you the pics of the underside of the desk with the brackets so you can see how it all goes together.
I came across this as looking to update my study to incorporate for desk space and I love what you’ve done. Great use of Kallax. I’ve seen Ikea do brackets to join kallax to a desk(a different one, I’m in the UK so not sure if UK specific).
How does the corner desk stay up just attached to kallax? Does it need another leg or 2 on the front?
Hello! Thank you. Okay so we had to add an extra leg after taking the photos, since our big dog likes to jump up on my desk to look out the window. I will e-mail you a few pics of the underside of the desk to show the brackets. Most of our brackets came from the hardware store- not Ikea.
Hi there,
I am looking to build this in my office! Will you please send me the underside of the desk? Thank you so much!
Hi Meghan! Yes I’m sending it:)
Love this! Going to do this in my new home office. Can you email me what brackets you used from Home Depot? Also wondering how many legs you now have on your desk as I will be ordering those from Ikea as well. Thanks!
Thanks! I just emailed you:)
Hi! Also love, love this idea and plan to do it in my new home office in a few weeks. I also have the same questions as others regarding the brackets and legs. Any chance you could e-mail me as well with the updates regarding where legs needed to be placed and what brackets from HD you used and where? Thank you!
Thanks Serena! I just emailed you.
Hi Jess
I was wondering about the brackets/connectors, as well???
I just LOVE this set up.
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much! I just e-mailed you.
I would also appreciate a picture of the bottom of the desk. Thanks!
Thanks Mary! Just sent it.
Hi Jess,
I love this arrangement also. Will you please send me a picture of the underside of the desk and the brackets that you used?
Thanks!
Hi Mary! I just e-mailed you.
Hi! I absolutely love this set up and showed my husband who loved it too! We are planning on redoing our office to match this unique set up and cant wait! Would you be able to send me the pictures of the brackets that you bought from the hardware store also? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated too! 🙂
Hi Lindsey! Thank you so much! I just emailed you.
Hello,
I am in the process of a home office makeover and love your setup. Do you mind sharing the photos of the brackets and the underside of the desk please. I have the items in my cart and need to see if there’s anything else I need. Also, how many legs did you eventually used? Thanks in advanced.
Hi Cori! I’m emailing you right now.
Hi! I’m loving this! Could you send me the bracket info as well!? Thanks for the inspiration. I
Hi Ashley! I just emailed you!
Hi!! Thank you so much for your sharing your creativity! I’m looking to build something very similar in my office for my budding creative business— would you be willing to send me an email of the brackets that you used + a photo of the underside? Thank you again for sharing this project!!
Thanks! I just emailed you!
Can you send me a pic of the underside as well? your project looks great!
I just sent them. Thanks so much!
I’ve been searching for an affordable L-shaped desk with storage, and your design is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for! Needing to have a new home office that can also potentially accommodate a clingy toddler – this layout will be perfect for that 😉 Can you please send me the underside photo and bracket info as well? Thank you!
Thanks Sarah! I just emailed you.
Can you please send me a pic of the underside and bracket info as well? I like your idea 🙂
Thanks Sanie! I just emailed you.
Could you send me the pictures and information as well regarding the brackets and extra legs?
Love this look!
Thanks Tara! I just emailed you:)
Would you mind sharing with me as well? 🙂
I just emailed you:)
Hi Jessica,
I live in Eastern Canada and I absolutely love this design. In fact, I love it so much – I went to an IKEA while I was in Toronto on business and sat down with a consultant to order everything. Now I’m home with my packages and realize that I’m missing parts.
As others have stated, do you mind sharing/e-mailing me the photos of the brackets and the underside of the desk please? I have 2 packs of the Linnmon Connectors – do I need to buy brackets from Home Depot in addition to the connectors (I’m 1/2 way through the construction stage so forgive the amount of questions). As well, could you indicate how many legs in total I should order to properly support all of the tables (I only received 2 in my order – I guess I should have read the blog notes). As well, IKEA Canada doesn’t carry the Linnmon Corner Table Top!!!! This is so disappointing – I’m working on contacting a kitchen company to see if they can make this piece for me as it would probably cost a small fortune to get it shipped from the US to Canada. I LOVE this design but I’m not loving COVID IKEA Assembly. Thanks and stay safe and healthy!
Hi Katrina! Thanks so much! I’m emailing you right now.
Hi! I would love the info on the Home Depot brackets, as well! Thank you for this information. It is so very helpful. The IKEA website is MASSIVE and this is exactly what I wanted, but couldn’t figure out how to put together!
Thanks Ashley I’m so glad it was helpful! I just emailed you the pictures:)
Love this design! Same as the others, am hoping to get a pic of the way it’s attached underneath. Please and thank you!
Just send it to you:)
LOVE!!! Add me to the list of people that would love to see how you attached the desks together so your chair won’t bang into a leg! Have you found it to be pretty sturdy without any warping? I’m trying to find a cost effective desk solution for my husband’s WFH office these days.
Hi! Your office looks great! I have that same corner desk and side table and was wondering how you connected everything. I am still using legs for each section. Could you please also send me pictures of the underside of your desk and the Home Depot brackets you bought? I really appreciate it!
Thanks! I just emailed you:)
I’m hoping to get the info on the brackets and the update on the number of legs used like everybody else. Great setup!
Can you please give me the bracket info and pic up the underside as well?? I can’t wait to get this ordered!
I just emailed you!
Thanks. I checked my email, but didn’t see it. Can you please send it again?
Hmmm not sure what happened. I just forwarded it again. Let me know if it doesn’t work. Maybe try a different email?
Jessica, just stumbled across your page and this makeover and it’s stunning and so clever! We’re in the process of making a home office (#COVID) and figured out a corner desk would work best for our room. Would love to know how you attached the 3 desk pieces together and how many legs you had to add since you first posted.
Thank you so much! I just sent you the pics and a drawing:)
Can you please give me the bracket info and pic up the underside as well? Thank you!
I just sent it:)
I just purchased this desk set and would love to know what you used for brackets to connect the desk to the side pieces and how many legs you used. Pictures of the underside would be helpful as well. I love the idea of the bookshelf unit as a room divider. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! I just emailed you:)
Hello! You mention that the LINNMON tabletop is designed to work with the Kallax bookshelf- so the top of the desk lines up with the third shelf. I’m a little confused on why you had to buy additional legs – I found a LINNMON desk that appears to have white legs. Did you buy the legs because the original legs were silver? Were you able to use the legs that came with the curved desk (since they’re white)?
Hi Melissa,
All of these desk components are modular and sold separately. So you can choose a desk top, and then pick from several different styles and colors of legs. It’s confusing because they will show you a desk all set up with a price listed on their website… but that’s just the total when you buy all the different pieces shown. Does that make sense?
Hi Jess,
I’m a realtor in Florida and I am sending a newsletter to my database every week. I wanted to include tips for re-designing spaces in light of COVID work-from-home requirements and school closures. It looks like we’ll have lots of need for this now and your design is wonderful, versatile, and being double-sided, solves some problems of sharing space. I would love to feature your blog post in my upcoming newsletter as an example of what folks can do for very little money! I think this is especially great for families homeschooling kids and needing double duty. I will link back to your blog, of course. Thank you for this thoughtful design.
Thank you so much Tamara! Have you seen our new homeschool space and closet office too? https://jessicawellinginteriors.com/homeschool-room-desk-reveal/, https://jessicawellinginteriors.com/modern-closet-office-reveal/
Hi Jess, perfect setup for a COVID-working-from-home-mama. Like others, I would love to see any photos and additional details for the brackets and extra legs you added. Thanks for being so accommodating! Can’t wait to add this to our space!!
Thanks Sarah! I just emailed you.
Love this – I’ve finally found everything in stock at Ikea, just waiting for their super slow delivery now! Would you mind sending the photos that everyone else has been asking for as well? The extra hardware and also how many legs you ended up using? Thank you so much!!
Thanks April! I just emailed you.
I love this set up and would love to see the additional pictures on how you secured the pieces together on the underside. Could you send me the Home Depot info and the pictures as well? Thanks!
Thank you so much! Just emailed you!
Hi Jess, Could you please also send me photos of the underside of the desk and the brackets you purchased from Home Depot. I’m looking forward to moving from the dining room table to a new home office this Thanksgiving weekend 🙂 Thanks!
Sorry it took so long- I just emailed you!
Love this! I have been finishing my basement (yep, Covid remodeling) and have been sketching out all kinds of Ikea scrapbook desk options, but nothing was working. This will be perfect – you did such a great job. Will you please send me the brackets used, number of legs and bottom pics! Thanks so much!
Thank you! I just emailed you:)
I love what you have created using IKEA products for this home office. Both my husband and I need to create an office space in one of our spare bedrooms. How do you think it would look if I duplicated the desk set up on the other side of the cabinet/partition so there are two work stations vs one. I think it would still work but I don’t have the “eye” for these kinds of things so wanted to be sure before I invested. Thank you for your time…
Thank you! I think that should work great.
Also, if you could email me the assembly, photos, etc. like you have others for setting up the pieces that would be greatly appreciated.
I just emailed you.
The Desk is perfect! We have most of these parts but how did you attach the corner desk top? Also, the long, wood desk in other pictures, is that an Ikea one as well? What length?
Hi Jessica, thank you so much! The long desk is an Ikea hack- the drawer units are from Ikea, and I built the 10-foot long desk top. You can see all the details here: https://jessicawellinginteriors.com/simple-diy-ikea-desk-hack-tutorial/
I’ll send you an email with pics of the brackets we used to attach the other desk together.
Thanks for sharing awesome collection of ideas.
Keep posting great content.
Thank you so much!
Hi Jess! I love, love, love your corner office desk. I was trying to do something similar with the Kallax shelf. IKEA is no longer making the brackets to attach tabletops to the Kallax shelf. Can you send me the pictures of the Home Depot brackets that you used? I would be SO grateful! Thank you!
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for letting me know about the brackets. I wonder why they discontinued them. I can’t imagine they would discontinue the Kallax line because it’s probably one of their most popular products! I’m emailing you a picture of the brackets I used… but they just attach the pieces of tabletop together. They don’t attach the desk to the Kallax bookshelf. I’m sure there are brackets at Home Depot that could work for this though…
thank you, very much, dear author for this amazing sharing!
Wonderful post
Thank you so much!