Introduction: Ikea Hack - Kallax/Ekbacken Kitchen Island

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My wife and I were looking for some extra storage and a place to sit down in our kitchen. It's not a large room, but it has one empty ~6.5' wall, so we figured we could get a moveable island. There wasn't anything out there with seating, so my wife found this on an Ikea hack compilation.

SUPPLIES YOU NEED:

-KALLAX Shelf unit on casters with 4 doors, $170
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S790304...

-ECKBACKEN countertop, 74" x 1 1/8", $80

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/6027521...

-2" wood screws

-liquid nails

TOOLS YOU NEED:

-screwdriver

-power drill w/ countersink bit

-circular saw

-measuring tape

-pencil

-clamps

Step 1: Building Your KALLAX Unit

Follow the IKEA instructions, this was honestly the most tedious part of the process.

Step 2: Measure & Cut Countertop

The EKBACKEN comes in a 74" slab, but you might want something smaller. Fortunately, IKEA gives you laminate stripping so you can cut down the sides and still have a finished look. For our space, we determined we wanted a 61 5/8" surface, to give 2" overhang on each side of the KALLAX.

Use your circular saw to cut it down to whatever size you'd like, then attach the laminate strips as per the IKEA instructions that come with the countertop.

Hint: Remember to cut with the surface face down so your saw doesn't eat up your nice edge.

Step 3: Put It Together!

Figure out where you want the countertop to sit on the Kallax. We left a 2 1/2" overhang in the back, and let the rest hang over the front so we could put stools underneath and sit at the island. I secured it with the liquid nails, used some quick clamps to hold it in place, and then ran the 2" screws through, countersinking them first.

Hint: don't countersink too deep, since the KALLAX top is pretty much hollow. I put one nasty hole in the back corner, but no one will ever see it.

Step 4: Enjoy!

It came out great, and really adds a lot of storage space, and most importantly, seating, to our kitchen. The whole thing took about 4 hours, and only $250. We have a great custom piece of furniture that we know will impress everyone!