J.N. Taylor and Co.: Bamboo and steel: IKEA HILVER standing desk By: IH guest

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Bamboo and steel: IKEA HILVER standing desk By: IH guest

I was recently in need a new desk and looked into buying a standing desk. As a photographer, I sit and look at computer screens far more than I am behind a camera. Shooting probably takes- up only 10% of our time while editing can take up to 50-60% of my time. So comfort and good ergonomic design are essential. I’ve wanted to try standing desk for awhile but needed to find one that fit my house, my budget and my seriously high standards. I’m frugal yet will not compromise on quality. I usually never end up buying the stuff I want and I always try to build it. I wanted a standing desk with the following:

1) Bamboo or Oak

2) Need to simple with clean lines

3) Easy to build

4) Beautiful

IKEA offers a standing desk, the Bekant, for around $500 which is very competitive for a standing desk. However, it only comes in the standard black, white and birch and coffee colors. I wanted something different.

Here is what I chose:

Ikea Hilver Bamboo top: $79.00

Bamboo desktop. 55”x 25”x 1/2”. Very nice bamboo desktop, somewhat smaller than a regular desk but perfect for my simple and clean setup.

The table top is pre-drilled for the Gerton Legs from Ikea (for $120 for 4 legs). These are adjustable steel legs that can be used to make a standing desk (the adjust to 42” height) but I like the look of the hairpin design.

4 Hairpin legs from Garden Gizmos on Ebay (or Etsy) 42” high. These are the least expensive hairpin legs I’ve found on the internet. They are $120 for the 3 pin leg design and $90 for the 2 pin legs with free shipping! It got to my house in only 4 days. Most places sell 42” hairpin legs for around $250, not including $25-50 in shipping. These are $120! shipped!

$79.00 Hilver Desktop

$120 (4) raw steel, hairpin legs (3 pin)

$2-3- (16) ½” wood screws

$4.00 (1) can clear coat, glossy

TOTAL: $206

Assembly:

I measured 1.75“ off of the side of the corners, placed the legs onto the table and used a drill to anchor the legs down. The hairpin legs are unfinished which means you may have some slight rusting and either have to paint or clear coat them. I choose clear coat because I like the rough, industrial look. I sanded them briefly with steel wool to knock off the slight rust (which I like the look of, but wanted to make sure it was smooth) then sprayed with clear coat, let dry, flipped then sprayed and let dry again. Total time = 10 minutes painting + 4 hours dry time.