I get a ton of questions on our school room, and so I thought I would do an update on our Ikea setup.
So to answer your questions…
- YES, we still love our desks!
- YES, they’re still white! (They clean very easily with some water, Windex, or for certain marker spots I used Clorox Cleaner)
- YES, my kids have survived the swivel chairs!
I also get a LOT of questions on how our desks are set up so I thought I’d show you more detailed pictures of the setup. I moved the drawers out to the ends this year so there was room for the chairs to push all the way in. In order to do that, I had to get a piece of board to help make the desk tops more steady.
I found a piece of 4×8 peg board at my local home depot ($8) and had the nice man there cut it in half for me. (I’ll show you what I did with the rest of it later ;o)
I put the board on top of the drawer units to help stabilize the desk tops. I think it would work better if I’d had one that was 5’x’ 5’ but you work with what you have.
EDITED: To prevent slipping, I have since purchased a set of 4 flat metal brackets. I used them to screw the two desktops together so they don’t move apart. I also added a rubber rug mat (the kind to keep small area rugs from sliding around) in between the peg board and the desktops. Works like a charm!
My school room is about 11′ x 14′, the total size of the desk is about 5′x5′.
What are the specifics?
- 4 – Vika Alex Drawer units
- 2 – Vika Amon Table Tops (I purchased two 2.5′ x 5′ table tops and put them together for a 5×5 table, I’ve updated this link the table tops are now called “Linnmon” but they’re the same as mine.)
- 1 Expedit Wall Shelf (I have a 5×5 Expedit/Kallax shelving unit)
- 4 Jules Jr. Swivel Chairs (Update: Swivel chairs are working well, they’ve gotten over the spinning, so it’s all good now.)
- 5 DRÖNA Storage boxes
Here’s a close-up of the drawers and chairs for you. I turned them all in a pin-wheel pattern so that one set of drawers is facing each student. I’m strongly considering getting a glass top cut for this to protect all my whiteness, but that’ll have to come later as budget allows. I am also thinking of securing the desk tops to the drawer units with screws just to prevent slipping.
EDITED: I also added a rubber rug mat (the kind to keep small area rugs from sliding around) in between the peg board and the desktops. Works like a charm!
Here is the completed unit, the openings are now wide enough for the chair to slide all the way in.
And here it is completely put together:
Wonderful room and thanks so much for the desk set up info!
I’m buying the same desks and was crossing my fingers and hoping the pinwheel would work!
How much space is there for the chair? Do you think a regular-sized JULES chair would push all the way in? The Juniors are only up to rated 110lbs and just in case I borrow the homeschool room for a scrapbooking party I’d like to be able to invite an average sized adult to sit down!
I love your school room, and I think that we are going to use the same arrangement in our room! How do the kids do on the side of the desk where the seam is (does it interfere with their ability to write)? Also, where did you get your white caddy for the middle of the desk area? I LOVE it!
would you know how much the total space is needed for the chairs and roling out of chairs room? is it more like 6 x 6 or bigger do you think? we have an odd shaped room with a big bumpout in the way that im not sure it will fit and was gonna put masking tape on our floor for the total area, but wanted to know what you think the total space is and i may be pushing it up against our windows since we only have 2 kiddos and that way there would be room for us to shove one part up agains the windows…please let me know…thanks so much
Hi Erica!
I just want you to know what an inspiration you are! Thank you for sharing all your amazing ideas.
Can I ask if the brackets you put on the table tops are underneath? Did they have to be drilled through the table? Also, those table tops are not available anymore. What do you think about this option? is the size relatively comparable?
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20251356/
Thank you again!
I need all the organizational inspiration I can get!
Blessings!
Lynn
Hello Erica!
Where did you get the rubber rug mat and what size was it?
Andrea
Is their a similar table top that they still sell since the one you use ikea no longer sells?
I need this info too please Erica!
Hi everyone, YES! IKEA has put out a new one called the Linmon Table Top:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00251338/
Thank you
Just saw this, thank you!
Thank you so much for this post! I love everything about your classroom, from your organization to the child-friendliness of it all. Thank you for such a well-written and detailed post. You have helped me so much! God bless you 🙂
Hello! I Love your school desk set up as I have four kids as well and that would work way better for me than what I have now, however, when I went to the Ikea web page and type in Vika Amon table tops, it does not show up, and your link just brings us to the main table top page, I belive they must not be selling these any longer???? I was wondering, if they dont have these any longer, what else would you suggest to replace this item? Thank you for any info 🙂
They are now the linnmon table top.
I love, love, love your homeschool room! I would love to know how much space there is for the swivel chair in your desk. I am looking to replicate your desk but use a couple of adult JULES chairs, which are a bit wider. I would love to know the width of the opening, if you don’t mind sharing.