Creative Ways to Hack Your IKEA Alex Drawers
The ALEX drawer range is one of the most popular IKEA storage solutions for home offices, craft rooms, and other workspaces. And rightly so. It’s versatile, looks compact but stores a whole lot.
The ALEX range of drawers comes in various sizes. There’s a 5-drawer unit, a 4-drawer unit with drop file storage, a 6-drawer flat file storage unit on casters, the tall 9-drawer unit, and a slim EKBY ALEX shelf with 2-drawers. The drawers in different sizes mean you can choose the right kind of storage for your things — organize small items or crafting materials in the shallow drawers and larger office supplies or files in the deeper ones.
Completing the range are 2 IKEA ALEX desks with a steel underframe. These come in 2 sizes.
Material-wise, the ALEX drawers are made of particleboard and come in white, gray, black-brown, or other wood veneer finishes.
One of the advantages of the ALEX is its versatility. The shorter drawers can fit under an IKEA tabletop to create a desk, work surface, or makeup vanity. You can use it as standalone storage or pair it with other IKEA furniture to create custom storage solutions. IKEA covered the back of the drawer so you can use it anywhere in the room.
Overall, the IKEA ALEX drawers are a functional and stylish storage solution. However, if they are too “office-y” for you, IKEA Hackers is here to inspire you to hack them to fit your needs and decor.
Here are some of our top IKEA ALEX desks and hacks
1. Build a large L-shaped desk with ALEX drawers and IKEA countertops
2. Combine a drawer and a trestle leg for a stylish IKEA ALEX desk
3. Make a slim mid-century-style sofa table
4. Use the EKBY ALEX as a monitor stand
5. Add drawers to the PAX wardrobe with ALEX storage units
Scroll down for more IKEA ALEX hacks and answers to commonly asked questions like “how to secure an IKEA table top to the ALEX drawer?”
Latest
How to make a Star Wars Inspired Desk
We love Star Wars inspired IKEA hacks, the most famous of them being the Death Star lamp hack. Personal favorites are the R2D2 dresser and this hack for displaying Star War action figures. But they may soon be overtaken by an IKEA desk hack by Glen Vivaris of Glen Makes.…
Drop leaf kitchen cart solves small space cook/work woes
From ALEX drawers to dual function drop leaf kitchen cart. I live in a small studio apartment with no real kitchen. Behind the butcher block, you may notice half of an IKEA RAKKE, which houses some food, some spices and sauces, my microwave and my slow cooker, as well as…
7 IKEA drawer organizers you need to check out
Are small items getting lost in your IKEA drawers? The usual advice is to get a tray or dividers for drawers to organise smaller things into neat sections. However, not all IKEA drawers come with made-to-fit trays. But fear not, IKEAhackers readers have alternative trays, drawer divider and organizers for…
How to keep desk in place on IKEA ALEX drawer units?
Over at our IH FB Group, Ritu asks “People who have done this, how do you keep the wood plank from moving on the ALEX drawer units? Mine keeps moving with the slightest pull/push.” (Photo below not my own, just to illustrate the setup.) Teresa says, “The tops of the…
Q: How do I make this makeup station?
“I am wanting to put together a makeup station for my daughter’s room (like the picture) but using the MALM chest of 3 drawers on either end. Source: unknown Has anyone done this? If so what did you use as a ‘table top’ or any suggestions would be great. The…
Q: Can I find full extension drawer slides for ALEX?
How to extend the ALEX drawers fully? I have an ALEX Drawer unit on casters, and I really like it. It fits perfectly where I have it and the casters make it perfect as an extra table top when I need it. ALEX drawers on casters | IKEA.com However, I…
Skådis pegboard as back panel for Alex storage unit
I was looking for a back panel for my ALEX storage unit unit. The original one sits inside the unit (see pix below) and didn’t leave enough room for my gaming computer. It also didn’t allow for any ventilation. ALEX storage unit (back view) | IKEA.com…
Sewing machine table with smart sliding tray for machine
This is my sewing machine table project. It’s smart because it has a sliding tray that makes it easy to store the sewing machine when I don’t need it. Makes it super easy to store and access the sewing machine. IKEA Items used: LINNMON table top x 1 at 150…
Upgrading Brimnes Wardrobe with Drawer Units
One problem with the Brimnes three door wardrobe is the lack of drawers. The unit comes with only three widely separated shelves in the right storage area. The Alex 9 drawer unit fits – after some cuts. Both the Brimnes wardrobe and Alex 9-drawer are $129. There is a shorter…
IKEA makeup vanity hack with EKBY ALEX drawers
Due to limited space, I needed a makeup vanity table for my bedroom that was as shallow as possible but would still provide storage. Needless to say, I couldn’t find anything on the market to fit my needs. So it was custom or nothing. Oh, and it needed to be…
Hackers Help: How to attach long countertop to 2 ALEX units?
I have 2 Alex drawer units and between them a SÄLJAN platform. It looks something like this: How do I attach the Alex units to the SÄLJAN countertop? Glue? I rather use some method that will allow me to dismantle them in the future if needed, but they still need to be attached strong in…
The Incredible Collapsing Office: Hinged, Space-saving Linnmon/Alex Desk
I’ve been nursing the idea for months and I finally made it a reality last week. I’ve been using it every day since and it’s even more convenient and useful than I’d hoped. I’ve never seen a similar design for furniture before and I think a lot of people will…
Hackers Help: How to secure LINNMON + ALEX?
Photo: IKEA.com Hi colleagues, I need to secure a good firm and nice looking connection between a Linnmon top and an Alex drawer unit for my home desk. As you probably know, Linnmon top is “almost” empty inside (is full with a paper “homecomb”) and does…
Sneaky Ekby Alex tool cabinets
IKEA items used: 1 x Ekby Alex shelf unit (so far) Other items used: various small bits of timber that had been ‘limewashed’ for a previous project odd screw eyes, angle brackets, nails, wire and other fitments lots of screws, size #4, 3/4″ long a few panel pins wood glue…
Beginner’s hack: IKEA Ekby Alex with border design
This is for beginners like me 🙂 Just stick an adhesive border to IKEA Ekby Alex drawers and you will have an exclusive design at home. ~ Enviado desde
Malm Headboard + Vika Alex = Slim Desk
IKEA items used: MALM Headboard, VIKA ALEX office storage. 1. The back of the MALM headboard was cut down with a (Festool) table saw to the width of the VIKA ALEX Drawer unit to serve as the top of a narrow desk. 2. The top of the MALM headboard was…
Alex / Hammarp Home Office
Materials: Alex storage units / 2*Hammarp countertops / godvin Leg / 2*signum / kvissle A very easy hack (that took some planning). Using two alex storage units to support the Hammarp worktops, i was able to create a big home office in a relatively small space. The only things that…
Alex Numerar Desk
Materials: ALEX Drawer unit, LERBERG Trestle, Numerar countertop A pretty simple desk “hack” for those who like a longer/wooden alternative to the standard Ikea desktop options. The nice part of this project is there is no cutting, drilling or sawing necessary to complete it. Simply follow the ALEX and LERBERG…
Alex “Cavour” Desk
The plan The Alex drawer unit Desk frame and legs Cutting down Alex to align with frame Frame attached to Alex with modified towel rail Ikea cord tidy Drawer bracket Top drawer from Alex, chopped to 2/3 depth, with frame The Desk
Computer Desk V2.0 – the Ekby Alex Add-on
Materials: Besta, Expedit and Ekby AlexDescription: Last year I made a Desk with Besta Shelf and a Expedit Desk. Now the challenge was another one: – include two 19″ monitors – add additional drawers – and keep the possibility to hide the keyboard and mouse The solution was simple. I…
