{"id":32116,"date":"2023-05-26T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T06:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/?p=32116"},"modified":"2025-05-21T14:56:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:56:30","slug":"sewing-cutting-tables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/sewing-cutting-tables\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting Table Ikea Hack Comparison"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cutting table is one of the most used tools in a sewing room. But a proper cutting table is expensive and sometimes ugly. So, like many before us, we’ve resorted to the Ikea hack for our cutting table. We have two cutting tables, both made using furniture from Ikea. In this post I’ll discuss the two different versions we use and the pros and cons of each.<\/p>\n

“Kallax” Cutting Table<\/h3>\n
\"Kallax
Lots of storage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kallax
Good size cutting surface<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Our first cutting table was made using three 2 x 2 Kallax units, although you can add more if want it bigger. For those of you unfamiliar with Ikea, “Kallax” is the name they use for this particular furniture range. These units are very sturdy and provide loads of storage space.<\/p>\n

To create this cutting table, you need to purchase a strong base and top made from something like plywood or MDF. Using 3 Kallax units, we made our top from 2.2cm thick plywood cut to 118 x 80cm. We then fitted 4 castor wheels that can be locked. This unit isn\u2019t light so make sure you get heavy duty castor wheels, and we also recommend getting the ones that lock, as a table that wanders round the room while you\u2019re cutting your fabric won\u2019t be helpful. The finished table, including the wheels, is 86cm tall. We\u2019ve now had this cutting table for about 3 years, and it still works brilliantly.<\/p>\n

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“Tornviken” Kitchen Island Cutting Table<\/h3>\n
\"Kitchen
Storage on only one side of the table<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kitchen
A good large area for cutting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kitchen
Lockable castor wheels are a must<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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When we created our new sewing room (future blog<\/a> post coming) we decided we wanted a new cutting table that was slightly bigger and a bit taller. Jo and I are 5′ 10″ and 5′ 11″ tall and we found the other table a little low for our cutting needs. This table didn’t need as much storage so we took a different approach. This table is made using the “Tornviken” Kitchen Island from Ikea. This wasn\u2019t the cheapest option but it was a lot easier to assemble compared to our old cutting table as we didn\u2019t need to add the additional support or wood.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on a tight budget, look out for second-hand\/used versions of this kitchen island. They can be as cheap as \u00a3100. The surface area of this cutting table is 126 x 77cm. The only amendment we had to make was chopping 7cm off the legs and adding castor wheels. The finished table is 90cm tall which is a more comfortable height for us. As you need to chop the legs, you can adjust the height to your needs which we found really helpful.<\/p>\n

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Both of these Cutting Table Ikea Hacks are similar. So, what are the differences?<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nCutting Surface<\/strong><\/td>\nFinished Height<\/strong><\/td>\nCost (New)<\/strong><\/td>\nPros<\/strong><\/td>\nCons<\/strong><\/td>\nUseful Links<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tornviken Kitchen Island<\/strong><\/td>\n126 x 77cm<\/p>\n

50″ x 30″<\/td>\n

90cm<\/p>\n

35.5″<\/td>\n

\u00a3342<\/p>\n

$430<\/td>\n

Quick to assemble<\/p>\n

Can easily be made to your preferred height<\/p>\n

Lighter than using Kallax units<\/td>\n

Expensive<\/p>\n

Lacks storage<\/td>\n

Ikea Tornviken Kitchen Island<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ikea.com\/gb\/en\/p\/tornviken-kitchen-island-off-white-oak-40391657\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Threaded Caster Wheels<\/p>\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/44W61DN\u00a0<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

3 x Kallax Units<\/strong><\/td>\n118 x 80cm<\/p>\n

46″ x 31″<\/td>\n

87cm<\/p>\n

34″<\/td>\n

\u00a3170<\/p>\n

$214<\/td>\n

Cheaper<\/p>\n

Good underneath storage<\/p>\n

Can be made bigger using more Kallax units<\/td>\n

Heavy<\/p>\n

Requires more assembly<\/td>\n

Ikea Kallax Units<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ikea.com\/gb\/en\/p\/kallax-shelving-unit-white-20275814\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Castor Wheels<\/p>\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/3NWgZCX\u00a0<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Verdict<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s clear that the Kallax unit is cheaper, gives more storage and gives you the option to make it bigger by adding more units but, we feel the Kitchen Island looks nicer and it\u2019s so much quicker to make. If we could only keep one of our cutting tables, we would keep the Kitchen Island version.<\/p>\n

What version would you have? Or do you have a better cutting table hack? Let us know in the comments below!<\/p>\n

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The cutting table is one of the most used tools in a sewing room. But a proper cutting table is expensive and sometimes ugly. So, like many before us, we’ve resorted to the Ikea hack for our cutting table. We have two cutting tables, both made using furniture from Ikea. In this post I’ll discuss […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5479,"featured_media":32548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32116"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32697,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32116\/revisions\/32697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/countrycowdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}