Let's start from the beginning - we wanted to have a home office that both Sean and I could work in  comfortably. We wanted to do it on a budget which is why our first instinct was to search for an L shaped desk at IKEA. 

But here's the problem: IKEA doesn't sell large L shaped desks. They sell corner desks with a left side extension or right side extension, but these desks are only suitable for one person. 

And so we decided to create our own custom larger L shaped desk for two using readily available countertops, legs, and cabinets. It was time for an IKEA hack!

Our corner L shape IKEA desk would be designed with two floating countertops sitting against two walls. They would meet in one corner. Each end and the middle would need to be supported somehow. Above one countertop, we would also have a wall mounted bookcase to provide extra storage

UPDATE: Here's how we used a cleat to support a laundry room countertop

Sean also installed two additional cleats: one above the countertops on the wall to support the horizontal bookcase, and a third at the left side wall to support the left end of the L shaped countertop. 

IKEA Wall Mounted Bookcase Hack

After installing the cleats, our next step was to mount the Expedit bookcase to the wall. If you are doing a project like this, with a bookcase or hanging shelf over a desk, you want to install those first. You want to work from the top down, so that you're not struggling to install something over an L-shaped desk.

We don't think the Expedit bookcase was meant to be mounted on the wall... they didn't have any examples in the IKEA showroom and the sales person wasn't too sure. But we figured with enough brackets and support the bookcase won't come crashing down on top of our heads.

Here's how we installed the bookcases on the wall:

1. First, Sean had to find the studs in the wall. 
2. Then we determined where horizontally we wanted the bookcase to fall on the wall. Between the wall and the bookcase, we had about a 5" gap for a curtain rod and curtains which we'd install later
3. Based on this positioning, Sean  measured and marked where those studs fell on the bookcase, inside the top of the cubbies 
4. He attached L brackets at those spots inside the cubbies. The brackets sat "upside down" in the bookcase, with the bottom of the L connected to the ceiling of the cubbie and the upper part of the L screwed back into the wall studs. 

Pro Tip: Sean wanted to make sure he didn't drill too deep into the cubbie ceiling (IKEA products typically are only reinforced around the edges and are particleboard otherwise). So, he measured the length of the screw for the L bracket and put a piece of masking tape around the drill bit. He'd stop drilling once the tape hit the top of the hole.

Floating Countertop Installation

With the bookcase up (after a few missed studs, ahem), we moved on to attaching the countertops to the wall. The countertops sit perpendicular to one another and form the L-shape desk. Here's how we did that:

• We had a Mikael file cabinet sitting under the counter at one end so we assembled that first and put it in place to make the countertop installation easier. 
• Turn the countertop over. Attach L brackets about every two feet, one side of the L attached to the underside of the countertop and the other side ready to be screwed into the cleat
• Turn the countertop right side up. Rest the countertop on the cleat. Have one person hold the countertop while another person screws the L brackets into the cleat

The first counter went in easily. The second, which sits under a window, was a bit more difficult. The window had an apron (the casing part that sits at the bottom of the window) and we had to cut away part of the countertop so that the rest of it would sit flush against the wall. We had to notch it out bit by bit (not easy when the thing weighs 100 pounds). 

The counter was also too long and had to be cut to fit against the first counter. We decided to use the $5 seam cover to hide the chipped end where the countertops meet.

Update: the IKEA L Shaped desk held up well! Visit this post to see more photos of how the room turned out. The Expedit bookcases stayed firmly affixed to the wall from 2008 until we removed them when we renovated this home office to a bedroom in 2014.