DIY Faux Behind-the-Couch Console Table

Hello all!! The new year is just around the corner and I hope that (for any of you who have had a tough year) the bad times are closed, but have made you stronger, the great moments are well preserved in your hearts and minds and new chapters are ready and on there way!

Here is a project that has been on my mind and I'm thrilled to have spent almost nothing compared to what I could have spent had I not figured out this solution.  I was having a couple problems with my living room that forced me to take some serious action. My living and family room is basically one very long rectangle. So my couch placement is limited, and as much as I HATE plastering furniture against the wall, that is really my only choice. So I try to keep the couch about six inches away from the wall so that one: the wall doesn't get dirty from the couch rubbing against it and two: I want the room to feel a bit more cozy with the furniture closer together. However, every time someone would sit, or in my kids' case pounce, on the couch it would slide until it eventually butted up against the wall again. I figured the best solution would be a console table. But where could I find one that was roughly 6 inches (15.24 cm) deep and 62 inches long (157.48)? Was I asking for too much? 

So, I thought lets build one, but in order to do that I had to buy a new saw since our American one (due to voltage) wouldn't work out here in good ol' Dubai. Then I thought about a carpenter which I realized could be hella expensive because we are in Dubai, remember we hemorrhage money out here. Arrg! I was getting frustrated, until two days ago when I went to Ikea and tada!! My answer was awaiting me with a beautiful aura surrounding it. And it worked!! I present to you my faux-behind-the-couch console table. 

Seriously, I wish I could call this an Ikea hack, but unfortunately I didn't "hack" anything about the shelves I got from Ikea. I just hung them in an abnormal position making them more like a "table" than a shelf. 

What you'll need: 

A drill

Four screws + four anchors

Two shelves. I used 2 Ekby Östen shelves for AED 25 each ( $6.80!!!)

Two shelf brackets 

I used the Ekby Stödis in white for AED 2.50 (.68 cents!!!! but ın the US it's only .50 

even cheaper for you!)

UAE link and the USA lınk for the Ekby Östen shelf.

UAE link and the USA link for the Ekby Stödis bracket.

Now drill brackets to the shelves. Try not to screw the brackets too close to the edge 

of the shelf for visibility reasons.

 The Ekby bracket is really thick on one end which makes it difficult to put a pencil in it and mark the wall. You also have to use a nail long enough to get through the bracket and into the wall enough to

sustain the weight of the shelf. 

When measuring, I put a nail through the top hole of the bracket and hammered 

until a small marking was left on the wall. The bottom marking is from the pencil. Make sure to make a template with each shelf separately. Do not use the same shelf to make two templates as the alignment is different and will give you problems when screwing in the shelves later. 

Don't forget the baggy trick to help save you from a mess later. 

 Perfecto! Exactly what I imagined. 

I took this picture at an angel so you can see the shelves behind the couch. 

 When normally looking towards the couch the shelves "disappear". Exactly what I wanted. 

 Here is my I'm-too-desperate-to-wait-till-the-morning-for-better-lighting "after shot". I think I just committed the most grammatical errors of all time. ;o)

 From above again.

At normal view.

Coffe table books that are a must: Good Bones Great Pieces and Star Wars The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia Yes, you read that correctly, we are serious about Star Wars. 

What a difference some shelves make! This whole project cost me AED 55 ($14.95), but in the States, it would be even cheaper since everything out here is usually marked up, even if a little bit. There is Noooooooo way in hecks-vill I could buy or have a custom made console table for that price. And yet Ikea saved the day for me!! YAY! I couldn't be more pleased with this project. Maybe in the future I will upholster the shelves with some fabric just so it's more fun too look at up close, but as of now the shelves and brackets are not noticeable unless you make the effort to look for it. Hope you enjoyed this project and hope it's a cheap solution for those of you who have the same problem I had. I'll be squeezing in at least one, hopefully two, more posts before the new year!! Take care!

-Debora