I am head over heels in love with the Kate Spade Downing desk with it’s gorgeous polka dots and brass fixtures but at a whopping $3,095, I wasn’t in love with the price. I decided to DIY my own Kate Spade Downing Desk.
I scoured the Internet and fell in love with this simple diy version of the desk from Mark Montano and needed to make it. I took a weekend and voila, in three hours it was complete. We purchased the Alex desk from Ikea and the hardware from Home Depot online. In store had only rounded edge hardware instead of sharp edge hardware. It seemed to visually make all of the difference at least to me. If you’d like to create your own version of the desk, these are all the supplies you need.
I laid down the drop cloth and put the pre-built desk on it. After attaching the hardware, I simply dabbed the slightly imperfect spots with the daubers. I made sure to cut the edges of the daubers as instructed since Kate Spade’s circles are never perfect. I also painted the legs with a small brush. Unlike the linked diy project, I made sure to seal the desk with a few coats of high gloss top coat. The surface of the desk is so very slick that I am positive the spots would be gone in a week.
I’ve been using it as a very long nightstand since I often find myself bringing work. I am still settling on a chair. I have a chippedale chair currently but I’m highly considering a lucite or acrylic chair. No matter what chair I end up with, I couldn’t be happier with the results as I saved myself $2,900.
Update 3/31/2020: I’ve had this desk for going on four years and it’s still in great condition. I redid the dots about a year back but overall still an absolute pleasure and I would definitely say this is one of our best Ikea purchases ever.