Review: IKEA NORNÄS Side Table

Wanted to replace a really small and cheap looking plastic stool. A solid wood side table seemed like the best option?

Ikea NORNAS Side Table Unboxed

Configuration
x1 - Ikea NORNÄS Side Table, pine:  US$ 49.99 (CA$ 39.99)

Video
In 33 seconds: Ikea NORNAS Side Table Assembled

Assembly
When I opened up the box, I was actually a bit surprised and worried about how many parts there were. The NORNAS side table appeared to be a simple piece of wood supported by four legs. Surely, it couldn't require this many parts and be so much work?

Turned out it wasn't that complicated. There were quite a few parts, but most of them were for the steel supports that the legs were attached to. The supports required four screws each which added up. Otherwise, I attached the supporting pieces of wood underneath the table surface and screwed on the legs.

One major issue I ran into with the NORNAS assembly had to do with the screws for the steel supports. The instructions appeared to tell me to attach the wood supporting frame to the tabletop before mounting the steel supports. However, this made it very difficult to use my screwdriver because the screw holes were so close to the tabletop. It didn't help that the holes on the steel supports were not lining up perfectly with the pre-drilled holes in the wood. I ended up removing the wood frame, attaching the steel supports first, and then screwing the frame back onto the tabletop. There was a minor alignment issue with the frame not sitting perfectly flush with the tabletop due to this at first -- screwing them together seemed to take care of the problem.

Stability
The table looked slender and easy to topple, but it was also low and had some weight to it. Having said that, I probably wouldn't put anything easily breakable on it.

There was an urge to try it out as a bench because the NORNAS looked perfect for that. Upon taking a second glance and seeing how slim the legs were, that didn't seem like a good idea anymore.

Ikea NORNAS Side Table Assembled

Expandability / Customizability
The NORNÄS product line looked to be pretty big. And it goes well with other untreated pine stuff?

How was it?
On the aesthetics front, it looked very good and having an item made of solid, untreated wood was nice. The NORNAS table was smaller than I thought it would be despite having reviewed the product dimensions multiple times beforehand. I have to say that it was kind of cute but probably not the most versatile piece of furniture in existence. At roughly 30 cm by 59 cm, according to the Ikea.ca website, the table surface didn't really provide that much storage room. The larger, square or rectangular NORNÄS tables I saw available from Ikea would probably make better generalist tables.

This small-sized version that I got was purchased with a specific purpose in mind: to fit underneath a clothing rack to hold up some small and light items. For this, the NORNÄS side table worked out fine. Its small size will probably be helpful in the future if I don't need it anymore and just want to shove it off to the side too...

Conclusion
I thought the Ikea NORNÄS side table was a good looking and relatively cheap piece of furniture for the specific purpose that I bought it for. As a more general table for storage, it's probably on the small side.