Ikea MICKE Desk Impressions: The wider one.

The wider Ikea MICKE desk with only two similarly-sized drawers just under the desktop, not the MICKE with the big side cabinet for a leg. It would have been easier to separate the two by price, but there were two CA$ 99.00 desks with the same name when I checked them on the Ikea.ca website. There was a third MICKE for CA$ 59.99 actually. On the surface, this cheaper one looked like a less wide version of the one this write-up is about.

Water in a stream. Because.

Disclaimer: I had not had any firsthand experience with any MICKE desk products when I wrote this piece. Details were quoted from the Ikea United States website or Canada website in mid March 2017. Details on this page are NOT guaranteed for accuracy.

Ikea MICKE Desk First Impressions: The 142 cm wide version
Starting off with some basic details from the Ikea.ca website's product page for the MICKE desk (902.143.08 in white): dimensions were listed at 142 cm x 50 cm x 75 cm (width x depth x height), and it was available in white and black-brown. The terms that caught my eye under the "Product description" included "Particleboard," "Fiberboard," and "Steel." Just going by product photos, I saw what looked like a rectangular desk with two drawers and two legs -- one leg was a panel, the other a U-shape with an open center. A photo of the MICKE desk also showed a narrow shelf under the desktop that had an opening to the surface for cable routing. Price was CA$ 99.00 for both colors by the way.

Nothing really to it and I don't mean anything bad by that. The Ikea MICKE desk appeared to be a relatively simple, rectangular desk with squared edges. I thought it looked functional while having some decent storage space. Its asymmetrical design, the legs, also made it a standout for me in terms of appearance -- would "modern" be an appropriate adjective?

An older Ikea GALANT desk

A width of 142 cm would be more than adequate for my uses and the height was roughly where I set my height-adjustable desks as well -- I didn't get the impression that the height was adjustable. However, a depth of 50 cm for the MICKE desk was a tad on the narrower side in my view. When I wrote this, I had two desks around 60 cm deep and a third that was 80 cm. The 80 cm deep desk was nice but I didn't really need the last 10-20 cm -- it wasn't as easy to move as the 60 cm desks when required either. A lot of desk area is great up until I need to move it or when I feel like I could use a little extra open space in the room.

I also went through the Ikea MICKE desk's "Assembly instruction" document on the product page. The assembly process seemed pretty typical for something from Ikea -- especially items consisting mainly of particleboard and fiberboard. Going through the steps for the drawers brought back memories of me putting together a chest of drawers or two from Ikea. There also appeared to be an option for choosing which leg went on which side. I could see that being useful for routing cords or maybe just aesthetics.

On a final note, the white version had me sold. I've had a black-brown desk before and it was impossible to keep it looking clean without very regular dusting. White usually lets me get away with dusting very irregularly.

Final Thoughts
I thought the Ikea MICKE desk with two similarly sized drawers looked pretty nice in white. Two relatively shallow drawers seemed to add a good supply of storage space, and the price at CA$ 99.00 was pretty reasonable to me. This would be something I'd get if I just needed a relatively cheap and functional standalone desk. The depth was a bit shallower than I usually prefer though. I'm also not sure that I'd be open to buying many of the same desks if I needed more desk space -- in contrast, I would with something like the Ikea BEKANT.