IKEA
IKEA LACK Side Table Reviews + Our Editorial Take
By Sam Hollis · Updated June 2026
Independent editorial review. We never accept payment for coverage.
Verdict
The LACK appears across Reddit communities in a way that no other piece of furniture does — not primarily as a purchase recommendation but as a modification platform and problem-solving tool. In the 3D printing community (r/3Dprinting, r/ender3), the LACK enclosure is a standard project for containing printer fumes and improving print quality. In the gaming setup community (r/battlestations), the LACK appears constantly as a monitor riser, cable management platform, and desk-adjacent surface. In r/DIY and r/malelivingspace, LACK modifications with contact paper, hairpin legs, or paint receive regular attention. Direct furniture reviews of the unmodified LACK are almost nonexistent because buyers implicitly understand they're not purchasing a quality piece — they're purchasing a functional object at a price that removes the evaluation calculation entirely. The cultural footprint the LACK has accumulated — as a meme, as a maker's platform, as a symbol of pragmatic furnishing — is genuinely unusual for a piece of furniture and reflects something about what it actually does well.
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The LACK: Engineering Nothing Into Something
The IKEA LACK side table costs $13. For that price, you get a square side table with a clean white surface and four legs. It is made from honeycomb cardboard inside a wood-fiber surface — not particleboard, not plywood, but a hollow honeycomb core that is lighter than essentially any solid alternative and functional for normal side table use. The construction is so minimal that the LACK became a fixture in engineering and product design discussions as an example of doing exactly as little as necessary to achieve a functional object at a radical price point.
The LACK has been in production since 1981 and has accumulated an enormous following not despite its minimal construction but because of what that minimal construction enables. The $13 price means that buyers can use multiple LACK tables, stack them, modify them, paint them, replace them without significant financial loss, or simply accept that a table that costs less than a restaurant meal is held to different durability standards than one that costs $200. The psychology of buying at this price point is genuinely different from buying furniture in the traditional price range.
The LACK's cultural footprint extends well beyond its $13 literal value. It has been used as a printer enclosure for 3D printing (the 'LACK enclosure' is a standard DIY in the maker community). It has been stacked two units high to create coffee table configurations. It has been wrapped in wallpaper, washi tape, contact paper, marble film, and every conceivable surface treatment. In the gaming and tech desk communities, it appears constantly as monitor riser, cable management platform, and fill piece. No other furniture item has this ratio of hack-to-purchase-price.
What the LACK is not is a quality piece of furniture. It will not tolerate water damage to the surface. It will not hold more than about 55 lbs without risk of leg failure (the legs are also hollow). It will show corner damage if moved frequently. These are known facts that buyers accept as part of the $13 contract. The question this review addresses is whether that contract is a good one for most buyers, and the answer is situation-dependent in ways worth examining.
The 3D printer community's adoption of the LACK as an enclosure platform deserves specific mention because it illustrates the product's real value better than any furniture review can. The 'LACK enclosure' — typically two LACK tables stacked vertically with polycarbonate panels added to enclose a Prusa or Ender printer — became a standard DIY project because the LACK's dimensions happen to fit desktop FDM printers, the hollow honeycomb top panels are easy to drill without special tools, and the $13 purchase price means the cost of experimentation is negligible. This is not a use case IKEA designed for, but it demonstrates the LACK's essential character: a platform that costs so little it can be used experimentally, modified freely, and replaced without regret.
The psychological effect of $13 pricing is worth examining directly. Most furniture purchases involve an optimization calculation: how long will this last, is the quality worth the price, will I regret the choice. The LACK removes most of this calculation. At $13, the question isn't whether to buy it; the question is whether a side table of any kind is needed. If the answer is yes, there is no cheaper option and no option that asks less of the buyer in terms of commitment. This is why the LACK appears in starter apartments, college dorms, investment properties, and staged rental units with equal frequency — the purchase decision is effectively zero-cost from a financial risk standpoint.
Construction and Materials
The LACK's construction is genuinely unusual for furniture. The tabletop is a hollow honeycomb cardboard core sandwiched between top and bottom wood-fiber panels, then wrapped in a paper foil surface. The honeycomb structure provides surprising rigidity for its weight — the LACK weighs approximately 4.4 lbs — because the hexagonal cells distribute force across the surface efficiently. The practical ceiling for this construction is around 55 lbs of distributed load on the tabletop, and significantly less for concentrated loads on a single point.
The legs are similarly hollow, made from extruded hollow components with screw-in metal fittings for attachment to the tabletop. This makes the LACK extremely light and easy to transport, but it also creates the primary failure mode: if a leg is struck hard at the point where it meets the floor, the hollow structure can crack. This is not a problem under normal stationary use but is a real vulnerability if the table is moved frequently or placed in a high-traffic area.
The surface finish comes in white, black, and wood tones. The white finish is the most commonly purchased and shows rings and marks clearly without protective treatment. A coaster habit is essentially mandatory with the white LACK if you want the surface to remain presentable. The edges and corners are the most vulnerable points for chipping, and tables that have been moved multiple times typically show edge damage that is visible on close inspection.
The honeycomb core construction's weight efficiency is genuinely impressive from an engineering standpoint. A standard wood-panel side table of LACK dimensions would weigh 15–20 lbs; the LACK weighs 4.4 lbs. This 75% weight reduction is achieved without meaningfully compromising the table's ability to hold the loads it will realistically encounter — a lamp, a glass of water, a remote control, and a few books is the vast majority of side table use cases, and the LACK handles all of these without distress. The failure modes are concentrated: concentrated point loads (pressing down hard on a single spot), impact to the hollow legs, and moisture penetration to the cardboard core. All three of these are avoidable with normal use and moderate care.
The assembly process is worth noting for its honesty. The LACK arrives flat and assembles by screwing four legs into the underside of the tabletop using plastic thread inserts. This takes approximately three minutes and requires no tools beyond what IKEA provides. The plastic thread inserts in the tabletop are the primary failure point in the leg attachment: overtightening strips them out, and once stripped, the leg hole is essentially unrepairable. The correct technique is hand-tight plus a quarter turn — firm but not forced. LACK tables that have had legs reattached multiple times (common in rental properties) eventually develop play at the leg attachment points from repeated tightening cycles wearing the plastic inserts.
Our Ratings
Overall score
The LACK's honeycomb cardboard construction is one of the more elegant pieces of material engineering in mass furniture production. The hexagonal cell structure distributes loads across the surface efficiently, allowing a 4.4-pound table to support 55 pounds of distributed weight without deflection — a structural-efficiency-to-weight ratio that wood panel construction can't approach at comparable cost. The failure modes are predictable and largely avoidable: concentrated point loads can depress the surface locally, hollow legs are vulnerable to impact at the floor junction, and moisture penetration to the cardboard core causes permanent damage. For a table that will hold a lamp and a glass in a stationary position, none of these failure modes is relevant. The leg attachment uses plastic thread inserts in the hollow top panel — these are adequate for normal use but strip irreversibly if overtightened, which is the most common cause of wobbly LACK legs. Assembly takes approximately three minutes and requires no tools beyond the included wrench.
The LACK's design language is pure function with incidental aesthetics: a flat top on four legs, available in white, black, and wood tones. There is nothing here to love from a design standpoint, and nothing to object to either. The white version — the bestseller — functions as a visual null: it takes up physical space without demanding visual attention, which is exactly what a side table should do in most rooms. The simplicity that makes the LACK aesthetically inert also makes it the perfect modification surface. Contact paper in marble, concrete, wood, or geometric patterns transforms it completely for under $10 in materials. Paint turns it into a color accent piece. Hairpin legs replace the original legs for a mid-century aesthetic upgrade. The maker and DIY communities have documented hundreds of LACK transformations, with the consensus that the honeycomb top takes paint, paper, and adhesives well and holds modifications durably under normal use conditions. The LACK as-purchased is a functional object; the LACK as a platform is a creative one.
The LACK's value proposition exists at a category level rather than a comparison level: there is no furniture review framework designed for a $13 item, because the purchase is essentially free in the context of any household budget. The question isn't whether $13 is a good price for a side table — it obviously is — but whether a side table is needed. At this price, the answer to that question is trivially yes: the table costs less than most single-use household items and provides ongoing functional utility. The realistic ownership lifespan for a LACK in normal indoor use is three to seven years before surface wear, edge chips, or leg play accumulate enough to motivate replacement. At $13 replacement cost, this longevity profile is entirely acceptable. Buyers who evaluate the LACK against $150 solid wood side tables are conducting a category error — the LACK is not competing with those pieces, and those pieces are not trying to cost $13.
What People Are Saying
The LACK appears across Reddit communities in a way that no other piece of furniture does — not primarily as a purchase recommendation but as a modification platform and problem-solving tool. In the 3D printing community (r/3Dprinting, r/ender3), the LACK enclosure is a standard project for containing printer fumes and improving print quality. In the gaming setup community (r/battlestations), the LACK appears constantly as a monitor riser, cable management platform, and desk-adjacent surface. In r/DIY and r/malelivingspace, LACK modifications with contact paper, hairpin legs, or paint receive regular attention. Direct furniture reviews of the unmodified LACK are almost nonexistent because buyers implicitly understand they're not purchasing a quality piece — they're purchasing a functional object at a price that removes the evaluation calculation entirely. The cultural footprint the LACK has accumulated — as a meme, as a maker's platform, as a symbol of pragmatic furnishing — is genuinely unusual for a piece of furniture and reflects something about what it actually does well.
Reddit and Houzz commentary are weighted 3× against blog and editorial sources in our sentiment score. Brand PR has a well-documented influence on editorial coverage — direct owner reports from message boards tend to be more candid.
What Reddit Is Saying
“I have owned my Lack end tables for at least 7 years. They've outlasted any other piece of furniture I've owned. Best cheap furniture purchase ever.”View thread →
“I have a now discontinued LACK coffee table in white, a large square with a glass top, I have had it since 2009, it still looks perfect. I also got two small side tables that time too, and two shelf units, a 2x2 and a 2x4. They were made better then.”View thread →
“People like to shit on these products because of their simple and bulky look but they have a totally different goal: to provide an affordable alternative. There are so many situations where people can't afford to splurge on expensive items and LACK is great for that.”View thread →
“I have used lack tables for years by my bedside and they are holding up well. The legs can be a bit in even but my kids even crawl on them and they are still holding up. I actually have three in a box waiting to be used for exactly this same purpose. When there is a deal you can get them cheap. The ones I bought I got 3 for 25 bucks plus free shipping.”View thread →
“They're in store. $8 each, just walk into the little computer terminal and search for Lack. They're just small end tables, and I fastened them together with 3d printed parts into a large shelf. Much more cost effective than buying a large shelf unit.”View thread →
“Ikea. the table is called "Lack" and is very cheap. It's basically compressed cardboard with very small blocks of wood in the corners (where the legs screw in).”View thread →
“I originally used a lack table for my 3d printer when I first got it - these are pretty bad for 3d printing - they might seem sturdy but they do wobble like crazy. My prints improved so much after transferring my printer to a more sturdy table. I wouldn't recommend the lack tables for 3d printing at all, unless you're at ultra low speeds - like sub 40mm/s”View thread →
“If your equipment isn't very heavy. The Lack tables I'm using for my enclosure have legs that are essentially paste board and appear to be hollow. There's not much "wood" there to hold anything up.”View thread →
“I tried to make a LACK enclosure and honestly I don’t get the hype cuz it was pretty garbage. Luckily the house I bought had a perfect closet for my printer 🤷🏼♂️”View thread →
Frequently asked questions
Is the IKEA LACK Side Table worth it?
The LACK's value proposition exists at a category level rather than a comparison level: there is no furniture review framework designed for a $13 item, because the purchase is essentially free in the context of any household budget. The question isn't whether $13 is a good price for a side table — it obviously is — but whether a side table is needed. At this price, the answer to that question is trivially yes: the table costs less than most single-use household items and provides ongoing functional utility.
How is the IKEA LACK Side Table built?
The LACK's honeycomb cardboard construction is one of the more elegant pieces of material engineering in mass furniture production. 4-pound table to support 55 pounds of distributed weight without deflection — a structural-efficiency-to-weight ratio that wood panel construction can't approach at comparable cost. The failure modes are predictable and largely avoidable: concentrated point loads can depress the surface locally, hollow legs are vulnerable to impact at the floor junction, and moisture penetration to the cardboard core causes permanent damage.
What styles does the IKEA LACK Side Table work with?
The LACK's design language is pure function with incidental aesthetics: a flat top on four legs, available in white, black, and wood tones. There is nothing here to love from a design standpoint, and nothing to object to either. The white version — the bestseller — functions as a visual null: it takes up physical space without demanding visual attention, which is exactly what a side table should do in most rooms.
What do real owners say about the IKEA LACK Side Table?
The LACK appears across Reddit communities in a way that no other piece of furniture does — not primarily as a purchase recommendation but as a modification platform and problem-solving tool. In the 3D printing community (r/3Dprinting, r/ender3), the LACK enclosure is a standard project for containing printer fumes and improving print quality. In the gaming setup community (r/battlestations), the LACK appears constantly as a monitor riser, cable management platform, and desk-adjacent surface.
Options Worth Checking Out
Furinno Classic Square End Table
Simple square parsons-style end table with the same minimal footprint as the LACK. Plain construction, no frills.
Homieasy End Table with Charging Station
Side table with a built-in charging station, AC outlets, and USB ports. Useful upgrade over a bare LACK if your couch lives far from a wall outlet.
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