After moving to a new home office, the author sought a workbench that combined practicality with a living‑room appearance. Ready‑made options were either too garage‑like or limited to a 40 cm depth, and custom furniture exceeded the budget of roughly 1 000 € for two units. ChatGPT suggested kitchen cabinets, which matched dimensions but lacked a suitable design. Consequently, the author built two workbenches using two IKEA Kallax 2x2 shelving units, drawer and door inserts, MDF boards, screws, decorative foil, and rubber sheets, while repurposing a former desk top measuring 160 cm × 80 cm. The desk top was cut into two 80 cm × 60 cm pieces using a mini circular saw, a Japanese hand saw, and a sharper blade for the second cut. Drilling tests showed that MDF panels require careful pre‑drilling to avoid screw breakage. Decorative foil was applied to MDF edges, and rubber sheets were cut to size to absorb vibration from a 3D printer and a pen plotter. Some screws required different bit sizes from a bulk hardware bin. Assembly was performed upside down, layering the desktop, a rubber sheet, an MDF board, another rubber sheet, and the Kallax unit, then securing the layers with screws and adding a bottom MDF panel. The author noted misaligned shelf holes, corrected by using clamps to set the proper height and filling the incorrect holes. The finished benches have a desktop depth of 60 cm while the Kallax depth is 39 cm, resulting in reduced storage space and slight overhang at the back. Two previously used MDF shelves were retained after a mismatched cut; they were wrapped with foil for visual consistency. Cost breakdown: desktop 0 €, Kallax 2x2 40 €, drawer insert 25 €, door insert 15 €, large MDF board 12 €, small MDF board 5 €, screws 3 €, decorative foil 12 €, rubber sheet 18 €, total 130 €. The author reported minor lateral wobble when pushing the unit, which may be reinforced, but overall the workbenches feel solid, especially with the desktop attached, and the Kallax can support full body weight when sat upon.