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In this guide
IKEA UK lists the KNARREVIK bedside table in black, article 205.699.77, at £12. The page gives the price, three dimensions, a material line and a care note. It gives no maximum load. That number, 10 kg (22 lb), is on page two of assembly document AA-2547698-1, under a warning triangle and beside an instruction not to sit on the table.
That gap is the story. A steel frame invites assumptions about strength; IKEA's own document says 10 kg. The rest of the table is honest about what £12 buys: 42 by 34 by 52 cm, one open shelf, a powder-coated frame, sixteen screws and one hex key.
Our verdict
Buy it as a lamp-and-book table that respects the 10 kg limit. Skip it if the top has to hold a speaker, a printer, or anyone sitting down.
- A good fit for
- A small bedroom, a spare room or a hall corner that needs a narrow table with one open shelf and holds a lamp, a phone and a book.
- We would skip it if
- The top will carry more than 10 kg, you want a drawer, or exposed steel edges and bolt heads bother you.
Reasons to consider it
- IKEA prints a 10 kg (22 lb) limit in the assembly booklet.
- Steel throughout with a powder coat, no particleboard, in a single flat package.
- Sixteen screws and one hex key; the booklet needs no drill and no second pair of hands.
The compromises
- The 10 kg ceiling and the do-not-sit warning appear only in the PDF; the product page states no load at all.
- Open shelf, open sides: nothing is hidden, and 34 cm of depth is shallower than most bedside tables.
- Flat steel edges and bolt heads are part of the look, and IKEA's only alignment check is a diagram on the last page.
What we have not verified: Not tested: how stiff the frame feels under load, whether the powder coat survives knocks on the edges, and whether 52 cm suits your bed. The 10 kg figure is IKEA's own, not a measurement.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
KNARREVIK Nightstand
42 by 34 by 52 cm, one open shelf, a powder-coated steel frame and a published 10 kg ceiling, assembled with the included hex key.
Before you buy: No drawer, no anti-tip kit, a 10 kg maximum that the product page omits, and flat steel edges.
Price checked 18 October 2026. Retailer prices can change.What the booklet says and the page does not
Page two of AA-2547698-1 carries the warning triangle and two lines: do not sit on the product, do not place heavy objects on it, maximum load 10 kg (22 lb). The same pair repeats in every language block. There is no tip-over warning and no wall-anchoring step; IKEA treats the KNARREVIK as a table, not as storage furniture, and ships no anti-tip device.
The product page says none of this. Under measurements there is no load figure, and the only structural sentence is the compliance line about testing for light, non-domestic use to EN 15372. A shopper who reads only the page learns that the table passed a standard, not what it will hold. The 10 kg figure is the one to budget for.
Measurements, steel and care
At 42 cm wide, 34 cm deep and 52 cm high, the top sits near mattress height on a low bed. The material line reads steel with an epoxy/polyester powder coating, with no separate entries for the top, shelf and legs. The top and the shelf are separate panels bolted between the side rails, and there is no drawer.
Care is a cloth dampened with mild cleaner, then a dry cloth. IKEA gives no touch-up paint for a chipped coat, and the documents do not say whether the top and shelf are solid sheet or folded stock.
Sixteen screws and one hex key
The booklet inventories one hex key and 16 identical screws. No drill, no wall plug and no second person appear. Steps one to five bolt the side rails to the top and shelf, turning the frame between steps, and step six is a final hand-tighten of all 16 screws.
The last page shows a square frame beside a crossed-out leaning one, which is the only alignment check IKEA offers. Check the diagonals before the final tighten.
Where £12 sits in the bedroom range
The obvious alternative is closed storage, and the UK bedside range has it: IKEA UK's bedside-table listing includes two-drawer chests such as KULLEN, STORKLINTA and MALM, and a HEMNES bedside table. The 54 cm two-drawer HEMNES chest the US range carries is not among them.
That leaves the KNARREVIK as the cheap, open answer: a lamp, a phone, a book and a pair of glasses, with nothing hidden. If the contents need a drawer, the £12 table is the wrong purchase, however good the price looks.
When to skip it
Skip it if the top will hold a pair of bookshelf speakers, a compact printer or a heavy ceramic lamp: IKEA states 10 kg, and that is not an estimate. Skip it if anyone will sit on it to put on socks; the booklet says not to. And skip it if you want a drawer, because the design has none.
For a dry bedroom, a spare room or a small flat where space and budget are tight, the KNARREVIK is still a clean buy: £12, one package, one key, a stated limit. The only failure is that the page does not tell you the limit.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- IKEA UK: KNARREVIK bedside table, black (205.699.77) (opens in a new tab)
- IKEA UK: KNARREVIK assembly instructions AA-2547698-1 (opens in a new tab)
- IKEA UK: bedside tables category (opens in a new tab)
