I owned this table from Ikea for many years, before recently giving it away to one of my colleagues who has moved into an unfurnished house and desperate for furniture. We had no use for it anymore, so I thought it might as well go to someone who could make use of it.

I owned this table for about 8 years, after purchasing it on a trip to Ikea to avoid coming home empty handed! I had no particular purpose in mind for it, but despite this it did come in handy in various houses I lived in during this time. I can't remember how much I paid for it at the time, I seem to remember it being about £6, but looking on the Ikea website it currently retails at £9.

To be honest, I was quite surprised to see this described as a "bedside table" on the Ikea website. It's quite low for a bedside table, has no drawers, and is rectangular rather than square. I used it as an overflow to my crowded bookcase, and stored books on the bottom shelf and decorative items such as photos or candles on the top.

The dimensions of the table are width 52cm, depth 30cm, and height 40cm. To put this in context, the height is only 10cm longer than a long ruler. This means it has restricted use as it's impractical to be bending down to use it all the time.

Assembly of the table is extremely easy, even I managed to do this by myself using the alyn key which came with it. The table has a shelf underneath, the two side parts, and a top, which all fit together using the alyn key. The shelf underneath doesn't have much room for storage as the height is restricted by the top of the table. I used to store standard sized paperbacks on it, but not much else. It is very sturdy, however, and can store a good weight without bowing or becoming wobbly.

The table comes in untreated solid wood (pine), which is designed to be treated or stained in your preferred colour or finish. This makes the table quite versatile in terms of fitting in with colour schemes, as it can be painted or just stained to protect the wood. If I'm honest, I never got round to treating the surface, and just had it as the untreated pine, but this didn't seem to affect the durability of this table.

To clean it, I just used to use a dry duster, although I notice on the website it actually recommends using a damp cloth. I would probably suggest avoiding the damp cloth unless the wood has been treated.

This table does the trick by providing basic furniture for limited spaces. The table is solid and durable, as I can testify after owning the item for several years and then passing it on to someone else. Looks wise, it's not the classiest item, and would probably benefit from being treated or painted. The screws which hold it together are on display at the sides of the table, which looks a bit naff but isn't really an issue.

Overall, a handy table for restricted spaces. You can't really go wrong for the price.

(This review may also be posted on Ciao under the username Gingerkitty)