Inspiring IKEA Hacks for Varying DIY Skill Levels
Who doesn’t love a good IKEA hack?
IKEA furniture is some of the most affordable furniture out there. This Billy Bookcase is basically an old standard at this point. I still have my Malm dresser from my college apartment. But, assembling the furniture is only the first step to a cost-effective yet truly unique piece of furniture.
IKEA hacks can range from a coat of paint to installing a whole built-in. No matter your level of DIY experience, there’s a way for you to customize your pieces to perfection. Below are some brilliant IKEA hacks featured in One Room Challenge® projects over the years that range in difficulty level to help you find your next IKEA project.
Changing or adding some custom hardware to your IKEA furniture is probably the fastest way to add some flair to your pieces. Even though it only takes about an hour, it makes a huge impact. Ashley of The Gold Hive dressed up two Besta units with some amazing brass pulls for her office ORC project. Just that one simple change gave the cabinets so much oomph!
In addition to adding custom gold pulls, Erika of Peony and Honey painted her IKEA Hemnes dresser a beautiful blush pink, as well as gluing half round foam dowels to each drawer face to create this amazing fluted look. For an even more custom feel, she added wallpaper to the bottom of each drawer. The supplies for her very creative hack were inexpensive, and you’d never know this was an IKEA piece.
This hack by Lauren Jamison is really a testament to the durability and versatility of IKEA furniture. She started with 2 nightstands that she had already hacked once with a coat of blue paint. With some DIY magic (sanding the old paint off, staining, connecting the nightstands with a butcher block top, and adding new pulls), the original nightstands are unrecognizable and fit right into her vintage fairy tale girl’s room ORC project.
An IKEA hack for the ambitious and power-tool-inclined is creating an amazing built-in piece using IKEA cabinets and shelves. This absolutely stunning built-in cabinet system is by Rebecca of Studio Plumb from her dining room ORC project. It’s comprised of two short Billy bookcases, two Sektion upper kitchen cabinets, and one smaller Sektion in the middle. The Billys are hung upside down so trim could be added above to give it that amazing built-in look. All the IKEA pieces in total cost around $500, which is significantly less than hiring a carpenter to create something custom.
Here’s another absolutely incredible IKEA hack built-in by Sarah of Dorsey Designs for her living & dining room ORC project. The lower part of the built-in is IKEA Sektion lower cabinets, and built the shelving portion using plywood and Metrie facer boards. Mixing IKEA with custom DIY pieces is a great way to give your project a solid base while still creating something that fits your space exactly.
This gorgeous green IKEA hack built in is by Sarah & TJ of Making Joy and Pretty Things from their office ORC project. The desk is made from an IKEA filing cabinet, which they removed the top and replaced with a butcher block filing cabinet. On the righthand side, they used IKEA Sektion pantry cabinets, which was a genius move because they add so much storage space.