If you’re looking for affordable furniture pieces for your home, chances are you’ve thought about buying Ikea furniture. From beds to bookshelves, Ikea has everything you need, but it’s easy for the simple, sleek design of its furniture to become a little … well, boring, especially when so many others have exactly the same bookcase. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hundreds of dollars for a custom-made piece of furniture! There are tons of ways to add your own style to basic Ikea furniture, whether as a DIY project or part of a larger remodeling project. Trending now as Ikea Hacks, these projects transform basic pieces into works of art that’d you’d never guess were from a big box store. From adding paint to combining complementary pieces, the options are endless and the pricetag is always low.
Built-In Bookshelves
Ikea bookshelves are a staple of living rooms everywhere, but you can definitely upgrade a few of them by actually building them into a living room set-up. Using three bookshelves and a little handywork, this homeowner designed a library-esque space, complete with a rolling ladder. It doesn’t get much classier than that!
Upgraded Table
Ikea has endless options for tables, in terms of both size and style. An easy way to upgrade a plain Ikea table is by adding contact paper to the surface of the table to give it a new look. While you can try out different designs, this homeowner went for classy, expensive-looking marble contact paper for her Ikea hack and outfitted two side tables - they’d give any room a feel of elegance.
Rustic Headboard
There are a number of plain wooden headboards at Ikea, just like the tables above you can add materials to the surface to create a piece of furniture that looks completely new. For headboards, you can try options like Stikwood to create the rustic chic look of ‘reclaimed wood’.
Game Table
A favorite hack for families with kids, basic Ikea LACK side tables can be painted so that the tops of the table are the boards for tons of board games, from checkers to Monopoly versions. The LACK tables come in various colors, so there is minimal work involved, and they’re light enough to be kept in children’s rooms and moved when needed.
Kitchen Workspace
For those really handy and committed to using Ikea furniture, or even just those with Ikea furniture already doing a kitchen remodel, you can always take multiple pieces created by Ikea and put them together to create a new piece of furniture with more form and function than any of the original pieces on their own. For instance, this new kitchen workspace was created from an Ikea butcher block top, 4 LACK TV units, and 8 casters (also bought from Ikea). The result? A new kitchen workspace that can be moved conveniently any time you need it to, with additional storage shelving space for decorative glasses and office supplies. Paired with Ikea stools, you’ve got a modular workspace that’s totally customized for your needs.
