The first two are great. The third just looks like someone tacked some stuff to an Expedit, which is pretty much what happened. It's still very clearly an Expedit.

OK... not much substance to this post, is there?

umm, yeah you cab buy something from ikea and change it. Why is AT always pushing ikea, they got stock in it?

I think AT pushes ikea b/c when they push stuff we can't afford, we grumble about that. I guess they just like to give us stuff to complain about...or maybe they're trying to give us ideas.

I agree that the third hack is kind of boring but I am so in love with the second table I've had dreams about it...well, maybe not quite dreams, but definitely daydreams.

i kinda agree. the 3rd fix is very underwhelming and i was hoping from more ideas from this post.

You know, IKEA sells affordable, modern styled, basics that are easily transformed and are easily blended with other, more expensive things to create a functional space on a budget. I think everybody knows you can buy better quality, more expensive, or sometimes LESS expensive second hand things, but there is nothing wrong with IKEA, hacked or otherwise. You may or may not like IKEA, but it gets old to constantly hear negative remarks about it.

I challenge anyone to come to my New England town and find stores that sell anything other than traditional "colonial" garbage -- it's really hard to do. (City dwellers have no concept of the limitations of smaller communities.) IKEA fills any blanks for me. I especially like the shelving options, which in my neighborhood are almost nonexistant, otherwise. (Unless you hire a carpenter and go custom -- maybe an option if/when I have lots more money, but not now. And I still have a roomful of books, now.)

Sherry is right that IKEA stuff can blend well and provide simple, utilitarian solutions in any home. I just blogged about how IKEA stuff is all over my house ..it'll be up tomorrow @ http://holidayhouserules.typepad.com

If you want ideas on how to hack it, go to IKEAhacker.com.

My concern about the last one would be lack of access, the corner brackets would block you from getting your stuff out. Guess it's okay if you just have one item there.

i think the mirror in the second photo is ikea as well. would like to see more of these "hacks". ikea is good enough as is or you can get creative with it and that is cool. and yeah i am often baffled by the crusty comments on AT. if it's expensive "bark, bark, bark." if it's ikea (oh no!), "whine, whine, whine." jeez people. relax and enjoy or find something else to do. i don't get it.

SherryBinNH, I agree that city dwellers really do not have a concept about the limitations in a smaller community.

The only problem with this post is that there isn't more of it. There have been some awesome IKEA hacks featured on AT. Some of those that stand out to me are the person who mirrored a Lack table and the person who mirrored her Malm dresser but there are many many others I'd love to see again.

or the limitations of living in a part of the US that a lot of companies won't ship big items to (Alaska). Finding functional design that is within an affordable price range is a HUGE challenge. I'd be happy to have an IKEA to complain about in the first place! As it is, most big pieces of furniture are bought from the handful of stores that charge exorbitant prices for mediocre design, or relying upon Craigslist...which isn't bad, it's just a lot more work than simply going down an IKEA and grabbing a cheap couch.

I'd note that there are still some parts of the US that aren't really familiar with IKEA. When I was trying to get bids on my kitchen remodel, I had two separate contractors who said, "IKEA cabinets? Who makes those?" IKEA definitely isn't ubiquitous everywhere just yet.

Agreed, the table in the second picture does look great. But this is just such a nothing post - apparently we'll have to go trawling through the House Tour archives ourselves to find "quite a few" IKEA hacks - what we're shown here isn't quite a few, it's just a few (and only barely that!).

Most is interesting about the first two photos is the way the same Ikea item can have two drastically different looks in two differently styled spaces. It's a good lesson, taking something simple and cheap and ubiquitous and making it your own.

this COULD be a great post... bring it, AT

we wish we had IKEA in South Africa!! =(

Ikea is functional and for a great many purely functional things (like wardrobes and dressers), it is (in many countries) the only affordable alternative. it's carbohydrate furniture, people, lighten up.

Ya'll stop ragging on IKEA. Not everyone has the option of waiting 2 years to find that perfect vintage piece. Nor can everyone afford to buy more quality piece from those expensive sources.

i don't think it's so much that people are ragging on ikea, it's that people want more from this post.

gbeans nailed it. I don't have a problem with IKEA, I just want to see how people can transform it to be something more interesting than what it is. Three pictures offers barely any substance.

Thank you everyone for your comments. Looking back at it now, I agree that I could have brought more to this post. These examples were 3 that stood out from recent mid Atlantic house tours, but there are certainly more site-wide. Look out for a more inclusive and broader post in the future.