12 Epic High-End IKEA Hacks That Totally Had Us Fooled
Look, I know IKEA. And usually, I can spot one of their products from a mile away. But every once in a while I’ll see a hack that’s so clever, so transformative, that even this superfan is fooled. Here are a dozen jaw-dropping hacks you won’t believe are IKEA.
When I first saw this on Pinterest, with the words ‘IKEA hack’ next to it, I just stopped scrolling, befuddled. There is no way that’s an IKEA hack, I thought. But I was wrong. This is, in fact, a LACK table covered in mirrored plexiglass panels. Doesn’t this side table look like something from The Future Perfect? This may be the best IKEA hack I’ve seen yet, and trust me, I’ve seen a lot. You can see the full DIY at Ich Designer. (Also lead image above.)
In this DIY from Alice & Lois, mudcloth upholstery transforms an IKEA bench into a one-of-a-kind piece. It’s a remarkable transformation of a piece of furniture you’d never guess was only $39 to start out.
This beautifully minimalist credenza from Sarah Sherman Samuel is actually a set of BESTA cabinets clad in a birch plywood frame. The piece has a streamlined, high-end look, and should be a fairly easy project for anyone familiar with woodworking.
Kristi Murphy loved a credenza she saw at West Elm, but didn’t love the $1300 price tag. She started with a STOCKHOLM sideboard, added some gold hairpin legs and created a geometric design with some gold foil tape.
This credenza from Design Love Fest is a very simple project: it’s just out-of-the-box IKEA with Prettypegs legs and a marble top (which is admittedly not cheap, but makes for a very high-end look).
And speaking of Pretty Pegs, this desk is made from a basic white IKEA table top paired with a set of their unfinished wood legs. For something so basic, it looks very chic.
The IKEA VITTSJO has been hacked a million ways, but I’m partial to this DIY from Yellow Brick Home, where the addition of wood shelves makes this unit look like a high-end piece (and keeps it sturdy, too).
I can’t get enough of caned furniture, so I’m particularly fond of this DIY from Livet Hemma. Using three IVAR side units and a bit of rolled cane, they created this stylish, modern screen. H/T to Poppytalk, who also has a few good sources for the cane.
This beautiful dresser from Preciously Me is an IKEA MALM with a little gold contact paper applied.
A basic BESTA is now a Hollywood Regency-inspired storage cabinet, thanks to some 1/4″ plywood sheets and new hardware. It’s now an affordable (and massive) toy storage unit in Mandi Johnson’s living room.
Sometimes just painting or staining can make a world of different. This end table is from The Lovely Drawer, but it will only set you back $15.
This DIY desk from Style at Home is a particularly clever combo: an Alex desk (just the top) affixed to a Linmon tabletop, with Hilver legs. The stepped effect creates the impression of a much more expensive piece.