8 of the Best (and Easiest) IKEA Hacks We Spotted This Year
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The only thing I like more than a good IKEA hack is an easy one. Like, so easy-it-barely-registers-as-a-hack, easy. Not because I’m lazy (I mean, I am), but because these types of IKEA hacks are the perfect combo of affordable and fast to do. They’re proof that you don’t have to spend a ton of time, energy, or money on little improvements in your home, and they’re evidence that ANYONE can pull off a hack—no fancy DIY skills or expensive tools needed. This is a round up of the best of these kinds of IKEA hacks I’ve seen this year from house tours. Real people, real homes, real easy hacks anyone could do!
Plaid on a plain cabinet
In this colorful Maryland home, Emily Yeskel Rubin used temporary wallpaper and electric tape to transform these extremely plain EKET cabinets from IKEA into a plaid-patterned statement piece.
Easy IKEA bookcase banquette
No matter the size of your home, if you want an adorable and compact dining area, find an empty corner and consider a DIY banquette. When you employ an IKEA bookcase and a cushion along with a small table, you can create an instant banquette perfect for breakfast or miniature dinner parties. The one in this California condo is a great example.
Another IKEA bookcase banquette
Lolita Korneagay also wanted a banquette in her Los Angeles apartment’s dining area, and got creative to make one. “I turned an IKEA bookcase on its back and added custom-made cushions and pillows. I completed the area by turning an IKEA desktop into a bench.”
IKEA Sofa Cover
This renovated 1930s house in London is bursting with charm… and hides one of the easiest IKEA hacks you can do: purchasing or making couch covers for your affordable IKEA sofa! She covered her IKEA Soderhamn sofas with linen covers from Bemz.
Oversized art hack
Our Lifestyle Director Taryn Williford’s Atlanta loft wows in a lot of ways, but one of the simplest (and most stylish) IKEA hacks is hiding in plain sight. “As soon as we moved into the loft, I painted over a pair of those giant IKEA BJÖRKSTA pieces (one from college, one from a curb find) with house paint,” she explains. “I did it so spur of the moment, I don’t even know the colors I used.”
Home office in an IKEA PAX unit system
Adrianna Gardini and Craig Youngren share a small New York apartment with their two kids, and as such, space is at a premium. The entire wall of IKEA PAX units they added to their living room area doesn’t just add extra storage to the small space, it also holds a compact home office.
An IKEA cabinet with a touch of gold
Another great IKEA “hack” comes from Emily Yeskel Rubin’s Maryland house again. Emily cut shapes from gold contact paper and placed them on the face of this IKEA cabinet, giving it just a touch of glam but a lot of personality.
Dressers as a bed base
Caroline Sølver is a guidebook author, lifestyle blogger, and a journalist for multiple publications… and a master at the so-easy-it-barely-registers-as-a-hack skill. In her small Copenhagen home, she placed a mattress on top of IKEA dressers, adding a lot more storage to a small bedroom where she can keep sheets and towels.