A TikToker Used This $25 IKEA Staple to Make a Coffee Table

published Aug 13, 2023
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A modern, stylish and bright living room
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If you have Champagne taste on a beer budget, the power of creativity can suffice when it comes to upgrading your space. One crafty TikToker managed to create a marble coffee table for a fraction of the cost, all thanks to one IKEA staple — proving that with a little time, patience, and imagination, you can save big bucks on a statement piece for your space.

IKEA’s beloved BLANDA MATT bamboo bowls have enjoyed viral fame before when a TikToker transformed them into a festive DIY planter by painting them matte black, flipping one upside down, gluing them together, and adding a potted plant inside once it all dried. Now, a different content creator is using those same wooden bowls as the base for a coffee table, and you can do the same.

TikToker Chris-Ann bought six of the bowls in the 28-cenimeter size, using Gorilla wood glue around the rim of each bowl to attach them together in a spherical design. She topped the bowls with something heavy and sturdy for 24 hours to allow the bond glue to dry thoroughly. After they dried, she used Timbermate hardwood wood filler in red oak where the bowls meet to create a more seamless look, then sanded each sphere and stained them using Varathane 358301 premium gel stain in dark walnut, although you could use any stain or paint color you like. 

Using No More Nails All Purpose Construction Adhesive, she adhered flat discs to the top of each sphere before securing her marble topper and voilà! A stunning, one-of-a-kind coffee table was crafted without the hefty price tag of some trendy internet-loved picks.

In order to find a cost-effective slab of marble, Chris-Ann shared in the comment section that she used the 32-inch marble she saved from an old table, but she recommends searching Facebook Marketplace for affordable marble tables and/or tops.

Naturally, her comment section applauded her work, with one person calling it “by far one of the best IKEA hacks [they’ve] seen on this app.” And another wrote, “THANK YOU. I have been searching high and low for an affordable DIY for a marble top. I love this damn app.” Based on the 1.2 million views and more than 36,000 likes, it’s safe to say plenty agree with these assessments.