Budget Home Hacks Hiding in the IKEA 2019 Catalog

Look past all the stylish and affordable furniture and accessories in the new 2019 IKEA catalog, and you’ll also see some pretty smart and awesomely affordable decorating ideas as well. Get inspired by these design-savvy home hacks hiding in those glossy pages, all of which are very doable on a very small budget.

Since this is most definitely a catalog shoot, chances are very, very good that you’re not looking at actual board and batten on the walls. But it proves how easy you can add visual interest to your space with a few furring strips, or other inexpensive wood pieces, painted the same color as the walls.

Grouping like items makes a large statement, and can fill a blank space for very little money. Here, it’s a series of inexpensive paper lanterns strung together from the ceiling, but you can do this with just about anything at home.

Mirrors make small, dark rooms appear larger and brighter than they actually are. If you don’t want to pay for (or haul) one huge breakable piece, construct one big mirror out of a series smaller ones. It might take a bit to hang them in an orderly fashion, but the impact will be huge. The IKEA designers went for an ultra-maximalist look here, but I’ll argue it’s even more powerful with only a few items in the room.

If you’re in a rental, or don’t want to pay for a professional to run new electrical wire through your home, hang basic off-the-shelf fixtures nearby your existing outlets. These architecture lamps are not only inexpensive, but they add a nice sculptural element to this modern kitchen. It helps if the cords are the same color as the walls, for maximum camouflage.

With one very smart move, you can make your space feel more spacious. Hang curtains up near the ceiling, and it tricks the eye into thinking that ceilings are much taller than they actually are, and windows appear larger than reality. In the photo above, the fabric is the same color as the walls, which also makes everything appear seamless.

For a quick and inexpensive update, lean some painted plywood panels against the wall. It’s a great way to define a space and add some easy shape and color, without taking up a lot of space—especially good for renters who don’t want to risk their security deposit. The rounded panels above break up all the room’s rectangles, and its beige-ness. But you could also use fabric stapled to a large empty wooden frame or stretcher bars made for art canvases.