This IKEA Hack Will Transform Your Lighting (It’s Only $20!)

I firmly believe that nothing makes or breaks a room quite like lighting. But lamps and other light sources don’t come cheap, especially if you want them to look stylish and add personality to the room as well. Luckily, there’s a solution: IKEA hacks.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new ideas for lighting, and while scrolling Instagram recently, I stumbled across one of the prettiest lights I’ve seen, which turned out to be an easy IKEA hack. Using IKEA’s ACKJA table lamp and some disposable wooden spoons (yes, really!), blogger Luisa (@schereleimpapier) created a light that resembles a beautiful lotus flower in full bloom.

The ACKJA lamp isn’t one of IKEA’s better-known light offerings, perhaps because of the shiny steel finish’s strong industrial vibes. But with Luisa’s clever twist on it, gone are the industrial vibes (if that’s not your thing) and instead you’re left with a gorgeous desk, bedside, or side table lamp, all for around $20.

To create this, Luisa first took the light apart and sprayed it a creamy white hue. Next, she cut off the handles of her wooden spoons, leaving just a small bit of the handle for gluing. Starting from the top of the light, she glued the trimmed spoons on to the light, layering them until the entire top half of the light was covered. 

The final result is a pretty, organic looking lamp that’ll definitely have everyone asking where you got it from. It also creates a soft, ethereal glow with the light reflecting through the spoons, which is different from most over lamps on the market. 

Not only is this hack easy, gorgeous, and budget-friendly, it’s also incredibly adaptable. You can use any color combination of your choice — from pastels to neons, no color is off-limits. You could even create a dual- or triple-toned lamp by painting the spoons in different hues or by contrasting the tone of the lamp with the spoons. The color possibilities are truly endless!