Fantastic IKEA Storage Hacks You Totally Need to See

Written by

Nancy Mitchell
Nancy Mitchell
As a former Senior Writer at Apartment Therapy, Nancy split her time among looking at beautiful pictures, writing about design, and photographing stylish apartments in and around NYC.
published Mar 19, 2017
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: September Edit)

Most people think of storage pieces as a bit of a necessary evil. Nobody gets excited about chests of drawers or towel bars — or do they? We love a good IKEA hack, and we especially love IKEA hacks that turn hardworking furniture that expands the storage capacity of your space into a statement piece that makes the room. The result of these projects is the best of all possible worlds — furniture that’s budget-friendly, functional, and also beautiful.

(Image credit: September Edit)

Above, an IVAR unit gets a natural upgrade with some cane webbing. September Edit thinks it speaks to the “rattan, wooden furniture, bamboo, warm notes and craftsmanship” trend that is here to stay for awhile.

(Image credit: Preciously Me)

This gorgeous IKEA MALM hack is also incredibly simple — all it requires is a knife and a little bit of contact paper. Find the full instructions at Preciously Me.

(Image credit: Style at Home)

For this IKEA desk hack, the ALEX desktop gets a bit of a boost from a LINNMON tabletop. Find the full instructions at Style at Home.

The humble IKEA RAST has been made over in a huge variety of ways, but I think this might be my favorite: a bit of wallpaper on the drawers, plus a coordinating paint job and shiny brass pulls. Get the full instructions at Good Housekeeping.

(Image credit: Livet Hemma)

Here’s a simple but eye-catching DIY from Livet Hemma: an EKBY shelf, hung from leather straps attached to the wall.

(Image credit: Sweet Magnolia)

Catarina from Sweet Magnolia transformed this IVAR cabinet with the help of some legs and a couple coats of paint.

(Image credit: Paul Svera)

Here’s another IVAR cabinet hack, from Paul Svera. The secret to this one? Metallic tape, which gives this humble cabinet a luxe-modern look (and is even easier than painting).

(Image credit: Your DIY Family)

A few simple changes: leaving the backing piece out, adding a little gold spray paint — make this HJÄLMAREN towel rail look like a much more expensive piece. Find the full instructions from Your DIY Family.

Sometimes some legs are all it takes. This ALEX cabinet looks like a million bucks, thanks to the addition of some midcentury-style legs (the jaunty angle is a nice touch). From Layna Duggan, via her Instagram.

Looking for more IKEA hacks?

-Re-edited from a post originally published 3/19/2017 – DF