The best IKEA Hacks to update your home
We’ve all got a piece of IKEA furniture sticking out like a sore thumb in a well-curated room. It’s time to get hacking 🛠
Sophia’s IKEA PAX wardrobe looks unrecognisable 🧐
Best Places to Find Furniture to Upcycle
The smart and responsible way to nail an interior trend is to invest in pre-loved furniture, or even better, utilise something you already have. Once you've found your starting piece, don’t forget to download our free home renovation planner to guide you through your DIY tasks 📝In the exciting world of upcycling, treasures aren't limited to expensive antique finds. With a little imagination and elbow grease, you can even uncover hidden potential in a budget-friendly IKEA piece, using our recommended IKEA hacks to turn it into a unique and personalised masterpiece. Creativity knows no price tag – so what are you waiting for?
The likes of Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, charity shops and reclamation yards are your friend when it comes to amazing secondhand finds for upcycling, including IKEA furniture – they’re much cheaper and more socially responsible than buying new.You might even be living in a hotbed of second hand furniture. Here are the UK’s top thrifty cities, based on the number of charity shops and reclamation yards, second hand item listings and Google Search data in each city (September, 2023). Norwich, we're coming to scour your vintage stores 👀
In data: The UK’s Thriftiest Cities 🏙️
Why hack IKEA furniture? 🧰
You’ve secured your bargain, must-have furniture from IKEA. The next hurdle? Helping it look at home. Whether you’re introducing a hefty IKEA PAX wardrobe into your bedroom, or a practical MALM desk for your home office, you’ll want your furniture to complement your design scheme, and stand out from the IKEA crowd 💥Often simple and neutral, IKEA furniture is the best base for re-imagining. So, roll up your sleeves, reach for your tool box and let’s start DIY’ing your IKEA furniture. With different pieces of furniture comes different possibilities. It gets even more complicated when you’ve got a home full of IKEA furniture. You'll have to approach an IKEA MALM hack differently to a PAX hack. With a lot of DIY methods to choose from and different furniture to tackle, we're here to make your life easier 😌Here’s a run-down of the most game-changing IKEA hacks, talking one piece of furniture at a time.
PAX Wardrobe 👚
We've all personalised an IKEA PAX wardrobe for our bedroom. Though, we'll often neglect the exterior. With plenty of real estate to work with, this is your chance to get creative 🖌Get that built-in look by slotting in old TV cabinets above your PAX, like @houseproject_36. Then, add cladding, a fresh coat of paint and a handful of BECKERs. Colour drench your PAX in a warm pink to make a statement, or keep it simple with a splash of colour. Top it all off with some trend-led hardware, and your IKEA PAX hack will look fire 🔥
Kitchen cabinets 🍴
An IKEA kitchen is cheap n’ cheerful, though can often use a facelift.If you've an IKEA laminate kitchen, use a heat gun to remove the laminate, before you get painting. Re-do the splashback and tiles, if you want your kitchen to look brand new. Add kitchen hardware, like WATT and LOVELL, to effortlessly complete the look. Just watch Soph of @diydoctorsoph pull it off 👏Installed a new IKEA oak kitchen and want to glow it up? Eye-catching hardware will do the trick. Keep it cohesive by opting for a sleek kitchen mixer tap. Style to your heart's desire and remember to add luxe finishing touches, like our FOLD Soap Holder 🧼
MALM Dressing table 💄
Got a classic MALM table lying around? It's time for an IKEA desk hack, whether that's for a practical home office or a chic dressing table in the bedroom. The possibilities are endless, when you dress up MALM 👗Jazz-up plain drawer fronts with decorative moulding and paint the entire dressing table a dark, daring colour. Brass hardware will complete the monochrome look 🏁Alternatively, keep your MALM’s elegant white colour, and paint your moulding to match. Place a thin glass top on your dressing table, to both protect and elevate your furniture 👌
This IKEA desk hack couldn’t look more chic 💅
BILLY Bookcase 📚
A standard for storage, from books to decor, you can get creative with where you place BILLY. Just help BILLY blend in with his surroundings 🖌 If your BILLY bookcase has cabinets, pimp them up with floral wallpaper and introduce statement hardware, like Sam of @ourcambridgehome_. Or, build a useful unit with BILLY's help. Put your bookcase to better use in your home office, by sitting it atop your desk. Got an ever-growing collection of alcohol? Stack your IKEA BILLY bookcase on a countertop dividing a couple cabinets and a mini-fridge. Now you have a home cocktail bar with plenty of storage 🍾
HEMNES storage 🛏
We all need storage by our bedside, for those late-night reading sessions or to stand our trusty alarm clock. You can make your bedside table a practical feature of your bedroom, with a lil’ bit of creativity 👩🎨Hack your way to a high-end HEMNES chest of drawers, by cutting out the fronts and introducing rattan. LUDLOW makes for a sleek finishing touch. If you’ve a smaller bedside table with a single drawer, apply paint and secure a small sheet of rattan webbing to the fronts, for that cosy, cottagecore look 👩🌾
BESTA Cabinet 💥
A storage cabinet is a must in the bedroom, living room – you name it. Whether your BESTA’s got cabinets or drawers, this is your chance to pull off a high-end hack 💅Melanie’s hack looks magazine-worthy, thanks to some well-cut moulding and a coat of lilac paint – a now trending colour. If you couldn't tell already, rattan is a fan favourite, and looks the BEST-A on @crack_the_shutters’ hack. She elevated the look with brass feet and brass cabinet hardware to match 🌠
IKEA PS Cabinet 🌿
A lesser known IKEA piece, though with plenty of character, the PS console cabinet has plenty of potential to make a statement in your home 🌟
Xin primed and painted her hand-me-down, to then top it off with PLANE Knobs. That makes the ultimate sideboard for her living room. Not got an IKEA PS cabinet? You can easily apply this hack to any steel sideboard.Get hackin’ 🔧
You should now feel confident to re-invent your IKEA furniture, one-by-one.Not spotted your IKEA furniture? Be sure to bookmark this article and check in later, as we’ll be keeping this updated with the latest, inspiring IKEA projects completed by our community. Who knows what’s to come 🤷♀️Be sure to browse our range of hardware for IKEA hacks. With trend-led designs manufactured with high-quality materials, you’re bound to find the right hardware to suit your interior style and make your IKEA furniture look a million bucks 💰Whether an IKEA desk hack or PAX hack, we have to see it. Remember to film the full transformation and before hitting publish on socials, tag us at @plankhardware 🏷
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