There's nothing worse than walking into a furniture store, falling in love with a piece, and then coming down with a severe case of sticker shock. Luckily, IKEA offers stylish pieces that are readily available on a budget and can serve as foundations for your own stylish versions of pricier pieces. Check out our favorite IKEA hacks from around the web to inspire your next home improvement project.
Wallpapered Coffee Table
Living Pretty transformed IKEA’s $39 Lack Coffee Table with a pretty wallpaper print and decorative nails. This is a simple and cost-effective way to create an interesting design element in your living room. Find the full how-to on Living Pretty.
Ottoman
As if we weren’t already obsessed enough with the Vittsjo nesting table from IKEA. We knew it was sweet, but we never envisioned just how versatile it could be. Krys Melo of Melodrama used the larger table to create a cocktail ottoman. All you need is a bit of gold spray paint, a yard of 2″-thick foam and some fabric. Check out the step-by-step directions here.
Storage Island
Jordan from XO, Jordan created this amazing island using cube shelves and a granite slab, all for under $260. Put it in your closet to organize knickknacks or use it as a craft table—the options are endless.
Midcentury Modern Coffee Table
Triple Max Tons revamped IKEA’s $39 Lack Coffee Table into a midcentury modern masterpiece. Find out how here.
Campaign-Style Dresser
Amy from Homey Oh My! gave this boring black dresser an update with a bit of spray paint and gold hardware, turning it into a campaign-style dresser that will be a focal piece in any room. Follow the full tutorial here.
Leopard-Print Chair
Jenny of the blog Little Green Notebook re-created a leopard-print chair with an IKEA slipcover and her Sharpie. How cool is that? See more images here.
Dining Room Cabinets
Create dining room storage and serving space with a long shelving unit. All it takes are a few of IKEA's Akurum Cabinets, pulls, and a top piece of wood, granite, or tile. Find the full tutorial on Made By Girl.
Driftwood Lamp
Spice up the look of an IKEA lamp—most are $10-20—with driftwood. Who knew a few wood sticks could make a basic lamp look like a million bucks? Find the full tutorial on IKEA Hackers.
Wallpapered Bookcases
Add wallpaper backing to plain white bookcases. A Full House of Sunshine took the Billy Bookcase from IKEA and gave it eye-catching appeal. Find the full tutorial here.
Reclaimed Wood Shelves
Norwegian design blog Bolig Pluss took a simple IKEA Expedit Shelf and made it into a movable, rustic unit with the help of reclaimed wood. All you need is a handful of screws, a few power tools, and some wheels.
Custom Bar Cart
Bar carts are the home accessory these days, but the truly great ones can be pricey. Turn a simple metal laptop table ($39) from IKEA into a stylish bar cart in just seven easy steps. Find out how the folks behind Style Me Pretty created this one.
Bargain-Price Desk
Get organized on the cheap with this quick and easy hack from Pretty Providence. Sarah used two small shelves from Target as the legs and screwed them to a desktop from IKEA. This DIY is super easy to customize to your taste by swapping out colors and levels of shelves and picking the top from their wide selection. See the full tutorial here.
Gold Shelving Unit
Create your own set of gold étagère shelves with this easy DIY Vittsjo shelving unit from For Chic Sake. Customize to fit your color scheme, and mix up the materials used for the shelves. Check out the steps here.
Farmhouse Table
Farm tables are having a huge moment in home decor but typically require a flexible budget and a pretty chunk of change. Create your own with this DIY from East Coast Creative using two Ingo tables from IKEA—just $69 each!—some plywood, and the finish of your choice.
