Our Favorite IKEA Hacks

IKEA hacks have been around for as long as IKEA. These popular home decor and furniture upgrades are great for DIYers and homeowners looking to personalize their space on a budget.

From Billy to Built-In

The IKEA Billy Bookcases are a cult favorite for good reason. The Billy Bookcase is easy to transform into a built-in. Custom built-ins are expensive and can break the bank if you're not careful. Using the Billy Bookcase as a start for your built-ins can save you time, money, and labor.

You will need some extra wood and paint to make these bookcases blend seamlessly with the walls, but trust us, it is possible to fool your friends and neighbors with this budget-conscious flip.

Ooh, La La for the Ivar Cabinet

The Ivar Cabinet at IKEA is a beautiful blank slate. You can paint or stain it, add pulls or knobs, or even add new textures, colors, or patterns. Textured MDF goes a long way on the front of a cabinet like this.

Our favorite Ivar Cabinet flip involves a little color blocking and adding some long legs to give it a little bit of height and dynamics. You can tackle this DIY in an afternoon. All you need is paint, four legs from a hardware store or Amazon, and a drill and screws. Stain the top two-thirds of your cabinet and paint the bottom third. Add knobs and paint the legs to match. It's a simple flip that brings a big impact.

Stools and Stands

IKEA's inventory boasts lots of stools: wood stools, plastic stools, even stools for kids. There are two ways we love to see IKEA stools hacked. A simple paint job can give your dining room a custom stool look you can't find anywhere else. If you know how to sew, you can add a custom cushion to the stool to further complete the look. Adding a pad to the stools is relatively inexpensive and only requires a quick trip to a craft store for supplies.

A simple paint job can also transform a stool into a really unique plant stand. Use textured paint (acrylic with baking soda), chalk paint, or even wall plaster to give the stools new textures. Or use a matte spray paint to quickly cover the plastic or wood. Saw the legs down on one or two stools to create varying heights. Fill a sunny corner of your home with these simple plant stands for a look straight out of a magazine.

A Tisket, A Tasket

IKEA sells a few different woven baskets that we've seen flipped into hanging light pendants. This hack is ultra-easy and only requires a rope, a basket, and a puck light. Puck lights are remote-controlled, battery-operated lights that can be glued to the inside of a basket, simulating the look of a real light.

Take your basket and doctor it up however you'd like. Paint it, stain it, cut the handles off. Once your basket is looking great, take a strong adhesive glue and attach a rope, cord, or chain to the top. This will simulate the look of a real hanging light. After you've attached the rope, attach your light to the inside of the basket and test it to make sure that it turns on.

You can attach this to your ceiling in a few different ways. You can go as complex or as simple as you want, but if you're renting, we recommend using a command hook and a faux light plate cover.

If that all sounds like too much work, you might just want to spring for one of IKEAs own pendant lights, like the affordable Knixhult.

Honorable Mentions

If you're in the mood to dream up a flip that fits your house, here are a few other IKEA items that are popular among the DIY community: the spice racks, the Tarva dresser, the Hemnes dresser, IKEA picture frames (which come in unique sizes), and the Lack table. And though we haven't seen a lot of DIYs revolving around it, the Bekvan Trolley remains a personal favorite around here.

Personalizing space doesn't have to break the bank. Head to your local IKEA to see what you can create using a few of your DIY skills.