10 Ikea Hacks That Are Borderline Genius
Create a luxe look on a basic budget with these clever Ikea hacks
Victoria Harrison
17 October 2016
Editor, Houzz UK and Ireland
Tired of your existing furniture and keen to give it a more personal twist? Be inspired by these smart Ikea hacks and see what you can create with a small budget and a big helping of creativity. From elevated units to bespoke bedroom storage, these furniture upgrades will have you asking, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
Refresh with a pastel twist
The owner of this stylish home in San Francisco has transformed a simple pine Rast chest of drawers into a pretty, vintage-inspired piece thanks to a couple of coats of paint and some fancy new handles.
Painting each drawer a different colour and mixing up glass, ceramic and brass handles creates something unique, while the use of toning rose pink and peachy coral shades ensures a cohesive look.
The owner of this stylish home in San Francisco has transformed a simple pine Rast chest of drawers into a pretty, vintage-inspired piece thanks to a couple of coats of paint and some fancy new handles.
Painting each drawer a different colour and mixing up glass, ceramic and brass handles creates something unique, while the use of toning rose pink and peachy coral shades ensures a cohesive look.
Give a unit a bespoke finish
A low-level TV unit adds a refined air to this Dutch home thanks to the light-coloured wood top, which is actually a scaffold board cut to size.
Designed by the homeowners in collaboration with local company Steigerhout en Zo, it’s an elegant hack that transforms this plain white Besta storage unit into something special.
If you’re not confident about doing this yourself, a local carpenter of builder should be able to recreate this unit for you.
Find the right people to help with your project in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
A low-level TV unit adds a refined air to this Dutch home thanks to the light-coloured wood top, which is actually a scaffold board cut to size.
Designed by the homeowners in collaboration with local company Steigerhout en Zo, it’s an elegant hack that transforms this plain white Besta storage unit into something special.
If you’re not confident about doing this yourself, a local carpenter of builder should be able to recreate this unit for you.
Find the right people to help with your project in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Elevate a humble chest of drawers
This also started life as a pine Rast unit and it’s been upcycled beyond recognition by design blogger Kristin of Bliss at Home. The carcass has been painted crisp white and the drawer fronts bright yellow, and a white, crackle-effect overlay has been added to the front of each drawer, along with a smart brass handle.
The stroke of genius, though, is the elevation of the entire unit thanks to the addition of wood and brass legs. This unit was originally designed to sit on the floor, so the base has been strengthened and a set of four legs added, transforming it from a basic unit into an elegant piece of furniture.
Don’t have the time to do this, but keen to have something similar? Try artists and craftspeople in your area.
This also started life as a pine Rast unit and it’s been upcycled beyond recognition by design blogger Kristin of Bliss at Home. The carcass has been painted crisp white and the drawer fronts bright yellow, and a white, crackle-effect overlay has been added to the front of each drawer, along with a smart brass handle.
The stroke of genius, though, is the elevation of the entire unit thanks to the addition of wood and brass legs. This unit was originally designed to sit on the floor, so the base has been strengthened and a set of four legs added, transforming it from a basic unit into an elegant piece of furniture.
Don’t have the time to do this, but keen to have something similar? Try artists and craftspeople in your area.
Upgrade your kitchen
Yes, this is an Ikea kitchen, albeit one that’s had quite a design makeover. Homeowner Beth, an interior designer, and her partner, hacked the Metod kitchen in their London home by painting the units sage grey and fitting new handles, then topping the lot with honed marble work surfaces. The result is a beautifully bespoke painted kitchen without the bespoke price tag.
Beth also painted the wall panelling in the adjoining dining room in the same colour as the kitchen units for a cohesive look.
A kitchen designer or fitter should be able to do this for you – find one local to you on Houzz.
Yes, this is an Ikea kitchen, albeit one that’s had quite a design makeover. Homeowner Beth, an interior designer, and her partner, hacked the Metod kitchen in their London home by painting the units sage grey and fitting new handles, then topping the lot with honed marble work surfaces. The result is a beautifully bespoke painted kitchen without the bespoke price tag.
Beth also painted the wall panelling in the adjoining dining room in the same colour as the kitchen units for a cohesive look.
A kitchen designer or fitter should be able to do this for you – find one local to you on Houzz.
Treat your feet
How much thought have you given to the legs of your sofa? Consider taking a second glance, as an upgrade could transform the look of your living room. This Soderhamn sofa has gone from ‘off the shelf’ to ‘bespoke’ in a flash thanks to the black and gold legs that have been swapped in to replace the standard slim metal ones.
There are numerous shops now that are dedicated to offering beautiful drawer pulls, table legs and even cupboard fronts to pimp your flatpack furniture, so take a look and see what you can upgrade.
How much thought have you given to the legs of your sofa? Consider taking a second glance, as an upgrade could transform the look of your living room. This Soderhamn sofa has gone from ‘off the shelf’ to ‘bespoke’ in a flash thanks to the black and gold legs that have been swapped in to replace the standard slim metal ones.
There are numerous shops now that are dedicated to offering beautiful drawer pulls, table legs and even cupboard fronts to pimp your flatpack furniture, so take a look and see what you can upgrade.
Cheat a built-in cupboard
A bespoke run of units behind the sofa gives this Dutch living room a smart, pulled-together look. But rather than splash out on a custom-built piece of furniture, the designer actually made this by pushing three white Billy bookcases together and customising them with half-height doors across the top. Simple, but very effective.
A bespoke run of units behind the sofa gives this Dutch living room a smart, pulled-together look. But rather than splash out on a custom-built piece of furniture, the designer actually made this by pushing three white Billy bookcases together and customising them with half-height doors across the top. Simple, but very effective.
Add colour and character
If you only have a couple of hours in which to upgrade a piece of furniture on a weekend, painting the fronts on a chest of drawers is a great way to bring a bit of personality to a unit.
This Tarva chest of drawers was upcycled by the same homeowner as the first, pastel pink unit and it has similarities in style. But while the pink unit has a mismatched charm, this has a crisp, nautical feel thanks to bands of navy, white and sky blue teamed with crisp brass drawer pulls and smart ceramic handles.
If you only have a couple of hours in which to upgrade a piece of furniture on a weekend, painting the fronts on a chest of drawers is a great way to bring a bit of personality to a unit.
This Tarva chest of drawers was upcycled by the same homeowner as the first, pastel pink unit and it has similarities in style. But while the pink unit has a mismatched charm, this has a crisp, nautical feel thanks to bands of navy, white and sky blue teamed with crisp brass drawer pulls and smart ceramic handles.
Create a bespoke wardrobe
Think this looks like a bespoke wardrobe? Think again. The designer of this home created this wraparound bedroom storage by utilising the two existing wardrobes either side of the bed and filling the space in-between with a row of Besta cabinets.
By adding a slim picture ledge underneath and two wall-mounted lights, they created the perfect storage solution for a small bedroom.
Think this looks like a bespoke wardrobe? Think again. The designer of this home created this wraparound bedroom storage by utilising the two existing wardrobes either side of the bed and filling the space in-between with a row of Besta cabinets.
By adding a slim picture ledge underneath and two wall-mounted lights, they created the perfect storage solution for a small bedroom.
Reboot with new handles
Looking for a quick furniture hack to refresh your kitchen? It doesn’t get easier than upgrading your door handles. The design-savvy owner of this home swapped the standard door knobs on the Hemnes cabinet with custom-designed leather pulls for an instant style upgrade.
Looking for a quick furniture hack to refresh your kitchen? It doesn’t get easier than upgrading your door handles. The design-savvy owner of this home swapped the standard door knobs on the Hemnes cabinet with custom-designed leather pulls for an instant style upgrade.
Bring in some bling
Can you guess what this looked like before it was transformed into this smart gloss and gold TV unit? Believe it or not, it used to be two pine Rast units (yes, it’s the Rast again).
The homeowner took them up a level by painting them with a high-gloss black lacquer and adding detailed gold drawer pulls. They were pushed together and a carpenter designed a low box unit for the top to house TV boxes, wires and remote controls.
Tell us…
What do you think of these furniture hacks? Let us know in the Comments section.
Can you guess what this looked like before it was transformed into this smart gloss and gold TV unit? Believe it or not, it used to be two pine Rast units (yes, it’s the Rast again).
The homeowner took them up a level by painting them with a high-gloss black lacquer and adding detailed gold drawer pulls. They were pushed together and a carpenter designed a low box unit for the top to house TV boxes, wires and remote controls.
Tell us…
What do you think of these furniture hacks? Let us know in the Comments section.
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