When it comes to furnishing your living room, IKEA is a go-to destination for many. With its affordable prices and stylish designs, IKEA furniture is a popular choice for those looking to create a comfortable and functional living space.
But there’s the risk of your living room looking like an IKEA showroom if you use mainly IKEA furniture. With a little creativity and a few DIY skills, you can take your IKEA furniture to the next level and perhaps even get a few people saying, “I can’t believe it’s IKEA!”
From easy IKEA hacks like adding new legs to your sofa to creating custom built-in storage solutions, there are so many fabulous ways to tweak your IKEA pieces into pieces that are uniquely you.
In this page, you’ll find some of the best IKEA living room hacks to inspire your own DIY projects and help you create a space that’s both stylish and functional.
The initial plan was to have floor to ceiling alcove units next to the fireplace so Claire hacked two IKEA BRUSALI cabinets and placed them on the left and right. …
BILLY built-in living room shelves get a gorgeous makeover. Claire hacked her BILLY bookcases earlier this year (you can see it here). And while we still love her it, Claire…
IKEA hacks and ideas to give your living room a fresh update. It’s a new season and you’re looking for inspiration and ideas to update your IKEA living room. You’re…
Stylish film projector mount and bookshelf I have been looking for a way to integrate my home cinema projector into my living room. I wanted it to be a stylish…
IKEA TARVA dressers are affordable, durable, and easy to construct, making them one of the Swedish manufacturer’s most popular products. TARVA dressers seamlessly combine simple designs with untreated solid wood,…
A couple of years ago, I had a dead Ash tree cut down and the trunk cut into planks. At the time I thought it might be nice to make…
Two pine cabinets makes one awesome sunburst cabinet. We had just moved into our new home and we needed nightstands for our bedroom. I had a vision of what I…
I decided to hack the EKET units as I’ve been desperate to use some pole wrap in an IKEA hack. Furthermore, I wanted to add some curved edges to the…
The IKEA LACK side table is as “IKEA” as it gets. Minimal. Particleboard exterior. “Honeycomb” interior. Easy to assemble. The IKEA LACK side table (21 5/8″ x 21 5/8″ x 17…
The most popular small table from IKEA is the LACK side table. But it isn’t always ideal in terms of style, size and storage. Greg hacked his own small side…
We had the opportunity to rent an apartment in Tampa to be near family. Since this was a second residence for us, we had to purchase most of the furniture.…
If you are familiar with TikTok, you definitely have seen a version of this DIY tile table that went viral. I think the IKEA LACK side table is the perfect…
Upcycling at its best. We wanted to have a heavy rustic wooden table, with only two or three pieces of wood glued together. This style fits our house and other…
I wanted a small, portable table that I could use to put my food and drinks on when sitting in my garden. As I would use it only occasionally, I…
See Through Room Divider that doesn’t block the view. In our 1960s house, the Dining Area and Lounge are one open space that seemed to beg for some separation. I wanted to keep the Lounge’s…
We used the IKEA KALLAX modules to build a room divider with a desk. The main structure is a KALLAX 4×4 unit propped up by two 1×2 KALLAX units. Together they work perfectly as a…
BILLY bookcases are awesome as walls for a temporary room. Working from home is becoming a reality for more and more people. But not everyone has the luxury of a dedicated room for a home…
It took me almost a year to figure it out. I sent a help request in 2019 but here is my attempt at a renter-friendly room divider. You can get this up by only drilling…
This is our hack of the PINNIG coat rack and shoe bench into an indoor plant room divider. Which we now call “The Pinnig Sprout Screen”. Backstory We have always wanted a room divider to have clear…
Hello Everybody! I am very excited to share with this community and everybody what I have done in my little apartment in hopes to help others who may have the same problem that I had.…
BILLY may be the king of built-in bookcases but don’t be quick to dismiss the other IKEA bookshelves that can work just as beautifully. Matthew’s choice is the LIATORP half-panel-glass-door…
Katja Nordkvist is a DIY enthusiast who recently completed an impressive hack of IKEA KNOXHULT cabinets and BILLY bookcases. She transformed these basic pieces into custom built-in bookshelves that showcase…
I wanted to have shelving and storage in my home office. It would be highly visible in my video conference calls so I wanted it to look “built in”. The IKEA…
We wanted to create the perfect playroom/snug for our growing boys, where they could easily find all of their toys and books, but also relax and watch movies together with their friends. But we were…
Get your secret room with a DIY murphy door that’s easy on the pocket. I wanted to create an attractive door for my spare room/ office space because I often…
BILLY built-in living room shelves get a gorgeous makeover. Claire hacked her BILLY bookcases earlier this year (you can see it here). And while we still love her it, Claire…
An ottoman is a versatile piece of furniture that can be used as a footrest, extra seating, or coffee table. It typically has a padded top and may have storage…
Our cats had basically destroyed this poor couch (see photo of side arm) and we’d already decided that it was time to change it out. I had even posted it…
I’m coming back with what I love the most, giving makeovers to old stuff and making them not just nicer but also giving them a new purpose. I had an…
First things first, I wouldn’t have been able to do this Double POÄNG without looking at a previous Triple POÄNG article by Ian Fish. Mine is similar, but different at…
Scripto took the KOARP armchair with a metal frame and give it a warm, mid-century modern style. The end result looks like a designer armchair at a fraction of the…
Bet you never knew your sofa armrests were prime storage space. Ok, so the guys at IKEA are the masters of hidden / secret storage everywhere. In fact, one of…
An ottoman is a versatile piece of furniture that can be used as a footrest, extra seating, or coffee table. It typically has a padded top and may have storage space inside. Ottomans come in various shapes, sizes, and styles, making them a popular choice for any room in the…
BILLY may be the king of built-in bookcases but don’t be quick to dismiss the other IKEA bookshelves that can work just as beautifully. Matthew’s choice is the LIATORP half-panel-glass-door combo. The delicate shapes and details of the IKEA LIATORP series evoke a sense of country living. The door is…
The IKEA LACK side table is as “IKEA” as it gets. Minimal. Particleboard exterior. “Honeycomb” interior. Easy to assemble. The IKEA LACK side table (21 5/8″ x 21 5/8″ x 17 3/4″) sells for $16.99. Not too long ago, IKEA started producing a smaller side table (13 3/4″ x 13 3/4″)…
Katja Nordkvist is a DIY enthusiast who recently completed an impressive hack of IKEA KNOXHULT cabinets and BILLY bookcases. She transformed these basic pieces into custom built-in bookshelves that showcase her decorative items. What I love about it is the closed storage cabinets at the base and open shelving at…
When Karolina moved from a small studio to a newly built house, the construction ate up most of her renovation budget. That pushed her to learn how to update the look of her old furniture and furnish her new home affordably. The DIY projects grew from a need to a…
IKEA TARVA dressers are affordable, durable, and easy to construct, making them one of the Swedish manufacturer’s most popular products. TARVA dressers seamlessly combine simple designs with untreated solid wood, creating a blank canvas that works well with other styles and IKEA furniture items. Currently, there are 3 TARVA dressers…
A couple of years ago, I had a dead Ash tree cut down and the trunk cut into planks. At the time I thought it might be nice to make a live-edge Ash fireplace mantle, or counter top, so the idea was in the back of my mind when I…
I wanted to have shelving and storage in my home office. It would be highly visible in my video conference calls so I wanted it to look “built in”. The IKEA KALLAX unit fit perfectly into this space but I did not want it to look like a standard IKEA because…
We wanted to create the perfect playroom/snug for our growing boys, where they could easily find all of their toys and books, but also relax and watch movies together with their friends. But we were quoted over £3,500 for bespoke cabinets. We couldn’t justify the cost, so decided to try an IKEA hack. IKEA items…
Two pine cabinets makes one awesome sunburst cabinet. We had just moved into our new home and we needed nightstands for our bedroom. I had a vision of what I wanted and after looking for it for months I decided I would try to make it myself. So I bought…
I decided to hack the EKET units as I’ve been desperate to use some pole wrap in an IKEA hack. Furthermore, I wanted to add some curved edges to the EKET units. And pole wrap allows you to do that! Here’s a before-after shot. Before and after: DIY IKEA sideboard…
The IKEA GRANÅS chairs in metal are sturdy dining chairs that will probably last you a long long time. The only thing that fails is most likely the woven seat. The seats in straw lends to the rustic vibe but straw will fall apart in time. What do you do…
Get your secret room with a DIY murphy door that’s easy on the pocket. I wanted to create an attractive door for my spare room/ office space because I often have the door closed. It’s a small space and it tends to look cluttered. My dream was to have a…
I wanted to install a number of BESTÅ cabinets along the wall behind my couch, but I needed to have easy access to one of the double cabinets from the end, which was going to be directly behind the couch. The normal cabinet doors would be placed like normal, but…
I moved recently and needed a new furniture set for the living room. High on the list was an out-of-sight home office workstation that flowed with the living room layout. My requirements for the project: – TV unit, sideboard and bar in same look and feel- hidden workspace for teleworking-…
The most popular small table from IKEA is the LACK side table. But it isn’t always ideal in terms of style, size and storage. Greg hacked his own small side table from items he found in the IKEA As-Is. Just as easy as assembling a LACK. #1 Small table from…
The initial plan was to have floor to ceiling alcove units next to the fireplace so Claire hacked two IKEA BRUSALI cabinets and placed them on the left and right. The problem arose when it came to add the open shelving on top. The BRUSALI had been discontinued (aren’t we…
We had the opportunity to rent an apartment in Tampa to be near family. Since this was a second residence for us, we had to purchase most of the furniture. We, of course, headed first to the local IKEA, but then we fell in love with an entertainment center (not…
BILLY built-in living room shelves get a gorgeous makeover. Claire hacked her BILLY bookcases earlier this year (you can see it here). And while we still love her it, Claire got bored with the style and decided to revamp the entire set using pastel paints and postal tubes. Tubes? A…
If you are familiar with TikTok, you definitely have seen a version of this DIY tile table that went viral. I think the IKEA LACK side table is the perfect size for this hack. IKEA items used: IKEA LACK side table Other materials and tools: 2×2″ tiles (9 sheets 12×12″)Tile adhesive…