IKEA Living Room Hacks

Image

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.

Most Popular Posts on Living Rooms

Take ordinary IKEA furniture and transform them into something extraordinary. From custom built-ins to clever hidden work spaces, these living rooms showcase the creativity and ingenuity of IKEA hackers.

Whether you're looking to add some personality to your space or simply want to make the most of your IKEA furniture, these living room hacks are sure to inspire. So why not take a closer look and see how you can create a space that's stylish and functional?

Jump directly to these categories:
Bookshelves Sideboards Room Dividers

Living Room Storage

The wonder of IKEA hacking! Take IKEA furniture and modify them to fit your specific needs and space requirements.

You not only create a storage system that's tailored to your living room and the items you need to store, but also seamlessly match your style and taste.
Nailhead Console Table: An entryway table luxe upgrade

Nailhead Console Table: An entryway table luxe upgrade

The size of the IKEA LACK console table is right…

Angled wardrobe door for closet or sewing cabinet

Angled wardrobe door for closet or sewing cabinet

The problem with most of the walls in my apartment…

Stunning Nautical Ikea Rast Hack for the Beach House Lover

Stunning Nautical Ikea Rast Hack for the Beach House Lover

IKEA items used: Ikea Rast I recently decorated my sons…

NORDLI hack: Drawers hiding useful tables

NORDLI hack: Drawers hiding useful tables

IKEA items used: IKEA Nordli modular drawer chest A simple…

Load More

Coffee table and side table hacks

IKEA coffee table hacks are very popular on IKEA hackers. They are smaller DIY projects and a great starting point if you're beginning your DIY journey. But they are no less amazing. Here are some popular IKEA coffee table hacks.
Coffee table for me and my dog!

Coffee table for me and my dog!

2 coffee table LACK, Size : 35x22x18″ 2 GURLI Cushion…

From bed slats to coffee table to bookcase

From bed slats to coffee table to bookcase

I love the pine wood slat from IKEA … it…

LACK-LINMON Coffee table with added height

LACK-LINMON Coffee table with added height

Materials: Lack 90×55, Linnmon top 120×60 and 4 Capita legs…

Lack Coffee table Remix

Lack Coffee table Remix

Coffee table made using 2 high gloss LACK tables and…

Changing the shape of the Lack coffee table

Changing the shape of the Lack coffee table

I made these tables from IKEA stuff. Each table is…

Concrete Coffee Table

Concrete Coffee Table

This is best done with 2 people. It’s damn heavy…

Load More

IKEA Bookshelf Hacks

Other than the fact that IKEA bookshelves are made to store a lot of stuff, they are affordable and so hackable. Which makes them a popular choice for built-in bookshelf hacks and so much more. Here are our top IKEA Bookshelf Hacks.
Hacked and Stacked Billy Rolling Ladder Library

Hacked and Stacked Billy Rolling Ladder Library

IKEA items used: 5 Billy high/wide bookcases (402.638.48); 5 Billy…

Hemnes Bookshelves Built-in Hack!

Hemnes Bookshelves Built-in Hack!

We’ve been working on a new house interior since 2012…

Turn BILLY bookcases into bold, large wall art

Turn BILLY bookcases into bold, large wall art

I was tired of looking at rows of DVDs, blu-rays,…

A made-to-measure KALLAX corner bookcase

A made-to-measure KALLAX corner bookcase

Materials: 2 Kallax shelves 4×2 boxes 2 Kallax shelves 4×4…

PAX/BESTA Asymmetrical & Elegant Dining Room Built in

PAX/BESTA Asymmetrical & Elegant Dining Room Built in

IKEA items used: PAX 39x13x93 PAX 19x13x79 PAX 19x22x93 (used…

Cool DIY IKEA retro string shelving hack

Cool DIY IKEA retro string shelving hack

I’d been looking at vintage string shelving units but they’re…

Load More

All our IKEA Living Room Hacks

Laptop stand to 50’s retro coffee table

Laptop stand to 50’s retro coffee table

Greetings from Switzerland, where we also love IKEA hacking! This is my latest deed: 50’s retro coffee table Ikea item: Svartasen laptop stand Additional supplies: adhesive foil, passament (ornamental trimming, e.g. for furniture), silver spray paint, plastic primer spray, transparent glue, (blow-dryer) Step-by-step: 1. Unscrew leg, cover areas not to…

Colorful Photo Frame Chair

Colorful Photo Frame Chair

IKEA Items Used: NOLMYRA easy chair Step One: Because I knew what size my chair was, I knew what size frames would work with the chair. So I purchased two at Hobby Lobby, in the (wait for it) frame section, using coupons. You’ll want to do this so that the…

Chinese EXPEDIT Cabinet

Chinese EXPEDIT Cabinet

After the move we have to find an idea for the old Expedit. We wanted something colorful and with Chinese style, so that became the idea: to transform the Expedit into a Chinese Cabinet! Before: Black EXPEDIT (79 x 149 cm) used to store glasses and mugs. First I changed…

Hemnes Bookshelves Built-in Hack!

Hemnes Bookshelves Built-in Hack!

We’ve been working on a new house interior since 2012 and the style is Shaker/Modern Farmhouse, so nothing is complicated and IKEA has some styles that fit in perfectly with this look. We’re being pretty picky about this house because it’s our “dream home”. One of our rules is: NO…

Poang Massage Chair

Poang Massage Chair

I’ve had an Ikea Poang chair since ~1990 and used it regularly for many years, then it became a driving chair for video games, but in the last few years hasn’t seen much use. I’ve always wanted a massage chair (who hasn’t???) but could never justify $2000+ for a massive,…

Metod kitchen cabinet meets modern mid century console

Metod kitchen cabinet meets modern mid century console

IKEA items used: 1 Metod wall cabinet 1 Maximera low drawer 1 front panel drawer The METOD wall cabinet is supposed to be installed on the vertical position, but we switched to the horizontal. The MAXIMERA drawer is a perfect fit for it. All I did was drill the holes…

How I hacked a classic IKEA Bestå HiFi Storage Cabinet

How I hacked a classic IKEA Bestå HiFi Storage Cabinet

I made this Media/HiFi Storage Furniture using an IKEA Bestå and some furniture board. I wanted this furniture to have a natural and basic yet modern look. The furniture board was therefore kept untreated (no oil, wax or paint, raw edges and some irregularities). The fact that the board pieces…

Turn BILLY bookcases into bold, large wall art

Turn BILLY bookcases into bold, large wall art

I was tired of looking at rows of DVDs, blu-rays, games etc. in my BILLY bookcases … so I decided to add doors to conceal everything. However, I wanted to make it more visually interesting. I decided to turn the cases into one large piece of art. After looking around,…

Multi-purpose Wooden Partition from STOLMEN and LADE

Multi-purpose Wooden Partition from STOLMEN and LADE

We wanted a stabilising structure as the backing for our wardrobe. The Ikea’s Mandal headboard appeared to be the first choice. However, it had been phased out from our local stores. So we decided to build one from scratch. Happy with the end result. Even happier considering the total costs…

Infinity IKEA mirror in LACK coffee table

Infinity IKEA mirror in LACK coffee table

IKEA item used: LACK Coffee Table We like the LACK Coffee tables, our first LACK was damaged because I sat on it, and it broke in the middle. After a couple of weeks we have bought another one and took much care about it. But after a small party my…

A made-to-measure KALLAX corner bookcase

A made-to-measure KALLAX corner bookcase

Materials: 2 Kallax shelves 4×2 boxes 2 Kallax shelves 4×4 boxes 12 doors, 3 baskets 4×2 drawers. Price : 800€ Time : 30 hours We first looked at different shops to buy a giant bookcase for our living room. It was too expensive so we decided to build it. Obviously,…

Finally! A Double Sliding Doors BESTÅ

Finally! A Double Sliding Doors BESTÅ

Materials: 2 BESTÅ Shelf unit (120x40x64) ( 40€ each ) ILSENG 4 panels for sliding doors frame ( 38 € ) Aluminium profile E 5 mt ( 12 € ) Saw Glue I needed a double sliding doors solution for two BESTÅ shelf unit and since IKEA doesn’t allow that…

Sweet Stolmen Seating

Sweet Stolmen Seating

IKEA items used: Stolmen Drawers — 2 wide, 2 narrow; Varde Wood panel After removing the baseboard trim from the wall, we measured the trim height, and ripped 2x4s so that the combined height of the 2x4s and the Stolmen frame matched the height of the baseboard trim. We built…

Recycled old EXPEDIT Shelf into a Storage Bench

Recycled old EXPEDIT Shelf into a Storage Bench

IKEA items used: 10 year old EXPEDIT Shelving Unit First took apart the shelf. Took 3 small shelf pieces for the sides and middle. Middle will help with supporting of the door. The thin sides of the shelves is the front wall and floor of the bench. The thick top…

IKEA Groland Kitchen Island Bathroom Vanity and Coffee Table

IKEA Groland Kitchen Island Bathroom Vanity and Coffee Table

This is really two projects from Ikea Groland kitchen island. Project 1 We created a stone bowl sink granite topped bathroom vanity from the Ikea Groland kitchen island. We cut down the legs to put the top bowl sink at the height of a normal counter top. We stained the…

Gliding top cantilever LACK coffee table with bin lids that convert to TV trays

Gliding top cantilever LACK coffee table with bin lids that convert to TV trays

IKEA items used: Two black LACK TV UNITS Article Number: 902.432.97 Two KUGGIS bins Article Number: 202.802.07 two LJUDA place mats ​002.359.99 Assemble one LACK TV UNIT, except for shelf. Sand and paint black two 2″ x 2″ x 10″ mounting boards for glides. Purchase two 10″ fully extending drawer glides.…

PAX/BESTA Asymmetrical & Elegant Dining Room Built in

PAX/BESTA Asymmetrical & Elegant Dining Room Built in

IKEA items used: PAX 39x13x93 PAX 19x13x79 PAX 19x22x93 (used for side panels only) BESTA 15″H on bottom row, 25″H all others BESTA glass top LACK shelves DIODER lights We have a large dining room, but a lack of storage in the rest of the house. We decided to use…

Bekväm Chair project

Bekväm Chair project

It was an imposed project during my first year in design school. To re-interpret the Bekväm, create something new.. but we should still be able to recognise the Bekväm, by his shapes, edges, wood, texture.. So I decided to elevate it, and switch the footrest to seat, delete the seat.…

Kids room entertainment and toy storage unit

Kids room entertainment and toy storage unit

IKEA Items used: Hemnes TV stand, 2 Hemnes bookcases, and Hemnes Wall/Bridging Shelf As the kids got older we needed to update their playroom to include an entertainment center for watching movies and playing video games, but it also needed to include plenty of storage for toys, books, etc (its…

Cool DIY IKEA retro string shelving hack

Cool DIY IKEA retro string shelving hack

I’d been looking at vintage string shelving units but they’re always so expensive so I thought I’d try a DIY. I’m sure this could be tweaked and improved quite easily as I came up with it on a whim but I’m pretty pleased with it! Shopping List IKEA SPRUTT shoe…

Load More