IKEA Living Room Hacks

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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?

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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.
Chinese EXPEDIT Cabinet

Chinese EXPEDIT Cabinet

After the move we have to find an idea for…

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…

Finally! A Double Sliding Doors BESTÅ

Finally! A Double Sliding Doors BESTÅ

Materials: 2 BESTÅ Shelf unit (120x40x64) ( 40€ each )…

IKEA TARVA Golden Antique Makeover

IKEA TARVA Golden Antique Makeover

Hey Guys, I wanted to share one my most recent…

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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.
DIY Coffee Table from Malm bed slats

DIY Coffee Table from Malm bed slats

After buying a new bed, I needed to get rid…

LACK »Extended Version«

LACK »Extended Version«

Hi guys, I had this idea for about 6 months:…

Liquorice Lack Table

Liquorice Lack Table

For just a couple of bucks you can turn those…

Couch table with a snack drawer

Couch table with a snack drawer

This is a combination of LACK and Expedit. Build LACK like…

Skoghall Side Table without the holes

Skoghall Side Table without the holes

I recently bought a SKOGHALL side table, but then realised…

Hacking the Lack into an upholstered ottoman

Hacking the Lack into an upholstered ottoman

Materials: Lack Coffee Table Description: I had an old Lack…

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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.
DIY a Stunning Gold Bookcase for Under $52

DIY a Stunning Gold Bookcase for Under $52

Materials: 1 Vittsjo bookcase 4 8′ lengths of 3/4″ screen…

IKEA Stolmen retro “George Nelson inspired” hack

IKEA Stolmen retro “George Nelson inspired” hack

In November 2014 I started my search for a new…

Wall Bookshelves with IKEA RAST drawer base

Wall Bookshelves with IKEA RAST drawer base

I have always wanted built-in wall bookshelves. I had intended…

KALLAX Door Corkboard

KALLAX Door Corkboard

Materials: KALLAX Insert with Door; AVSKILD Set of 4 Place…

DIY Grundtal fabric sling bookcase

DIY Grundtal fabric sling bookcase

Materials: GRUNDTAL †owel rack A fabric sling bookcase can be…

FROSTA half shelves

FROSTA half shelves

I had two un-used FROSTA stools and I converted them…

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All our IKEA Living Room Hacks

EKTORP with Custom Dyed Slipcovers – 2 colors!

EKTORP with Custom Dyed Slipcovers – 2 colors!

One post about two EKTORP getting custom dyed slipcovers. Love the bold bright colours! ~ Jules Tiffany’s indigo Materials: IKEA Ektorp 2+2 sofa with white slipcover I’ve always been a white slipcover girl, but now that life is full of the wonderfulness of kids, pups and husbands, I had to…

Simple, sleek and easy side table from MOLGER tiles

Simple, sleek and easy side table from MOLGER tiles

Materials: Two MOLGER bathroom floor decking tiles We needed a small, simple table to go next to our IKEA POANG chair. Not finding anything small enough. We landed on using two MOLGER wood floor decking tiles designed for bathrooms. We used one tile as the table top. The only modification needed…

KALLAX Door Corkboard

KALLAX Door Corkboard

Materials: KALLAX Insert with Door; AVSKILD Set of 4 Place Mats Tools used: Sharp pencil; Sharp modelling knife; Glue (I used PVA glue but, for a child’s room, something stronger like epoxy will provide more solid layering) Before KALLAX, there used to be a storage unit with an adaptable door.…

Bench cushion cover made from IKEA Signe rugs

Bench cushion cover made from IKEA Signe rugs

Materials: Minna fabricX Signe cotton rugs What I did was: – cut off the shorter, knotted edges of the rugs, and then zigzagged them to prevent fraying. – then I sewed two rugs together, pressed and steamed the seam and then strengthened the seams with topstitching. – I used IKEA’s…

VIKA OLEBY, except better…

VIKA OLEBY, except better…

I found a bin of VIKA OLEBY legs on clearance on for $2 a piece. The tall ones were desk height, and I didn’t like the lines that much, but the short ones… beautiful! 4 legs, into the giant ikea bag, and home to sit for 3 years. I took…

DIY Grundtal fabric sling bookcase

DIY Grundtal fabric sling bookcase

Materials: GRUNDTAL †owel rack A fabric sling bookcase can be made by using a 2 rail IKEA GRUNDTAL towel rail. Sew two pieces of fabric together (or use fabric glue) so you get a square shape, then at opposite ends create a pocket that is big enough to fit your…

EXPEDIT cube bench

EXPEDIT cube bench

Materials: EXPEDIT cube (no longer available, you may try the LACK side table with casters) I secured three large EXPEDIT cubes together as seen in picture. I then nailed them together. I placed a large piece of MDF on top along with foam and fabric and stapled in place. For…

FROSTA half shelves

FROSTA half shelves

I had two un-used FROSTA stools and I converted them into half oval shape shelves! To make this : 1. We sawed stools in half 2. Removed the legs 3. Used the legs to create brackets… By sawing the ends off to the exact size 4. Attached brackets to shelf…

Make me a built in bookcase she said……

Make me a built in bookcase she said……

Materials: 3 Billy bookcases and a Gnedby shelving unit, bits of an Akurum kitchen unit My wife wanted a built in ‘library’ bookcase in our new living room, and trusted my woodworking skills to hack IKEA units to do the job. I managed to squeeze 3 BILLY bookcases and a…

Besta Bench Seat Dining Area

Besta Bench Seat Dining Area

Materials: Besta Cabinet base, with MDF top upholstered by caravan upholstery shop and Vassbo style doors. This is a really functional, space saving and comfortable area. Its ideal for socialising, eating, entertaining and working. Everyone loves the booth seat in a restaurant, so why not have that level of comfort…

Kitchen panels form coffee table

Kitchen panels form coffee table

All you need is a screwdriver. You take off the screws from the LIMHAMN and fix the GRUNDTAL knob hanger as feet. After you can fix with screws the planks (STAT, APPLAD, RUBRIK…….!) If you like you can change with different colours. The only restriction is: you should not place…

Mix and Match side table

Mix and Match side table

This is quite easy to do: the bottom is 4x Capita, white platform is Harlig, middle white bars are Antonius, and the top is an Oxberg door! Takes about less then 15 minutes to assemble. Like to place some flowers on it or any item you want to. ~ Norman…

BILLY, Metallic and Stencils

BILLY, Metallic and Stencils

Materials: BILLY bookcases, stencils The backs of the large billy bookcases were primed with Zinsser shellac-based spray primer. I applied two coats of Modern Masters metallic paint in Warm Silver and allowed it to dry. Using Benjamin Moore‘s Cedar Key in semi-gloss (I used the same color in flat finish…

How to pad your POANG armchair armrest

How to pad your POANG armchair armrest

I found the bent wood arms on the Poang chair too hard and Ikea still does not make padded armrests for the chair. I bought a package of flexible padded aluminium splint from Amazon. It is 4.25″ X 36″. The product I got was salmon colored. It had minimal padding…

Triple RAST sideboard

Triple RAST sideboard

Materials: RAST A classic RAST hack. x3 bare pine RAST with dressed stained timber on top. Fills a 3 meter alcove and gives me 9 man draws!! ~ Boney Gildroy

A tribute to Mondrian library

A tribute to Mondrian library

Materials: LACK shelf, TUTEMO open cabinet This is a library designed to contain a large amount of books and my old records collection. It is designed as a tribute to the artist Mondrian. The Library in made from 10 small TUTEMO cabinets, 4 big TUTEMO cabinets and some 10 or…

Hemnes Coffee Table turned Ottoman

Hemnes Coffee Table turned Ottoman

Materials: Hemnes coffee table 4 pieces of flat wood (will make more sense in the below steps) Foam Batting Fabric of your choice (thicker and stronger fabric) Cover buttons with kit Tissue/Packing paper (that covers the dimensions of the top of the table) Nails Hammer Spray adhesive (to stick fabric/foam…

“Built-in” bookcase from old IVAR shelf

“Built-in” bookcase from old IVAR shelf

After my divorce, it was time to turn my attic bedroom into a room that suited my personality, as well as a room that blended better with my 1911 Craftsman home. The room was originally finished in the 1980s or 90s when the attic was turned into living space, and…

Coffee table for me and my dog!

Coffee table for me and my dog!

2 coffee table LACK, Size : 35x22x18″ 2 GURLI Cushion cover, red, 20″x20″ 2 ULLKAKTUS Cushion, white, 20″x20″ Photo credit for LACK coffee table & pillows: IKEA.com

BORGSJO with Barn Doors

BORGSJO with Barn Doors

Hello – this is my first (intentional) IKEA-hack! My husband and I just moved to Cape Cod and I wanted to make our furniture more Cape Cod looking. Your website inspired me to get crafty! I took my old Ikea BISSA shoe cabinet and some Pine Craft Board ($1.73 from…

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