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.

All our IKEA Living Room Hacks

a paint job can turn trash into art

a paint job can turn trash into art

diane turned this bench (the name, anyone?), salvaged from the trash, into a little piece of art. she first transferred the design, taken from an Art Nouveau book that she had and drew it on the bench with white colored pencil. then, she coloured it in with acrylics. see more…

stencil your slipcovers for a fresh new look

stencil your slipcovers for a fresh new look

when you want a fancy slipcover but can’t afford a bemz, why not try stenciling it yourself? villain did just that. villain writes, “i just moved into a loft in boston and refurbished my old klippan sofa along with a tullsta chair. inspired by bemz slipcovers (way too expensive for…

MOOOI Random Light Dupe with this IKEA DIY Hack

MOOOI Random Light Dupe with this IKEA DIY Hack

Marie of m2jl studio sent me this lovely hack of the Regolit paper lampshade. Turning it into a lookalike of the famous (and very expensive) MOOOI Random Light. She says, “For lighting, we used the inexpensive Regolit lampshade from IKEA, some wool, and some glue to create lamps inspired by…

dennis the menace returns in an ikea stool

dennis the menace returns in an ikea stool

i grew up with dandy and beano. which is why i am so lovin this hack. carole says, “i bought alleby (can’t find the link on ikea site) plain pine stools and personalized them with comics. i stuck the comics on with PVA glue before assembling the five parts. then…

are you game for this chair?

are you game for this chair?

i’m loving this ikea terje folding chair from paul. paul says, “i cut out the cross pieces on the seat and the back and replaced them with hockey sticks. i also have done it with bike tires and tennis balls/hockey pucks/golf balls but i don’t have any photos of those.”

a galant coffee table

a galant coffee table

hey, hey, the first hack from tel aviv. alessis hacks a coffee table from a galant table top and sultan legs. the leg joints are reinforced for stability. visit alessis’ blog.

vilan recliner goes deeper

vilan recliner goes deeper

simon bought a vilan recliner (can’t find the link on ikea’s website) but it didn’t lean as far back as he wished for him to kick back and relax. he says, “it’s a comfortable chair but it doesn’t recline nearly far enough to let me relax, so i hacked it.…

a rocking sink seat

a rocking sink seat

i had to laugh out loud when i saw wouter’s hack. a sink seat! i have no idea which model it is though. if you don’t care for the sink, have fun figuring out the bottom picture instead. wouter tells me, “as an industrial design student i’m short on cash.…

it’s a wrap for the oddvar

it’s a wrap for the oddvar

simon has a small ikea hack, as he terms it, to share with us. “last month, we bought an oddvar chair (can’t find the link on ikea’s website). to improve the look, we bought an asian newspaper and wrapped it around the pieces of the chair using paste before assembling…

a norrebo window seat

a norrebo window seat

chris tore up a norrebo shelving unit to create a bookcase and a window seat to fit his space perfectly!   here’s what he did: 1. build up a two-shelf high norrebo bookcase unit against the wall with the taller window. 2. use the remaining third shelf of our norrebo…

projects page update

projects page update

checking in on the projects page. (it’s a hack collection via the instructables ikea hacks group). two new instructables up. one is a malm bed with underbed lighting by dpocius. and the other james’ ingolf ikea chair stretched into a bench. loving this! go to the projects page to view…

diy a room divider from ivar units

diy a room divider from ivar units

shirley sent me her room divider hack using the ivar side unit. she says: “i needed a portable screen to a) give visiting guests sleeping on the sofa bed some privacy and b) screen my somewhat messy work area from both my and my roommate’s visiting clients. (i’m a graphic…

sofa table from salvaged ikea table legs

sofa table from salvaged ikea table legs

erika chapin, editor of cribcandy and popgloss sends me this gorgeous sofa table made from bamboo plywood and salvaged imfors legs. love love love the simple sleek lines. “my husband and i found 2 imfors tables at a yard sale last month for $15.00 each. he took a 3/4 inch…

shelf and brackets make a cool coffee table

shelf and brackets make a cool coffee table

if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll may have noticed that i shiny stuff. so i’m loving the look of this stainless steel coffee table. adriano tells me that it’s his first attempt at hacking ikea too. not bad at all. “i made a coffee table out…

a touch of glass for the humble lack side table

a touch of glass for the humble lack side table

it was a nice surprise to see better homes and gardens hacking ikea too. michelle was the one who spotted this pretty mosaic table featured on their site. i’m loving the geometric design. the skinny: paint the lack side table a handsome charcoal background colour. then, stick on black and…

inspiration: moritz’s red and white studio

inspiration: moritz’s red and white studio

while i sort out the next batch of hacks to post, i thought i’ll just quickly share some fresh eye candy. this is from moritz of germany who shares my love for ikea and mitch albom. the dunker light cum room divider (i can no longer find it on ikea’s…

a cheap temporary ‘sofa’

a cheap temporary ‘sofa’

kevin from toronto gives us this foldable temporary sofa solution. “just got into my first condo and bought a new sofa. did not realize it was going to be a 6 to 8 week wait for it. so i asked myself what would be the cheapest way to have a…

turn cheap boards into a coffee table

turn cheap boards into a coffee table

here’s an idea from kane for converting cheap ikea panels into a coffee table. “so you found a nice board from the as-is room with all 4 edges finished (ie. a cabinet door) for a price you can’t pass up and want to turn it into a coffee or side…

pronomen set of 3 coffee tables

pronomen set of 3 coffee tables

marc, aka roamingstudio, [via the ikeafans forum] sent me his set of coffee table and side tables, bjorna style. “the image is from our lounge area… and shows three coffee tables i created a few years ago. the surfaces are birch from the ikea pronomen range – 2 x 65cm…

lilybee’s bug side table

lilybee’s bug side table

update! see ben’s version of lilybee’s side table hack below. do you have a version too? send it in and share in the bug love. i love lilybee’s bug side table inspired by a vivavi credenza she spotted in domino magazine. using wood effect contact paper and a steady hand,…

Load More