IKEA Living Room Hacks

elliptical coffee table ikea ingo hack

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.
nintendo arcade cabinet ikea hack

IVAR expands into a Nintendo arcade cabinet

Discreet arcade games cabinet built into the IVAR system. I recall the loud humming sound. The base resonating from numerous heavy wooden cabinets. Plastic buttons clicking. The smooth surface of…

diy faux fireplace

DIY Faux Fireplace from IKEA kitchen cabinets

Love having a fireplace but the house doesn’t come with one? Well, you can always make a DIY faux fireplace. Here’s how I built it out of IKEA METOD kitchen…

ivar cabinet

A beautiful design idea for the IVAR cabinet with doors

A wall of IVAR cabinets with doors engraved is astonishingly captivating. Because IVAR is real solid wood (unlike a lot of flat-pack cupboards), it makes a great blank canvas for…

ikea kallax office sideboard

A simple hack elevates this office sideboard

Plain IKEA KALLAX gets upgraded to office sideboard I wanted a side surface to my bay window desk which also had a lot of storage, so the KALLAX offered a…

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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.
Hackin’ the Lack into a rustic coffee table

Hackin’ the Lack into a rustic coffee table

Items Used: LACK, IKEA Coffee Table Steps to hack a rustic coffee table Measured original table top. Bought one (1) 12″x 8′ knotty pine. Cut to size. Sanded, stained and…

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 for entryways and hallways. But it’s just a bit, how should we say it, meh? It’s certainly not the furniture…

LACK side table with CAPITA legs

LACK side table with CAPITA legs

IKEA items used: LACK Side table, birch effect CAPITA Leg, stainless steel 4 pack Size 6 1/4” Table #1 Trim legs to desired height Legs are hollow trim with care…low…

Double multi-position Tingby Coffee table

Double multi-position Tingby Coffee table

Materials: 2 TINGBY tables by IKEA (we used the 64x64cm) 1 Pack of FIXA stick-on floor protectors also from IKEA 6x M8 nuts (8mm inside) 3x threaded rods M8 (8mm…

The eX(pedit)-BOX – An arcade coffee table

The eX(pedit)-BOX – An arcade coffee table

IKEA Items Used: Expedit 2×2 shelving unit (white) Algot Metal Shelf Non Ikea Items Used 1 x 21” TV 1 x Raspberry Pi 2x full packs of 10cm panelling 3.5m…

IKEA LACK multi-purpose side table

IKEA LACK multi-purpose side table

IKEA items used: LACK side table (birch effect), wood panel (with red paint), TROFAST (flat box) + sliding elements (they didn’t have them anymore), SLUGGER casters, BYLLAN (laptop holder) and…

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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.
ikea hemnes built in bookcase hack

IKEA HEMNES built-in: Trim and moulding does wonders

Here’s how I made a wall to wall IKEA HEMNES built-in bookcase. It’s amazing what a little trim and moulding can do. The project took me 3 days from start…

Go big! Dress up your wall bookcase with a mural

Go big! Dress up your wall bookcase with a mural

One thing I’ve always wanted in my ideal house is a library. I love to read, but when I first moved out of my parents’ house years ago I gave…

cane furniture BILLY bookcase

This BILLY celebrates with one-of-a-kind cane doors

Cane furniture is definitely here to stay. I first saw Kathryn’s BILLY hack with cane webbing doors on Instagram. When I reposted it, I captioned it saying we should petition…

Box shelves: Make them really quick and easily

Box shelves: Make them really quick and easily

I hacked the IVAR shelving system, because I wanted to have stackable box shelves which are more flexible and easier to moving around. They also save space. The hack wasn’t…

42 EKETs make a unique IKEA Cube Bookcase

42 EKETs make a unique IKEA Cube Bookcase

We built a new house three years ago and now decided to build a new book case to replace our ages old EXPEDIT. The idea was to cover the whole…

built-in bookshelves

The BILLY bookcases are made for built-ins and here’s proof

The goal behind the IKEA hack was to create a useful division in the basement. We had a really long wall that needed something to separate the games area from…

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IKEA Hacks for sofas, poufs and stools

Upcycle or customize an IKEA sofa, armchair, stool and pouffe to create a unique piece of furniture that reflects your personal style and meets your specific needs. We go beyond adding new legs to the sofa or reupholstering the cushions to show how much more you can do with your IKEA sofa, armchair or ottoman.
French Bench

French Bench

Materials: Sultan Luröy, 6 slats for the seat, 4 slats for the construct Sultan Lade, several remaining pieces for the construct 2 Chairs Jokkmokk Screws Jig Saw Colour & Wax…

Removable Seat for the BEKVÄM step stool!

Removable Seat for the BEKVÄM step stool!

Here are the basics for adding a seat to the BEKVÄM step stool: 1. Cut a board and piece of foam to the size of the top of the stool…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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All our IKEA Living Room Hacks

elliptical coffee table ikea ingo hack

$5 thrifted dining table takes on the elliptical shape

I picked up an INGO dining table at a church sale for $5. So, I thought I’d have a shot at turning it into a coffee table for our small living room. We’d decided on an oval shape (elliptical to be precise) as we kept banging our shins on the…

skogsta natural wood coffee table

Natural wood coffee table hacked from 2 benches

We bought a SKOGSTA dinner table, two SKOGSTA benches for the table and also some SKOGSTA (bar) stools. Back home, when everything was assembled the only thing missing was a matching coffee table. The old LACK table did not match with the new look. And after a lot of searching…

TARVA Dresser hack inspired by this expensive one

TARVA Dresser hack inspired by this expensive one

Part of Jessica’s Reading Room transformation for the One Room Challenge includes a Tarva Dresser hack. Right up our alley. Her inspiration piece is this classy unit from West Elm, called Gemini. The distinctive feature of the Gemini unit are the routed circular overlays. They function as a design detail as…

Go big! Dress up your wall bookcase with a mural

Go big! Dress up your wall bookcase with a mural

One thing I’ve always wanted in my ideal house is a library. I love to read, but when I first moved out of my parents’ house years ago I gave away most of my book collection. It simply wasn’t practical to move it around and try to fit it in…

cane furniture BILLY bookcase

This BILLY celebrates with one-of-a-kind cane doors

Cane furniture is definitely here to stay. I first saw Kathryn’s BILLY hack with cane webbing doors on Instagram. When I reposted it, I captioned it saying we should petition IKEA to make this style of doors. Quite a few hands shot up. I’m not alone in wanting cane cabinet…

Screen with greens: Make an Indoor Plant Room Divider

Screen with greens: Make an Indoor Plant Room Divider

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 demarcation between the living room and dining area. And we’ve looked through countless number of…

Box shelves: Make them really quick and easily

Box shelves: Make them really quick and easily

I hacked the IVAR shelving system, because I wanted to have stackable box shelves which are more flexible and easier to moving around. They also save space. The hack wasn’t very hard to do and it took me just half a day, approximately 4 hours. NOTE: Obviously, this hack is…

42 EKETs make a unique IKEA Cube Bookcase

42 EKETs make a unique IKEA Cube Bookcase

We built a new house three years ago and now decided to build a new book case to replace our ages old EXPEDIT. The idea was to cover the whole wall with books and bookcase. As we did not find anything we like, I came with an idea to build…

built-in bookshelves

The BILLY bookcases are made for built-ins and here’s proof

The goal behind the IKEA hack was to create a useful division in the basement. We had a really long wall that needed something to separate the games area from the media area. What better way to introduce more storage than with some IKEA BILLY built-in bookcases. Items used for BILLY built-in…

secret door to hidden room ikea billy hack

See it. Or not? How to make a BILLY bookcase secret door

We wanted to achieve two goals with one project: Find a clever, affordable, and easy-to-install (and break down) secret door in our rental home (we’ve always wanted one) AND … … make this weird middle room in our home with doors and windows on every wall useful! We already have…

Mind the gap: Fit IKEA MALM over a tall baseboard

Mind the gap: Fit IKEA MALM over a tall baseboard

I forgot one thing when I ordered the MALM dresser: The baseboards in my apartment are very tall and very wide. So, when I installed it, I had a 4 cm gap between the wall and the back of the cabinet which was not aesthetically possible for me. As it…

Transform your TV dinners with this uplifting hack

Transform your TV dinners with this uplifting hack

When I started to live on my own I bought the MELLTORP square table. First it was a dining table. Later, when I could afford more space, I got another dining table and I changed the MELLTORP into a coffee table by cutting down the legs to sofa height. But…

Triple POÄNG – The astonishing cat resistant sofa

Triple POÄNG – The astonishing cat resistant sofa

The missing link in IKEA’s range. Why? We inherited a cat that shredded our furniture, apart from a 20-year-old IKEA POÄNG armchair, with no cat resistant seating products on the market, we decided to buy 2 additional POÄNG armchairs, we went for the new range that come with a blue/grey…

Easiest fish tank stand ever and DIY room separator

Easiest fish tank stand ever and DIY room separator

I was wondering how to better separate the entrance (taking into account a fish tank stand with a large aquarium, 120L) from the other areas. Fish tank stand – before: Related: There’s something fishy about this EXPEDIT Materials: 2 units of KALLAX 2×2 MDF panels Wood slats (1200mm x 6mm) I…

Got 2 free Kallax units and here’s what happened

Got 2 free Kallax units and here’s what happened

I wanted a challenge to see if I could make the KALLAX units unique after we received them for free. Plus they fit the bill perfectly as home office furniture. IKEA items used: 4×2 IKEA KALLAX 2×2 IKEA KALLAX Other materials and tools: Oak plywood (2 sheets) Knobs Table saw…

The IKEA Billy Project: A BILLY library like no other

The IKEA Billy Project: A BILLY library like no other

Benjamin sent in his massive IKEA BILLY project — a BILLY library to be exact. He wanted “a large bookcase in the style of a small library.” And he got exactly what he envisioned. The library spans across a doorway and so classy when lit. If you’re planning on your…

IKEA LACK Accent Table for succulents

IKEA LACK Stencilled Accent Table for succulents

Hi, my name is Elyse and here’s an IKEA hack inspired by Nifty, on how to upcycle an IKEA LACK side table into a beautiful stenciled accent table complete with succulents. Materials: IKEA LACK Side Table (black) Indian Inlay Furniture Stencil Kit by Kim Myles 120 grit sandpaper Stix primer…

Rattan doors for the EXPEDIT / KALLAX cubbies

Rattan doors for the EXPEDIT / KALLAX cubbies

This is an old hack of mine. I had an EXPEDIT TV shelving unit and wanted some BRANÄS drawers for it. However, for some of the cubbies a door was better suited, so I had to do a small hack. I hacked the rattan doors for the EXPEDIT but it will…

How to disguise your Bike Trailer as a end table

How to disguise your Bike Trailer as a end table

I created this hack for two reasons. It saves space by not having to store my bike trailer and I really thought it would look interesting to use the trailer as an end table. To use the bike trailer all I do is lift off the top and connect to…

Extendable Board Game Table made from IKEA TV stands

Extendable Board Game Table made from IKEA TV stands

We have a small apartment but wanted to host board game nights without a huge table taking up space. This board game table IKEA hack took around 2 hours total, and cost around $180. The expanding board game table gives us flexibility in using our limited amount of space in…

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