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The Best IKEA Furniture Hacks to Try at Home

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Incredible list of my favorite IKEA furniture hacks to try at home | Building Bluebird

Have you ever tried one of the popular IKEA hacks found on Pinterest? There are so many incredible DIY projects using IKEA furniture and I am always completely blown away by the transformations! I have tried out a few of my own and am so pleased with the results. I have pulled together some of the best IKEA furniture hacks to try at home.

Table of Contents


The Best IKEA Furniture Hacks to Try

1 | Billy Bookshelf Built-ins

I renovated my son’s bedroom when I participated in my second One Room Challenge and tried out the billy bookcase IKEA hack to maximize storage in his bedroom. There are so many different ways to create the custom built-in look using these bookcases and I chose a simple and streamlined look. With the stay-at-home orders of 2020, this bookshelf has been essential in keeping our lives organized while teaching at home.

IKEA Billy bookcase built-in DIY | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

I shared another version of this IKEA hack that was installed in the corner of a living room. This bookshelf looked perfect when the home was staged to sell.

IKEA Billy bookcase built-in DIY | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

2 | Alex Desk with Storage

Jessica from The Martin Nest created this incredible desk using the Alex IKEA desk and it is perfect for homework! This desk works perfectly for the crazy 2020 school schedule where the kiddos often have to learn remotely.

DIY desk using Alex drawer units | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

Carmen from Living Letter Home created a two-person desk and gave their IKEA desk chairs a makeover too! They sprayed the bottom of the chairs gold to achieve the look they wanted for the space.

DIY desk using Alex drawer units | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

3 | Hemnes Dresser Trim Detail

I saw this IKEA hack on the Vintage Revivals Instagram stories and had to try it for myself! Using wood glue, I attached a thin piece of trim around each drawer of my dresser (check out my full tutorial to recreate this look yourself!).

Once the trim was attached, I used the Rust-Oleum furniture kit to give it a fresh coat of paint. I love how the updated dresser looks against my dark blue walls in our master bedroom!

*To check out another Rust-Oleum DIY project, check out my laundry room reveal where I painted over my linoleum floors!

Hemnes dresser Ikea hack with trim detailing | Building Bluebird

I love the light gray against the deep blue background and the orange pop of color is the perfect color combo!

Best Ikea Hacks - Hemnes dresser Ikea hack with trim detailing | Building Bluebird

Barbara from Markova Designs gave her Hemnes dresser a makeover by adding these beautiful overlays. This simple addition gave her dressers a custom and unique look that I love!

Best Ikea Hacks - Hemnes dresser Ikea hack with o'verlay detailing | Building Bluebird

4 | Sektion Cabinet Built-Ins

I am still so blown away by this basement office makeover. Katie from House with Home took IKEA Sektion cabinets and turned them into custom built-in’s that look super high-end!

Sektion cabinet built-in IKEA hack | Building Bluebird

5 | Tarva Dresser with Caning

Kourtney from House on Longwood Lane gave the IKEA Tarva dresser a whole new look with caned drawer fronts! Kourtney has many IKEA hacks shared on her blog but this DIY caned dresser may be my favorite.

Tarva dresser with DIY caning | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

6 | Pax Closet System Built-Ins

Would an IKEA hack list be complete without a Chris Loves Julia project? Their latest closet is so beautiful and they used the IKEA Pax Closet system! They share how they created this custom look with chunky trim, added drawer fronts, and a fresh coat of paint. This closet is a dream!

Best Ikea Hacks - IKEA Pax built-in closet system by CLJ | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

7 | Hemnes Shoe Rack with Fluting

Annie from Champagne Chaos completely changed the look of her IKEA shoe rack. The fluting on the drawers looks SO GOOD! I love the custom look of this storage unit and definitely want to try the fluted DIY.

Best Ikea Hacks - Fluting detail on the Hemnes shoe cabinet | Building Bluebird #ikeahack

8 | IKEA Ribba Photo Ledge with Scallop Detail

I love all of my IKEA hacks but this one was so easy and added a ton of charm to my daughter’s bedroom makeover. I created a full tutorial for adding this scalloped detail to the front of our RIBBA photo ledges that we have owned for years. This can be replicated on any photo ledge, not just IKEA specifically. This is an inexpensive DIY to add cottagecore or Grandmillennial style to your home.

Grandmillennial scalloped detail with this easy DIY | Building Bluebird

*Loving the Grandmillennial decor vibes? Check out a full list of cottagecore paint colors to try in your home!

Grandmillennial scalloped detail with this easy DIY | Building Bluebird

I also added this scalloped trim to the top of my IKEA bookcase for a sweet, custom detail.


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