Ikea Hacks

Transform your generic Ikea finds into something wonderful!

by Megan Patterson

Ikea Hacking is an internet Do-It-Yourself (DIY) movement that has been around since 2006. It basically involves “hacking” your generic Ikea finds, modifying or repurposing them into something new or more interesting looking. It’s largely a community effort, with most sites showing off projects submitted by users from all over the world, including many from Toronto! The two biggest sites are: Ikea Hackers and Instructable’s Ikea Hacker Group. The difficulty of these projects vary, some being just simple embellishments, others complete overhauls into a new piece of furniture that requires power tools. It’s a great thing to do if you’re trying to spice up your furniture on a budget, or if you have some already existing Ikea furniture that’s starting to look a little run down.

Here are some of my favourite (and simple) hacks:

Turning Ikea Placemats into Pillows
All it takes is a couple of placemats, a needle, and thread−and boom: new pillows.

Decoupage Wardrobe
This one is a little more labour intensive but doesn’t really require any major structural changes, so it’s probably doable in an afternoon. Basically, it’s just paint, a plain pine wardrobe, your desired shade, and pretty wrapping paper.

Postered Poang
This one comes right from Toronto and involves decoupaging (which is just a fancy word for gluing) various posters onto a plain Poang armchair. It’s more of an art piece than a functional piece of furniture however and not suitable for sitting on.

Doggy Futon
Ikea Hackers love making stuff for their pets. This doggy futon is probably one of the easier projects, and it even comes with a handy diagram. There are a lot of really great small pet cages on here too.

Mosaic Coffee Table
This might be a little more labour intensive then most people might want, but it’s beautiful.

Jewellery Plate
Only two items, two steps, and less than $5 required for a beautiful plate to store your jewellery!

Start with these, and you’ll be moving on to the more difficult hacks in no time!