6 genius IKEA living room hacks – this is how to upgrade your flatpack furniture and elevate your lounge like a pro

Who doesn’t love a clever and imaginative IKEA hack? I sure do. But the sheer volume available online on various platforms - including our own - can make it difficult to navigate if you’re looking for something a little more specific – say IKEA living room hacks.

That’s why I wanted to create this dedicated piece where you can find some of the best IKEA hacks, specially designed for the lounge – whether that’s an elevated sideboard made entirely out of flatpack furniture or a budget coffee table with a designer look.

Whether you already own some of these plain but filled-with-potential pieces from the Swedish retailer and are looking for ways to utilise them in a stylish way that will transform them beyond recognition or are in need of affordable pieces of furniture that you’re looking to hack straight away but want to know which styles are best to get, this guide to IKEA living room hacks will come in handy.

1. Create a custom sideboard

IKEA actually makes several simple cabinet styles that can be turned into a customised sideboard – from IKEA IVAR hacks to ways to update your IKEA BESTA, a sideboard for your living room is always a good idea. Content creator Veera Ylikotila of @villakotila on Instagram would agree as that’s what she’s done with her IKEA IVAR cabinets.

‘Last year I moved to a tiny apartment and was in need of more storage space that is not too deep and not too high – IKEA IVAR was the perfect size but I wanted to make it look more like a built-in and not just a cabinet that's dropped in the corner. I combined three IKEA IVAR cabinets, one was used in the middle to create an open shelf space for decorations. I had some left-over wood pieces and slats from old projects and I used those to create a plinth underneath the cabinet and some decorations for the doors. Plinth was necessary because I wanted to get the cabinet up from the floor, but that apartment where I was living didn't allow wall attachments,’ Veera says.

She then finished the job by painting the finished result with a statement pink shade – just remember that an essential part of the right way to paint IKEA furniture is priming the piece with shellac-based primer like the often recommended Zinnser B.I.N Primer, available at Amazon.

2. Get a slipcover for your IKEA sofa

Not every IKEA hack requires skills. Some can be as simple as swapping out handles or in this case, changing a sofa cover to give it a more customised look that’s true to your aesthetic. There are several companies that create products specifically to elevate IKEA furniture which includes brands making sofa slip covers for several different IKEA sofa designs from the infamous KLIPPAN to the more sophisticated and modular VIMLE.

The most well-known brand that creates these loose covers is Bemz but Comfort Works and Comfortly also make them.

3. Make your library of dreams

The BILLY bookcase is one of the most popular IKEA designs so it’s no surprise there are so many IKEA BILLY hacks out there. Most of them do the same (but wonderful) thing and that’s turning a few of the bookcases into a built in-looking library as this TikToker has done with hers.

‘For a fun and functional living room update, I like to hack the IKEA BILLY bookcase by adding crown moulding at the top and baseboard at the bottom to give it a built-in look,’ says Sam Sutherland, Flitch interior stylist. ‘It’s a fantastic way to get a custom shelving unit without the custom price tag.’

4. Turn a KALLAX unit into a sideboard

It’s not just the IKEA cabinet designs that can be turned into a living room sideboard. Even the bestselling KALLAX storage unit can be transformed into one with the addition of some doors.

There’s the option of using the square variation like this content creator has done, finished with cane inserts. But my favourite IKEA KALLAX hack is utilising the one with four cubes in a single row, turning it on its side and either attaching it to the wall for a floating look or adding some funky legs like those from Prettypegs. I especially like the sphere-shaped Otto legs.

‘Don't forget to accessorise the top surface with personal items like books, plants, or a collection of interesting objects to make it your own,’ Sam at Flitch adds.

5. Transform the LACK side table

‘Another hack I often recommend is turning the LACK coffee table into a statement piece,’ says Alex Stubbs, Flitch interior stylist.

While Alex recommends applying a vinyl film to the tabletop similarly to this chrome IKEA sideboard hack, I prefer the look of Angela Janssen’s project who’s transformed the £10 side table by rearranging the legs from the sides to the centre and painting it a bold red colour.

6. Craft a designer-looking coffee table

Who would have thought a few years ago that we’d be making coffee table legs out of the bamboo IKEA serving bowls? But here we are! And it turns out, it can look very high-end by gluing the bowls together to create sphere-shaped legs and then adding any tabletop of your choice, much like Nicky Behshad of @homebynicky has done.

This IKEA hack has gotten so much traction that Dunelm and several other retailers now sell coffee tables inspired by this crafty look. So if you like the look but are feeling too lazy to put in the work, you can just buy the finished product.

These are only a curated few of the many IKEA living room hacks out there. Do you have any favourites that I didn’t include here?