I’m obsessed with the cool new £4 candle holder from IKEA – and this Instagrammer’s clever hacks using it are already going viral

It’s not just IKEA’s furniture that is easy to hack. People also love to turn some of its smaller pieces of decor into something more elevated. The latest target is the newly launched £4 IKEA TRÄDSTAM pillar candle holder – and one particular Instagrammer is leading the way with not one but two IKEA TRÄDSTAM candle holder hacks, both of which are currently going viral.

I first spotted the striped candle holder reminiscent of a swimming ring at the IKEA Oxford Circus store opening last month, and it instantly caught my eye. That was before I’ve even come across these creative IKEA hacks.

Courtesy of Magdalena Wöckinger of @menawox on Instagram, the content creator has used the candle holder to create a stylish living room lighting idea, as well as a cute and decorative picture frame.

I’m looking to recreate both of these clever hacks in my home asap since they are such easy DIY projects that also look incredibly cool at the same time. And this is how you can do the same…

IKEA TRÄDSTAM lamp hack

What you’ll need

• 3 IKEA TRÄDSTAM pillar candle holders
• Strong glue like the Gorilla Heavy Duty Grab Adhesive available at Amazon
• Globe light like the Habitat Caliban globe glass table lamp, which comes in three different colours

‘The idea came to me when I was looking for a decorative yet functional light source – and the shape of TRÄDSTAM was just perfect for it,’ Magdalena says. ‘The hack was actually super easy to do and a great project even for DIY beginners.’

And I can second that. All you need to do to recreate this lamp stand is stack three of the IKEA candle holders and glue them together with some strong-hold adhesive and then place a globe table light on top like the Habitat Caliban lamp or the IKEA FADO table lamp.

IKEA TRÄDSTAM picture frame hack

What you’ll need

• IKEA TRÄDSTAM pillar candle holder
• Photo or picture to display
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape like this one at Amazon

If you’re looking for a playful and creative way to display your photos, this is the perfect one to go for as it adds that fun striped pattern and inflated-style shape to the mix. What you need to do is cut your picture into a circle – Magdalena used a glass to cut around to get that perfect circle shape.

Then once you’ve cut the picture, take a piece of double-sided tape and stick it on the back of your picture to attach it to the inside of your candle holder turned picture frame. You can then either place it on a shelf and rest it against the back or the wall, or you can attach another piece of double-sided tape or a Command strip, available at Amazon, to the back and hang it on the wall.

Sam Sutherland, Flitch interior stylist, concludes, ‘I absolutely love how creative people are getting with the TRÄDSTAM candle holder. I could also see it being used as a mini plinth for small plants or objets d’art on a bookshelf or console. It’s that rare IKEA piece that feels equally at home in a minimalist flat or a maximalist snug.’