5 IKEA Hacks We Loved So Much in 2024 We’re Bringing Them Into the New Year

We love a good IKEA hack, and 2024 brought us some of the most inventive, fun, and beautiful IKEA DIYs we’ve seen yet.

IKEA hacks are such a cost-effective and accessible way for DIY fans and home designers to personalize and elevate their living spaces by taking off-the-shelf IKEA products and transforming them into unique, customized pieces with just a bit of paint and a lot of creativity.

Plus, since you’re already putting the IKEA furniture together, you might as well have some fun with it.

Here are some of our favorite IKEA hacks, refurbishments, and paint jobs from 2024 that took over our social media accounts—and homes.

Hack #1: Shoe Cabinets Turned Into Custom Storage

TikTok creator and DIY aficionado The Flipped Piece turned shoe cabinets into her dream custom storage. With nearly 700,000 likes, this DIY takes a bit of work, but it is worth it.

How to Get the Look

1. First, this creator bought three BISSA shoe storage units from IKEA. Then, she cut up notches in the back, used some adhesive, attached all three with clamps, and screwed them into the wall.
2. Next, she cut some NDF and scribed the pieces on the bottom so it would fit all across the bottom and the other places the cabinets meet.
3. She scuff-sanded, primed, and got a big scaffolding board which she cut down to size, sanded it down, and attached it to the top.
4. Finally, she picked her favorite sage-colored paint, added new handles, and put her shoes away in her perfect custom storage.

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Hack #2: Built In Bookcase

Kate Hewitt from @our_bears_home on Instagram did the BILLY bookcase DIY we all know and love—taking the classic bookcases and making them look built-in.

How to Get the Look

This DIY takes a bit of drilling and a bit of sawing, but it comes out pretty perfect if you do it right.

1. Buy the number of BILLY bookcases it’ll take to fill your wall.
2. Then, build a little base at the bottom out of wood from the lumbar store, add your built bookcases, and add some trim around the edges of your wall to ensure that your built-ins have something to hold onto.
3. Paint the bookcase your ideal color, and there you have it—a built-in bookcase from IKEA.

Hack #3: A Craft Table For Your Kiddos

You can build a corner table for your kiddos to paint, play, and create pretty easily, as Babsi S. of @kreativbabs shows on her Instagram post. All you need is two KALLAX shelves, two properly-sized pieces of wood, and a drill.

How to Get the Look

1. Place the shelves where you want the table to begin and end, and add your wood on top.
2. Make sure to screw it in tightly, since kids can get rough on their play tables.
3. Because it’s for children, the height is pretty much perfect—all you need to add is a little stool and, if you’re feeling it, some storage baskets.

Hack #4: Dish Rack Book Case

All you need for this DIY is one bamboo OSTBIT plate holder from IKEA. At just $4, this is probably the least expensive and easiest DIY we’ve seen all year.

How to Get the Look

1. Hang the OSTBIT on your wall.
2. Place a few lightweight books on it.
3. Complete your project to reveal the perfect small book display in your home.

Hack #5: Kitchen Cabinet Turned Bar Cart

Tay BeepBoop, a creator of all things maximalist DIY, bought one IKEA IVAR cabinet into a beautifully colorful bar cart.

How to Get the Look

1. Cut a hole into one of the doors, install cane webbing, and take the second door off completely.
2. Then, fill the holes, spray paint a very colorful gradient onto the wood, and add some wine bottle holders and glass holders.
3. Finally, add new handles and some legs.