IKEA Hacks That Made Every Room Look Like a Designer Did It

I want to give my home a cozy cottage inspired refresh for the season, but I don't want to spend more than $150 Canadian dollars. So what better place to go than Ikea? I'm going to head on in there, see what they have and see if maybe I can DIY it to be more in my style. Let's go take a tour. I'm walking into Ikea with a little bit of a plan, but I don't have a strict one. I'm not looking for finished decor pieces today. I'm going to look for things that I can transform. I always start up in the showroom area because I like to get inspiration and also see some of the new pieces and how Ikea suggests to style them. Now these stools are only $6 and 99 cents, which means that they look like they're $6.99, but the shape is simple. They're super sturdy and that's exactly what I want. These napkin rings also catch my eye right away. They're on clearance. They have a gorgeous texture and texture always makes things feel more expensive. This pleated lamp is also really pretty and unique. I love it, but the shade feels a little bit plain and I already know that I can change that. I always check out the frames at Ikea because these are one of the easiest things to make look custom and Ikea picture frames are always a fabulous price. These court coasters and these glass candle dishes are the kinds of little pieces that most people walk right past, but they're such a fabulous bargain at Ikea. And this is where all the fun DIYs can happen. I'm really trying not to go over budget today, which is honestly really hard in Ikea, but I did a great job. I spent $120 Canadian dollars. So I think what I want to do is go to HomeSense and see if they have any cottage inspired patterns, napkins, or fabric. Cause I think that's the missing piece here. And then I'll be able to DIY some really cute things. I'm going to pick up this throw blanket. I love the colors in it and textiles are one of the easiest ways to make something look high end. I'm also grabbing these floral paper napkins. I love the floral print blue and white as a classic, and these are going to completely transform one of the DIYs. So let's go home and see what we can DIY with everything. Now these stools are about as basic as it gets. And if I leave them like this, they're just going to look like extra seating. They're very industrial looking. I don't love how they look at all, but I want some extra seating in my living room. So now I'm going to start thinking like a designer. I don't want to use them as is I want to transform them. I'm taking this floral throw blanket and I'm cutting it to size. I'm going to cut a 16 inch circle for the top of each stool. And then about a 54 by 19 inch rectangle for around the base. I'm going to leave the fringe of the original blanket at the bottom for some interest. I had just enough of this one throw blanket to cut out two stools worth of pieces. So I'm really excited about that. I also love the scale of this floral pattern. It feels a little bit soft, a little vintage, and it works with the colors I already have in my living room. I'm also cutting out a 15 inch circle from some one inch foam that I had on hand. I found this on Amazon and I'll leave a link to it. Plus the other supplies that I'm using today down in that description box below. Now I'm sewing the rectangle together on one side to create a tube. And I'm pinning the circle to the top right sides together and sewing that all together with a half inch seam allowance. I'm using my sewing machine for this project, but you could also use fabric glue if you want to do a no sew method. And honestly, this one took a little bit of trial and error. I sewed one piece wrong, had to seam rip that because I had a few gathers in it, but then I sewed it up again and I love how everything turned out and look at the difference. Once I'm done with these covers and I slip them over the white Ikea stools, they don't look like cheap Ikea stools anymore. They look soft, they look cozy and so much more intentional. I love how they add extra seating to my living room in front of my fireplace. They also work fabulous as a side table as well. They're one of those pieces that you can kind of stick anywhere. And I love how they're going to add that extra seating. This Ikea pleated lamp is a really good base also was a great price, but I don't think it stands out yet. And I love creating unique pieces for my home. So I'm taking this floral paper napkin and this feels a little bit risky, but I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'm separating the layers and I'm just going to use the top printed layer. Now I'm applying Mod Podge to the top of this pleated shade. I'm going to go slowly here because it can wrinkle if you rush it. And I'm making sure to press the napkin pieces gently into the pleats of the shade with my fingers or the handle of my foam brush. I'm also making sure to keep that scalloped edge of the napkin at the bottom of the shade for an added detail. Then once I'm done applying the napkin all over the shade, I'm going to carefully apply another layer of Mod Podge on top to seal everything in. And I love how this effect creates this kind of beautiful, almost hand painted look on the shade. I'm simply following Ikea's directions to assemble the lamp. I'm going to add a battery operated light instead of what they recommend, just because then I have a little bit more versatility for this piece. I'm going to put it in my bedroom. And when I turn it on, it glows in such a gorgeous way. This is the kind of gorgeous unique lighting that's going to make a bedroom feel so cozy. Plus I love this classic blue and white floral pattern. I don't think it ever goes out of style. Now I want something on my living room walls that doesn't feel mass produced. Like I've seen it in every other home. So I'm taking this gingham bed sheet that I had on hand. I've used this bed sheet for tons of projects in my home since Christmas time. I'll make sure to link it in the description box below. And instead of using my Ikea frames as is, I'm going to wrap both the frame and the mat in some fabric for a cozy vintage look. I've seen this look in a few boutique stores and I love it. So to begin, I'm cutting the bed sheet into four inch strips, and then I'm applying it to the frame with some Mod Podge at the corners of the frame. I'm folding the fabric into a pleat and sealing that nicely with Mod Podge as well. I'm also going to cover the mat with fabric by cutting a square from the sheet that's slightly bigger than the mat, applying Mod Podge onto the mat and placing it onto that rectangle. Then I'm going to cut any excess and wrap it around the mat. Once the fabric is all applied to the frame and the mat, I'm going to seal everything with one more coat of Mod Podge and let that dry. This adds a really cool pattern to something that's usually really flat. I'm printing some art on cardstock on my home printer. This is just one of my inexpensive printable packs I have on my website. I'll leave its link in the description box below. And now that my frame and mat are dry, I'm placing the mat right inside the frame. I'm going to assemble it a little bit differently than it was originally and push that mat right up to the front of the frame. And then I'm taping the art behind it and hanging both of these on my living room wall. Now these look completely custom and they add so much coziness to the room. I love how they match everything I already have in here and they're just so unique and cute. These napkin rings are already adorable, but I think they need something extra. I had these dried florals on hand. I'm trimming them down to size and adding them onto each napkin ring with my hot glue gun. I'm using a few different colors and textures for some interest. And then I'm going to add a little bit of dollar store twine and secure it with hot glue. I'm just wrapping it around the ends so we don't have all those stems showing. I did this to a whole set of the napkin rings and now they feel styled and make such a sweet addition to my tablescape in my dining room. I'm just pulling them over some plain linen napkins, and they're really the star of the show. This is the kind of detail that makes a table feel finished and thoughtful, and we're all ready for guests this season. Now this one might be the simplest DIY, but it is so effective. I'm taking these cork coasters and I'm going to glue them together with a hot glue gun, alternating the way the coasters are facing. I got this idea from all style life on Instagram, and I thought it was so clever. I'm making one a little bit taller and one shorter, and I'm pairing them with these glass candles. I found at Ikea on clearance. I love the ribbed glass on these candles and this beautiful linen scent. Plus mixing textures like this instantly makes things feel so much more high end. These look gorgeous either on my countertop in my bathroom or on the shelves. And they're just such an easy DIY. These are technically candle dishes, but I'm going to flip the idea. I'm going to add some pressed florals underneath and use Mod Podge to adhere them to the bottom of these dishes. Now you have to kind of think backwards for this part. So I'm starting with my top flower that I want to see adding a couple more underneath and finishing off with some greenery. If you want to test this out, you can just do so on a tabletop beside you, make sure you like the arrangement, and then just kind of flip it and reverse it and Mod Podge it onto the back of these candle dishes. Once they're secure and the Mod Podge is dry, I'm finishing with a couple more layers of Mod Podge on the bottom. You could also add a round piece of felt or something like that to these, but I'm just going to leave them as is. And now they look like delicate vintage coasters. And I love that they're the perfect size for my coffee cups here on my coffee station. So for under $150 altogether, I upgraded every room in my home for this season. And honestly, I love how these pieces don't feel like Ikea anymore. And if you love these kinds of transformations, you're going to love this video that I'm going to leave for you up in that top left-hand corner. I'm sharing even more Ikea hacks that make your home look designer. I'll see you there.