6 Best IKEA Hack Furniture Pieces

Which are the best IKEA hack furniture pieces? Our top 6 hack-able choices are sturdy and versatile so you can DIY an upgrade to make custom storage and furniture on an IKEA budget! 

See all of our IKEA hack tutorials here and our favorite easy (faux) built-in IKEA shelf trick here. 

The Best IKEA Hack Furniture for DIYers

IKEA has some great furniture pieces that are super versatile… but can IKEA furniture be modified? YES! Many IKEA products are perfect for making your own statement piece with easy IKEA hacks.

Looking for good IKEA furniture to hack is different than just looking for good IKEA furniture. DIYers, you know what I mean!

If you are new to hacking IKEA pieces or a veteran, you will want to check out these 6 best IKEA hack furniture pieces to get some inspiration.

These sturdy dressers, tables, shelves, and more have great bones to become fabulous and luxe semi custom DIY furniture pieces for your home. A little glue, some new hardware, mwah, it’s beautiful!

Our favorite IKEA pieces to hack are solid and square.

Solid wood or solid IKEA “cardboard” style makes it easy to adapt pieces to fit your style and aesthetic. The solid structure makes it sturdy enough to cut to modify or to drill through as needed.

A basic square shape to a piece of furniture gives you a great blank slate to add different shelves, hooks, or organizers, plus is a great surface for paint or spray paint, wallpaper or contact paper, or other decorations.

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For these reasons, our top 6 Best IKEA Hack Furniture Pieces are:

1. RAST small wood dresser
2. KALLAX cube shelf (formerly EXPEDIT)
3. INGO small wood table
4. BILLY bookshelf
5. TARVA wood dresser chest
6. RASKOG metal cart with wheels

We’re also big fans of IKEA’s outdoor patio furniture and their kitchen cabinets — no hacks required! (Check out Whitney’s beautiful IKEA kitchen here, too.)

But for these best IKEA hack furniture picks, let’s discuss why we like each — and give you lots of ideas for how to hack it!

Never underestimate the power of paint and new hardware — or an extra board and a few screws!

Plus, don’t pass up the very hack-able shelf brackets and table legs as you wander the IKEA maze! 

Hacks for IKEA Rast Dresser

The Rast dresser is simple with lots of clean lines, making it the perfect dresser to hack.

Legs can easily be added, paint or stain it any color you like and add some new knobs. A little trim, a little paint, and before you know it this cheap dresser is turned from simple to wow.

Check out these amazing IKEA RAST dresser hacks & transformations.

Madeline turned an awkward nook into a built-in media center and TV console for her living room using 2 inexpensive RAST dressers.

This mirrored turned leg dresser hack that Sarah completed looks nothing like its humble RAST chest beginnings!

See more High Class IKEA Hacks that don’t look anything like flat-pack furniture!

Double the fun… 2 small RAST dressers, a bit of lumber, and a couple legs made for this perfect nursery storage dresser with storage and changing table for Betty’s home!

And 6 more amazing IKEA RAST dresser hacks: 

• Dresser into Potato and Vegetable Bin by Show and Tell
• Industrial Shiplap Night Stand by Cherished Bliss
• Apothecary Cabinet by What Rose Knows
• Two-Tone Mid-Century Modern Chest by Midwestern Girl
• Custom Closet RAST Wardrobe Hack by Homemade by Carmona
• RAST as Storage Desk Hack by Addison Meadows Lane

Hacks for Expedit/Kallax Shelving Unit

The IKEA KALLAX cube shelf unit (formerly EXPEDIT) looks like a funky and fun piece without any hacking involved, but wow there are so many ways to spice up these basic square shelf storage units to look high-end.

Want to build your own large cube storage shelf? Use our plans to build this cubby shelf as an entry table or changing table.

Add doors, flip them on their side to make a bench, create a faux built-in. And don’t forget the possibilities with spray paint (use the right primer!), a new desktop, or a little bit of creativity.

You can also find similar large 13″ cube shelves at Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and other retailers, woohoo!

Check out these amazing Kallax hacks & transformations.

One of our favorites: how to fake an IKEA built-in! A bit of extra baseboard makes this cube shelf look built-in and permanent but it’s totally moveable — perfect for renters.

Wrapping a cube shelf with wood and adding legs like Corinna did takes the KALLAX from basic to mid-century beautiful.

We saw a similar look at a homeshow — so easy to just add a solid wood top and sides to several cube shelves for a long cubby organizer!

Honey Bear Lane hacked the KALLAX and a couple of bookcases to make this amazing long storage console for under her TV to hold media and toys.

Bettina turned a KALLAX cube shelf into flat file drawers — perfect for art or large papers, and it looks amazing!

A bit of plywood backing and some inexpensive furniture legs make this cube shelf a beautiful freestanding display for books and decor at Delia Creates.

A bit of pipe and DIY barn door hide the TV perfectly in this large EXPEDIT unit turned tv console via IKEA Hackers.

Turn an IKEA cubby shelf into a Pottery Barn console with this hack:

It only takes a bit of ingenuity and a few materials to turn a cube shelf into a play kitchen:

• Storage Cubby Craft Table by The Family Handyman
• Standing Cube Shelf IKEA Desk by Apartment Therapy
• Cube Shelf Dollhouse by The Land of Nod Blog
• Platform Bed by Vanilla Joy
• Laundry Room by Six 2 Eleven

Hacks for IKEA Ingo wood table

The Ingo small table!!! I mean it looks like just a table, right? Wrong!!!

Paint it, stain it or cut right into the table top for some incredible changes that will make you think this is more than just a table.

We also love the versatility of the LACK table for hacking and the solid wood HEMNES desk.

See some of these fabulous INGO Ikea table hacks.

• Kids LEGO Table by A Little of This a Little of That
• Tiled Table Top by If you Want to Be
• Farmhouse Table by Eastcoast Creative
• Sewing Table by Make it Handmade
• Fancy Desk by Matsutake
• Gold Dipped Table Legs at Dig Digs

Hacks for Billy Bookcase

I adore bookshelves, because I love books. And the Billy bookcase is a winner in my book, whether you just need a solid decent-looking bookshelf or you’re hacking it into a new look.

Again, the simple lines on furniture pieces lend themselves to be manipulated into something so much better.

Add some molding, doors and more for a new look that isn’t just a plain bookcase like these Billy makeovers.

BILLY is a standard because it’s been around for so long. But depending on your size needs, the GERSBY bookcase, BESTA unit, BRIMNES shelf, or EKET storage system can also be great options.

You might also consider using the inexpensive HYLLIS metal shelf or the affordable IKEA IVAR cabinets and wooden shelf system pieces to create open shelving solutions like these:

Check out these amazing uses for a hacked Billy bookcase! 

Marianne turned an outdated nook into a great desk with storage using a few Billy Bookcases.

Tamara build her own custom built-in TV console with plenty of storage!

Turn a bookcase into a storage hutch by adding a custom base:

For a dressed up look, grab a set of Billy bookcase doors and add some caning! (This picture is actually an IKEA cabinet, Brimnes, but the concept is the same.)

More amazing IKEA Billy hacks: 

• Built-Ins by Scrap Hacker
• Kitchen Island by Golden Boys and Me
• Library Wall by Bliss at Home for Better Homes and Gardens
• Castle Bed by IKEA Hackers
• Mudroom Lockers by The Polka Dot Chair
• Pantry Shelves by My Sweet Savannah

Hacks for Tarva dresser

The Tarva series offers some great wood chest dressers (as well as a nightstand and bed frames).

Three, five or six drawer dresser varieties give lots of possibility for hacking and areas to put them in your home.

The legs on the Tarva chest (and the rest of the line) are nice because you can wrap them with slats of wood for a more solid look, or cut them into a more interesting shape like this.

Change out the hardware for pulls and instant apothecary chest. Or go modern bohemian and use leather drawer pulls.

We added this built-in closet using a TARVA dresser and an older IKEA wardrobe.

(We also love the new PAX wardrobes we used here!)

For a dresser or nightstand, a bit of paint and stain and a quick cut to the legs gives it a mid-century look:

BONUS: For a quick and easy update, add peel and stick wallpaper to the flat drawer fronts of Ikea’s Hemnes or Tarva or Malm dresser. For a more modern look, marble contact paper will update any dresser or table, too.

Here are plenty more ideas to hack a Tarva chest.

• Built-In Closet by Remodelaholic
• Apothecary Cabinet by Everyday Enchanting for Remodelaholic
• Mid-Century Modern Dresser by A Vintage Splendor
• Media Center on Hometalk
• Honeycomb Dresser by Simply Designing

See 25 More IKEA TARVA hacks here. 

Hacks for Raskog cart (also found on Amazon)

Similar carts are also available at Michaels craft store, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and other retailers. 

One little cart. So simple. So adorable. So many possibilities.

Hacking a RASKOG cart is more about how you use it than cutting it up like some of these other hacks.

This little rolling cart can hold spices, beauty supplies, art supplies, cleaning materials… anything you can think of! Plus, the wheels make it super easy to move around and you can easily find accessories like hooks and organizers.

Look at these Raskog cart hacks and pick your favorite one so you can bring home this fun cart next time you head to IKEA.

• Rolling Vanity by The Polka Dot Chair
• Homework Station by Smashed Peas and Carrots
• Lunch Cart by How Does She
• Succulent Garden by Succulents and Sunshine
• Cleaning Cart by Homedit

Runner-Up: Hacks for the Bekvam Line

The BEKVAM spice rack and step stool are both solid wood and ripe for hacking!

• 12 easy IKEA BEKVAM stepstool hacks
• 25 ways to use the IKEA BEKVAM spice rack

Honorable Mention: Hacks for the Lack Table and Shelf

The little ol’ LACK tables and shelves are great pieces for beginning DIYers who don’t want to build a side table or a floating shelf from scratch.

• 29 Ways to Hack a Lack Side Table
• How to Make a Basic IKEA LACK Shelf Look Custom

What are your favorite pieces to hack from IKEA??

We’ve got 70+ more great IKEA projects here to inspire you!

See more of our best IKEA hacks:

• How to Tuft IKEA Couch Cushions or Get a Custom IKEA Slipcover
• IKEA kitchen cabinet hack for over the fridge cabinet organizing + 10 more IKEA kitchen hacks
• Cheap Large Picture Frames Using an IKEA FISKBO Frame
• Build a Small Bathroom Storage Vanity, or an Open Vanity, or a Floating Sink Vanity with an IKEA Sink
• Build a Metal Bucket Organizer + 15 Ways to Use the IKEA SOCKER Cheap Metal Buckets

First Published 30 Mar 2016 // Last Updated 20 Apr 2023