9 best Ikea hacks to help upgrade your home

Lantern terrarium? Yes, please!
By Amanda Luz Henning Santiago  on 
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The only thing better than Ikea is Ikea hacks.

The Swedish furniture chain has everything you could ever need, from sofas to salt and pepper shakers. What you may not realize is Ikea's bountiful home goods are also super easy to customize and alter.

Ikea spice racks can be used to hold your nail polish collection, lanterns can be turned into terrariums, and stools can be made into statement pieces. The hacks are endless.

You can find hundreds of Ikea hacks floating around the web. There's even an Ikea hacking website dedicated solely to the art. We gathered nine of the best Ikea hacks we could find to help you revamp and upgrade your home, without draining your bank account.

1. Turn coasters into a funky dish for your jewelry

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All that's required to turn Ikea's 365+ cork board coasters into a chic catch-all is a bit of paint. You can find a fun design idea here, or decorate your coaster however you please.

2. Make yourself a furry stool

There's nothing like adding a dash of faux fur to transform any piece of furniture into an expensive-looking statement piece. Learn how to transform this basic Marius stool — priced at only $5.99 — into something a little more glamorous.

3. Transform a Borrby lantern into an adorable terrarium

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Credit: IKEA

There's nothing like breathing some life into your home with a little bit of greenery. So, why not turn a lantern into a beautiful terrarium?

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Transforming Ikea's Borrby lantern into a terrarium is beyond easy, and it can be placed in any room, or used as a dinning room centerpiece. You can learn how to make your own terrarium with this simple tutorial.

4. Turn this book shelf into a golden shoe rack

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Organized shoe lovers will rejoice when they see this glorious, gleaming shelf stacked with all of their favorite boots, heels, and flats.

All that's required to make this glam shoe rack is the astoundingly, inexpensive Hyllis rack from Ikea. Learn how to make this glam shoe rack here.

5. Make your own cat tree with floating shelves

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If you have a cat that loves to climb, this hack is a must. Learn how to make a cat tree with Ekby Östen and Ekby Hemnes shelves for your fuzzy friend here. And, check out many more Ikea hacks for all of your pets here!

6. Customize this simple wooden dresser

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People on Pinterest are obsessed with this Tarva dresser. It's plain surface and easy to replace handles makes this dresser the perfect blank slate to customize. You can find 25 different design ideas for this dresser here.

7. Buy this spice rack and vastly improve your life

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The Bekväm spice racks can be utilized in so many different ways that you might just want to stock up on them. Use them to hold books, nail polish, clothing, and (if you're lacking creativity) spices.

With so many spice rack hacks to choose from I couldn't pick just one, so here is a full list of ideas to inspire you.

8. Turn a bookshelf into a fun dress up closet for kids

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Credit: IKEA

Use the Billy bookshelf to create a fun dress up closet for kids to indulge their creativity and imagination. You can find a complete step-by-step tutorial here.

9. Create the illusion of built-in bookshelves with Billy bookcases

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This hack requires a significant amount of time to pull off, but you'll be glad you did it.

The illusion of built-in bookshelves will make it seem as if you just redid your living room without the extravagant cost. You can learn how to pull this off here.

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