Modern Ikea-Inspired DIYs for the Home

This post shares a roundup of modern Ikea-inspired DIYs for the home. It includes both Ikea hacks and DIYs that were inspired by Ikea’s sleek, modern, small-space vibe.

17 Modern Ikea-Inspired DIYs for the Home

Hey all, today I’m rounding up a bunch of my past projects with one theme: modern Ikea inspired DIYs for the home! And boy do I have a ton of them. Sit tight.

1. DIY Photo Ledge

Ikea’s photo ledges inspired this easy DIY. We have the Ikea ledges in Ramona’s nursery for her book storage. I decided to make my own the second time around instead of driving to Ikea, and they look great!

This DIY is especially good if you want a shelving solution for a narrow space. This wall above Mike’s desk also needs to maintain clearance for a closet door to the left, and we didn’t want it to feel too crowded with shelves that had a bigger depth.

2. DIY Spice Organizer for a Drawer

This DIY was inspired by Ikea’s many simple kitchen organizing ideas. We have a lot of spices because Mike does a lot of cooking, and spice storage seems to be something that gives everyone trouble.

I decided to make a cheap drawer insert custom-fit for our drawer to keep everything organized and easy to see. I love it—in fact, I loved it so much that I made a similar DIY junk drawer organizer.

3. Modern DIY Murphy Bed

There are some awesome murphy bed Ikea hacks out there. Unfortunately this isn’t one of them. 🙂 Instead, this project was inspired by Ikea products and their ability to maximize small spaces with functional multi-use designs.

We have our DIY murphy bed in a room that is a guest space, a play space, and a home office. The murphy bed design makes a lot of that possible—especially with the additional storage shelves and hooks on the side!

4. Space-Saving C-Shaped End Table

I made this space-saving C-shaped end table out of scrap wood from our murphy bed build. And we have gotten a TON of use out of it. We recently moved it to the other side of the couch so we can keep the remotes out of Ramona’s reach!

5. Build a Shoe Cubby

Ikea has about a zillion storage solutions, and shoes are a storage problem for most people. I built this shoe storage cubby a few years ago and modeled it after Ikea’s cubby storage solutions. We’ve now had it for about three years!

Now if we could just teach a 1.5 year old to put her shoes in the cubby…instead she really just likes taking them out and saying “mommy’s shus” and “daddy’s shus.”

6. Ikea Rast Makeover

Would I even be a DIY blogger without an Ikea Rast makeover? Nope. Here’s one I did a few years ago for DecoArt. I painted it and added a geometric design. Then later I added a stained top to upgrade it a bit.

7. DIY Dollhouse Bookcase

I loved, loved, loved making this one. The Ikea and Pottery Barn dollhouses inspired this build. We made something that is sized slightly between those two and has plenty of storage for books, toys, and trinkets.  

I finished it with an unfinished wood look with black accents to give it that modern Ikea look and feel. Unfortunately we didn’t have room to keep this one, so it lives at grammy and pappy’s house.

8. Cat House Side Table Build

This retro cat house side table was inspired by two things: 1) having furniture that serves two purposes, and 2) Ikea’s Lurvig pet house. I guess you could say this piece also serves three purposes, because it is next to the murphy bed and could be a nightstand for guests. 🙂

The hairpin legs add a nice modern twist on a more traditional wooden cat house. I also think the porthole entry helps with that, too.

9. Cat Condo Ikea Table Hack

Throwing it back to this DIY cat condo I made what feels like decades ago. I made it using the cheap Lack tables from Ikea. This DIY served us well for a few years, until it was replaced by the DIY cat tree made out of a real tree. Major upgrade for my kitters!

10. DIY Raised Dog Feeder

Ikea’s modern style inspired this DIY raised dog feeder. The unfinished matte wood look with a black painted dipped effect is a great look! You can grab the full build plans and see a video of the build. Because your pup deserves stylish items, too.

11. Easy DIY Monitor Stand

I made this easy DIY monitor stand years ago using a piece of scrap wood and four Ikea pegs. I’m not sure, but I think the intended purpose of the pegs is to raise furniture off the floor, but they work perfectly as monitor stand legs.

I still use this DIY monitor stand every. single. day. and love having a spot to slide my keyboard under when my desk turns into a workspace or craft space. It’s all about functionality.

12. DIY Pull-Down, Wall-Mounted Drying Rack

We have a washer and a dryer, but I like to line dry as much of my stuff as I can. I also have some items like sweaters that need to be laid flat to dry. This pull-down, wall-mounted drying rack hangs on the back of our laundry closet door.

It was a pretty simple build and has lots of room for hanging items, as well as a screened mesh area that’s perfect for sweat drying. No more flipping a sweater over!

13. Stainless Steel Bowl Hanging Planter

This is one of my favorite modern Ikea-inspired DIYs. I made this hanging planter a few years ago, and it’s still one of my favorite Ikea hacks. In fact, I made three more: one for our bedroom, one for the living room, and a smaller one for my workspace.

The Blanda Blank bowls come in a few different sizes, so there’s surely one to meet your needs. Make sure you read about how to plant in pots without drainage if you’re going to do this DIY. I planted a pothos plant in mine, which is very easy to propagate and care for!

14. Modern Succulent Centerpiece

I had the awesome opportunity of doing an in-store DIY demo for my local Ikea a few years ago. We made succulent centerpieces using only items from Ikea! The centerpiece wasn’t a planter, either. It was a utensil holder! Check out the full DIY.

15. Customized Papaja Plant Pot

I love Ikea’s planters. They are cheap and so easy to customize. I worked with Cricut a few years ago to share a really easy way to customize an Ikea Papaja plant pot using paint and adhesive foil.

You could do this with any size pot, color, or design. If you don’t have a cutting machine, you could cut a design by hand or paint the design on.

16. Easy Color-Blocked Cutting Board

Easy paint projects are the best! I customized this Ikea cutting board to give it a dipped effect on the handle. Now it makes the perfect serving tray.

17. Large DIY Wall Art

I love the giant canvas art at Ikea, but none of them were really what I wanted for the huge empty wall in our living room. So I ran with the idea and made my own.

Our DIY oversized wall art was made using a frame we built from scratch, a drop cloth, and a beautiful tapestry I found online. It makes the same statement that the large canvas art at Ikea makes, but it’s so easy to customize exactly to your liking.

Pin my modern Ikea-Inspired DIYs for the home!