8 Living Rooms with IKEA Furniture That Look Expensive

In this guide, we've gathered impressive living rooms from our projects decorated with products from the Swedish brand. Read how designers used clever tricks to mask the recognizable design and avoid associations with mass-market or budget solutions.

In their projects, professionals tend to use IKEA products sparingly, but examples of whole-home IKEA decoration that work well also exist.

One such example is this Moscow 2-room apartment. To elevate the ambiance to a solid level, clients invested in quality finishing: solid doors, wooden floors, and gypsum moldings instead of polyurethane ones. Vintage accents also helped: in the living room, these were original posters (as the designer says, they highlight the 60s theme and refresh the interior) and a restored vintage chair.

In general, most IKEA items are an ideal choice for various nostalgic settings. In this spacious apartment, IKEA furniture also works well with the aesthetic of domestic retro—Soviet design.

There are few IKEA items here; only a sofa in the living room, which wasn't planned from the start: the decision to use IKEA furniture was driven by budget constraints that were reduced during the renovation process. However, the neutral shape and calm gray color of the sofa made a great backdrop for red accents—pillows, paintings, and accessories.

The client of this Moscow apartment wanted the interior to reflect the designer's touch, so the living area is bold and contrasting, even though it doesn't look fully lived-in yet: it was planned to gradually fill the decor.

Just like in the previous project's living area, for this one, a subtle IKEA sofa was chosen along with a pair of sideboards from the same series, also understated. Next to it is a classic-style faux fireplace and provocative photos. Sharp contrasts and bold style mixing gave the living room the desired designer look.

Recognize the chair? To integrate IKEA classics into context (in this Minsk 2-room flat, the client wanted to preserve warmth and "stalinist" ambiance), a new cover was sufficient. By the way, the contrasting fabric with a bold floral pattern is also part of the brand's collection.

In this living room, the designer went in the opposite direction: she made the BILLY shelf — another IKEA bestseller — an extension of the wall, matching the model’s tone to the finish. The interior was planned in a Scandinavian style or its Russian adaptation, so IKEA here is a deliberate choice. Besides the shelf, there are many items from other Scandinavian brands in the apartment: Louis Poulsen, &tradition, BoConcept.

Brutal furniture in the loft style often costs significantly more than regular modern items, but IKEA helps here too: the brand offers affordable solutions for industrial design lovers. A vivid example is this TV cabinet in the studio’s living area in Krasnodar, resembling a school locker.

The concept of this St. Petersburg 2-room flat involves balanced asceticism, emphasis on geometry and clean lines, so the YPPERLIG lamp fits all criteria. The design of the lamp is minimalist and strict, so its origin is not noticeable in the setting.

In this living room in a St. Petersburg 2-room flat, the IKEA wool-free carpet is paired with fabrics purchased in Paris. The "plaiting" and textured jute fibers in the carpet composition can indeed be very in line with the ideas of Provence style.