How Designers Transformed IKEA Items: 10 New Ideas

IKEA not only helps us and you, but also designers. See how professionals skillfully change the look of furniture from the Swedish brand and turn it into design. Take these ideas down!

Shoe Cabinet HEMNES

In this project, the main tool for designer Aliya Tauasarova was color: orange chairs, green kitchen cabinet, emerald sofa. For the IKEA shoe cabinet, a bright and clean blue tone was also found. The designer rearranged two identical HEMNES shoe cabinets, repainted them, and they became similar to a modern designer chest of drawers.

Design: Aliya Tauasarova. View the full project

Chest of Drawers HEMNES

Designers use IKEA furniture not only in their projects but also in their own homes. For example, Natalia Sorokina placed a HEMNES chest of drawers on her garden veranda. But she changed it almost beyond recognition: repainted it red, aged the facades, and replaced standard handles with ceramic ones.

Design: Natalia Sorokina. View the full project

Chair TOBIAS

Designer David Aksenov decorated his apartment for himself. He largely bet on IKEA and design experiments. For example, the steel chrome frame of the chair was painted to match the color of the kitchen table base. The kitchen space became airy and vibrant.

Design: David Aksenov. View the full project

Wardrobe PAX

PAX wardrobes are among the top positions in IKEA. If they are refined further, they can't be distinguished from custom-made furniture. For example, in Julia Shadrina's project. In the bedroom, the designer planned a wardrobe for everyday clothes. The regular PAX wardrobe was refined: an additional row of drawers was ordered to the ceiling and they were tinted to match the facade color.

Design: Julia Shadrina. View the full project

Chest of Drawers MALM

This children's design was created by Anastasia Struve with a little extra space. Therefore, they chose fairly standard and simple furniture that can be replaced later. For storage, they chose the MALM chest of drawers and decided to turn it into a design item. The chest's facades were painted by an artist – bright and yet cute flamingos helped create a childlike atmosphere in the room.

Design: Anastasia Struve. View the full project

Malmm and SKONEVIK Chests

This project has many interesting ideas. IKEA was also involved here. The large desk was made as functional and cheap as possible. The base consisted of two MALM and SKONEVIK chests, and a countertop was installed on top. Two convenient workspaces were created.

Design: Ekaterina Malmygina. View the full project

Table BURVICK

In this same studio, another IKEA furniture item was changed: the side table BURVICK was painted in a bright red color. Combined with a concrete ceiling, yellow walls, and exposed wiring, it creates a relaxed atmosphere and helps enhance loft style.

Design: Ekaterina Malmygina. View the full project

Cabinet BESTO

Another cabinet in our selection and another interesting renovation. For the design, designer Diana Maltseva suggested using the internal IKEA BESTO combination, and making the external facades custom-made with individually selected color and routed upper facades. This is cheaper than ordering a built-in cabinet entirely, and it's not immediately recognizable as IKEA furniture.

Design: Diana Maltseva. View the full project

HEMNES Shelf and STRANDMON Chair

The interior of the designer Inna Velichko's apartment can be looked at for a long time. Especially attention was drawn to familiar furniture items – a chair and shelves in the living room. Yes, all of these are IKEA. The STRANDMON chair was reupholstered, and the HEMNES bookshelves became loft-style by nature – with metal slats instead of back walls and wheels instead of legs.

Design: Inna Velichko. View the full project

Chest of Drawers BRUGGIA

The bathroom interior in this two-bedroom flat started with a chest of drawers. Designer Sergey Cherkaсов liked the model at IKEA, but it didn't fit the size, so the furniture item was customized on his own. They changed the legs, removed the top countertop and replaced it with artificial stone, painted the facades black, and installed new handles – it turned out very well.

Design: Sergey Cherkaсов and Tatiana Bulakh