IKEA Kitchen Hacks — 15 Ways to Customize Budget-Friendly Cabinets to Feel Luxe

If you want to renovate your kitchen on a small budget, IKEA kitchen hacks are the way to go. Whether customizing your cabinets with hardware or creating inventive solutions for bespoke built-ins, IKEA offers brilliant flat-pack foundations to let your creative ideas run wild.

Of course, the best place to start your journey is with an IKEA kitchen. Not only are the carcasses and cabinets from IKEA relatively inexpensive and easy to customize, but they've also got a pretty good reputation for quality. You'd be surprised how many architects and designers use them in their projects.

If, however, you want them to feel even more elevated, there are plenty of IKEA hacks to put your own personal touch on IKEA's off-the-shelf options. Whether it's buying the doors from a specialist retailer that offers even more design-forward cabinet fronts, or incorporating your own clever design features, for a more committed DIY, there are so many ideas to try - and we've rustled up some of the best below.

1. Add an oak finish to the METOD open shelves

IKEA's METOD cabinets have earned icon status within the brand's catalog of flat-packs. Elegantly simple and recognizably Scandi-inspired, they make a reliable kitchen cabinet idea, but they do tend to lack character once in situ.

To add some flair to her small space, Scandinavian blogger and author of the book Lagom (available on Amazon), Niki Brantmark (@myscandinavianhome), decided to add an oak accent to her kitchen. 'This little kitchenette is in our tiny cabin on Sweden's West coast, which we built a couple of years ago,' she says. 'The little kitchenette is built using IKEA METOD and VEDDINGE doors, which we had spray painted by a local professional before it was installed. '

Keen to bring in natural materials to add warmth, the idea for the wood accent inside her open shelving nooks was born. 'The wooden shelves are handmade using slabs of oak from a local DIY store,' explains Niki. 'I'm a firm believer that the items you touch in a kitchen should be high quality so that they last and elevate the experience. The tap is by Cristina Rubinetterie and the brass "Helix" knobs are from a local Swedish brand, Beslag.' The result is so subtle but so effective, and it really helps tie in the surrounding light wood finishes.

2. Give your METOD flatpacks a makeover with chic new door fronts

This project shows the inclusion of wonderful cabinet components from design house Fronteriors which are added to slab cabinet doors for an elevated IKEA kitchen hack. The Dubai-based interior company creates fronts that are specifically designed to complement IKEA’s METOD kitchens, and homeowners Ashely and Tsian Koussa sought the help of Fronteriors to upgrade their space.

'Once we made our decision, we ordered our IKEA and Fronteriors and the whole process took three to four weeks,’ say Ashley and Tsian. ‘Our speedy kitchen renovation with new cabinets feels inviting, homey yet minimal and as if it was custom made without the price tag; I love the way it turned out.’ The reeded effect really helps add texture to this minimalist kitchen, and it's a popular kitchen trend right now, too.

3. Hide your trash can using an IKEA cabinet

Instagram blogger, Rachael Cooney wanted to hide the bin in her newly renovated kitchen to make the space look neater. However, it was difficult to have a conventional pull-out bin in such a narrow space, so she used a shallow IKEA cabinet instead to create a clever pull-out system fixed with a door chain that prevents the door from opening too far.

The result is an efficient bin that's wonderfully hidden and doesn't hamper the flow of the space. 'It's great having the bin hidden away and the design has proved very functional,' Rachael says. 'It’s also so easy to lift the bin in and out, unlike a lot of stand-alone bins.' This IKEA small home hack needn't be limited to your trash can either - it's the perfect solution to hide other more unsightly kitchen items or the likes of laundry baskets, too.

4. Utilize THE IKEA KALLAX to create a kitchen bench

Banquette seating is all the rage right now, so blogger Yves Verelst utilized the versatility and potential of an IKEA KALLAX hack to create an elegant bench in his kitchen. He purchased the KALLAX unit, assembled it, and then DIYed some surrounds so it would fit snugly in an alcove. 'Since this build needed to fit in between two other cabinets, I added side boxes that are approximately 10 inches wide,' Yves explains.

He then created a DIY seat with some plywood. ‘I laid all the strips out on the table, as they were cut to the same width as the bench seat, then added wood glue and laid the plywood on top,’ he explains. Yves then finished his IKEA kitchen hack by decorating it with a task light, IKEA's BRANÄS storage boxes, and soft furnishings for that perfectly cozy look.

5. Turn a freestanding fridge into a built-in masterpiece

Home renovator and DIY aficionado Hannah Otto of the Otto House used some fluted baseboards, a sheet of MDF, and a lick of pink paint to create a custom built-in IKEA hack in her country kitchen. The built-in fridge effect was made using two IKEA METOD units placed on either side which extend around a foot above the top of the appliance. This also allowed Hannah to integrate a shelf into the design to store her recipe books.

To create the seamless look, she used the same METOD units to match the flat slab doors on her other units. 'All units have matching handles, paint color and baseboards so that the IKEA hack ties in well with the rest of the kitchen,' she says. For the baseboards, she used moldings from Orac Decor, 'which match the ones I made for the units opposite,' says Hannah. She painted these in a brighter shade of pink called Red Sand by Dulux. The result is a calming, pink kitchen idea that always looks welcoming.

6. Create a beautiful bespoke country kitchen from IKEA cabinets

Couple Dean Poulton and Borja De Maqua used IKEA kitchen base units before turning it into a splendid retreat, and it now looks like one of the best designer IKEA hacks we've seen. Once all the carcasses were ready, they then cut MDF to create the doors. 'We created a very simple design for the doors as we wanted to add paneling to make it look more in keeping with the age of the property,' says Dean.

'Once the doors were cut to the right sizes, we bought an attachment online so we could make the holes for the IKEA hinges,' Borja adds. 'After some painting and many evenings working, voila! We made ourselves a kitchen that no one would know is an IKEA kitchen.' The beautiful green hue used in this IKEA kitchen cabinet hack is Jade from Fenwick and Tillbrook and the brass handles are from Yester Home.

7. Make a sleek tall cabinet with a clever IKEA IVAR hack

Ruth of @mrs_macs_home is a whizz at IKEA storage, and we love her light and bright pantry idea which looks far more expensive than it actually was to make. 'We used two of the larger IVAR pine cabinets to make a worktop pantry for our budget kitchen makeover,' she says. 'Once built, we put one on top of the other and screwed them together to secure and then anchored to the wall.'

To give her IKEA kitchen cabinet hack a seamless look, Ruth then glued MDF strips around the front and side coving to the top, and added new Shaker-style handles. 'I used Zinsser ALLCOAT color matched to Farrow & Ball Cornforth White to paint and match the rest of the kitchen,' she adds.

8. Get a Shaker-style kitchen pantry with a cool IKEA IVAR hack

Ruth also made doing the laundry a much more pleasant experience with another very cool IKEA Ivar hack. 'We made a kitchen pantry with two cabinets and bought another two to turn into wall cabinets for our utility makeover,' she says. 'Once assembled we attached it to the wall with heavy-duty hollow wall anchors. These cabinets are heavy so, if mounted, you need to make sure they’re well secured.'

Ruthen then added MDF panels to create Shaker-style doors. 'The MDF also hides all the screws and the gap in the door,' she says. 'I then painted in Zinsser ALLCOAT and added the same handles we used in our kitchen makeover.' The result is chic and practical storage that looks professionally made.

9. Fashion a kitchen island from IKEA base units

Ananda, owner of the blog 'Pieces of a Rainbow' created the most beautiful IKEA kitchen island hack using base cabinets. She used IKEA GRIMSLOVE doors and spray-painted them in Sherwin-Williams Emerald latex paint. For ultimate convenience, she then added four wooden legs onto each corner with castor wheels to make it portable.

To give her DIY project extra pizzazz, Ananda then added gold hardware in the shape of a gold towel rail and brushed gold S hooks to hang her pots and pans. The result of this IKEA kitchen hack is so pretty and offers the perfect burst of color in her otherwise neutral kitchen.

10. Breathe life into a tired kitchen with fresh IKEA fronts

Mindy O'Connor of Melinda Kelson O'Connor Design used the IKEA Abstrakt Gray Gloss to give an old kitchen new life. 'We inherited a kitchen that had been constructed pretty recently prior to our renovation,' Mindy explains. 'We didn't want to waste the existing kitchen cabinets, but needed both a new look and a new layout. We reused as many of the IKEA frames as we could from the kitchen to be positioned under the island and the long run of lower perimeter cabinetry.'

For a fresh new look, Mindy then added new glossy gray IKEA face panels to them. 'It saved money and resources, and we then could put more funds into the fully custom ceiling panels, wood cabinetry on the ends of the room to house the appliances, and the mitered marble countertop. It's an elegant modern custom kitchen with about half the cabinets reused from IKEA.' If you're wondering if IKEA kitchens are any good, this IKEA kitchen cabinet hack makes a strong case in favor.

11. Mix and match with an IKEA EKBAKEN worktop 

Want to work on a hack that’s discrete and employs a little bit of ‘design trickery’? Take notes from Medina Grillo, the designer and Instagram influencer behind @grillodesigns — a feed that is jam-packed with amazing decor tricks and tips for modern living.

A lot of the ideas and advice are ‘budget-friendly’, but don’t for a second think that this compromises the style factor. Medina makes sure that it doesn’t. Her wonderful work on this recent kitchen install proves that by weaving in a subtle Ikea hack you can create a kitchen project on a budget that looks every bit high-end.

There’s nothing immediately 'IKEA' about this kitchen, but the kitchen countertop is in fact the EKBACKEN marble-effect laminate worktop. You get the marble look and style, but without the hassle of trying to avoid (or clean up) those pesky red wine spills. The hint of marble really elevates the feel of this space and blends beautifully with the rich cabinetry and classic black and white tiled floor. To go the extra mile, pair with a real marble tea caddy tray, like this one from Amazon, for a layered effect.

12. Create a dreamy kitchen pantry, with a vintage IKEA closet

Normally, a pantry is a design piece reserved for those with a healthy bespoke kitchen budget, but we’re somewhat astounded by the intelligent repurposing of this freestanding IKEA closet into a nifty kitchen storage idea.

This idea comes courtesy of Sarah of The Sarah Challenge. ‘I immediately knew I would have to be creative instead of hunting for the perfect cabinet,' she says. 'With a limited budget, my mind immediately went to an old pine IKEA closet my husband received second-hand many years ago – it’s so old I couldn’t even find what the product name was.’

Sarah immediately saw the vision for her IKEA kitchen hack. She could easily picture putting a few shelves in the closet, hanging shelves on the doors for spices, and using the drawer for tablecloths, napkins, and dishcloths. She gave the old pine aesthetic a lick of pale gray paint and now it makes a seriously chic statement in her kitchen.

13. Create a bespoke floating kitchen sideboard with the IKEA IVAR

This extraordinarily contemporary and chic-looking floating kitchen sideboard unit comes courtesy of home renovator Vilja Ahtojää, (@vilja.ahtojaa), and, believe it or not, it's actually an IKEA IVAR hack.

Artfully put together by sticking craft wooden dowels onto the front, the standard IVAR pine facades are hidden in plain sight. It's more suited — we would suggest — to keeping crockery and glassware in. We can’t imagine that this design would withstand heavy family use. However, from a decorative perspective and for sheer imagination alone, this wooden kitchen cabinet idea gets top marks.

14. Add hand-crafted leather pull tabs to IKEA kitchen cabinetry 

We’ve shown you how to upgrade your IKEA kitchen cabinet handles for traditional style, but how about considering some crafted leather pull tabs? This isn't as difficult a hack to recreate as you might think, seeing as the likes of Etsy have a selection of hand-crafted options to choose from, plus the leather plays into some of the key kitchen trends right now.

We love what @_designtales_ has managed to create with this IKEA kitchen carcass. 'As we do have a lot of rough and industrial elements in our other kitchens, we wanted this one to be fresh, clean, and modern, but also cozy at the same time,' say Laura and Nora, the stylist and photographer couple behind this IKEA kitchen hack. 'We're quite minimal when it comes to furnishing our places, so it’s no surprise, that also our kitchen is quite minimalistic. We do create a lot of mess and chaos in our job during shootings, so for us, it’s very refreshing to live in contrast to that and have enough room for thoughts and creativity.'

15. Turn IKEA cabinet boxes into banquette kitchen seating 

This stunning kitchen just immediately conjures up the presence and aura of a high-end design, doesn’t it? The built-in cabinetry and banquette seating is everything you’d expect from working with a bespoke kitchen manufacturer. However, Andi Wheelband & Renée Frostick, the co-founders of Two Birds Design, have actually curated this beautiful kitchen table seating using some IKEA cabinet boxes as the base (we think it might be the KALLAX design). ‘Can you believe this began with Ikea cabinet boxes?' ask Andi and Renee. 'Thanks to @swedishdoorco and @burlykitchenco for bringing this banquette dream to life!’