IKEA mirror hacks - the fairest of easy updates that won't blow the budget

Social media is awash with IKEA mirror hacks and inspiration abounds, but it's so easy to lose an hour scrolling for the good stuff. When instead you could be styling a bargain piece into a beautiful home update.

Everyone wants more bang for their buck and an IKEA hack is an affordable way to save cash and score maximum style points. It also gives you a creative buzz, when you see the fruits of your labours transform an everyday item into something beautiful. Especially when it enables you to put your personal stamp on your home decor.

It doesn't even need to be a new item - if you really want to be canny with your cash, source old IKEA mirrors on Freecycle, FB Marketplace or Ebay. A few scratches or marks will soon be covered with your on-trend transformation. You'll be doing your bit for the planet too.

To save you time scrolling, we've whittled down the best of the IKEA mirror hacks, so you can choose your favorites and get sawing, spraying and styling yourselves.

Ikea mirror hacks

1. Revamp a Hovet with industrial style

In Oslo, Norway, Tina Stuestol aka @interiorwife took a bog standard IKEA white Hovet mirror and gave it a cool industrial look with a can of black spray paint. According to Tina the project cost her just $74. 

Tina explains that she taped newspaper to the glass mirror to protect it, while she spray painted the outer frame with black spray paint. She then let it dry and glued thin strips of wood that she had also spray painted to the glass to create the inner grid. She said you could use black tape for this instead, if you wanted a short cut.

That's a pretty impressive weekend's work we say! 

What you'll need for this IKEA hack:

- IKEA HOVET mirror

- masking tape 

- black spray paint

- newspaper

- thin strips of plywood

- glue

2. Add elegance to VIKEDAL mirrored doors

Superfront took the IKEA hack and raised it to a whole new level with a successful business to boot some years ago. This cool Swedish company continue to make it simple to professionally pimp IKEA cabinets into knock-out pieces with stylish fronts and worktops. 

The @superfrontdotcom Holy Wafer brass handles look so elegant on the mirrored doors of this IKEA wardrobe. Thanks to the creative talents of interior designer, Gemma Tucker of Balance Interior Design , they transform the piece into a winning part of this gorgeous scheme.

'Ikea hacks are a cost effective way of creating a designer look on a budget,' says Gemma. 'The Holy Wafer handles were super simple to attach, making this an easily achievable hack. They add a subtle hint of luxe to the simple, streamline finish of the Pax whilst remaining modern and unobtrusive in this small space.'  Knowing how to customize an IKEA Pax opens up a world of opportunity.

What you'll need for this IKEA hack: 

- IKEA PAX wardrobe (or similar)

- VIKEDAL mirrored doors

- KOMPLEMENT. soft closing hinges

- Superfront Holy Wafer handles

- Screwdriver and raw plugs 

3. Bring grandeur to a secondhand Songe

At @mrs_macs_home, the seasoned hacker gave an old IKEA Songe mirror a gilding of grandeur for just £30. Ok, so she admits she already had the mirror and left over spray paint from a previous project, but this is still a savvy way to cash and breath new life into a tired piece.

'I already had the IKEA Songe mirror, which unfortunately IKEA no longer sell, but kept a look out on FB Marketplace or Gumtree for a second hand one,' she says. 'I started by spray painting the mirror in gold spray paint, then I sprayed the cheap wooden mouldings I found on Amazon.'

Once dry I then glued the mouldings onto the mirror and done.'

What you'll need for this Ikea hack: 

- IKEA SONGE mirror (or similar)

- Rustoleum gold spray paint

- timber mouldings

- glue

4. Make a giant mirror with 35 smaller LOTS

It's hard to believe this giant wall mirror is an IKEA hack that cost less than $135, but it is - and @chroniclesoflivi makes it look super easy to create too. 

The interiors enthusiast and blogger took two large sheets of MDF (obviously meticulously measured and cut to size) and secured them together. Next step was to glue strips of pre-cut plywood to create the frame around the edge and the grid. Livi sprayed this with gold paint and glued 35 LOTS mirrors (which come in packs of 4) in between the plywood timbers. 

The result is pretty impressive, especially due to the effortlessly cool way @chroniclesoflivi has her giant mirror propped against the wall.

What you'll need for this IKEA hack:

- a sheet or two of MDF, according to the size you want

- glue

- strips of plywood cut to size

- gold spray paint

- 35 LOTS mirrors (or as many as you need to suit the size of mirror you want to create).

5. Create an eye-catching wall panel with LÖNSÅS

There was something similar but simpler going on for @elocin_home. Her IKEA hack resulted in an impressive giant mirrored wall panel and the process involved painting rather than sawing.

'I used Dulux Trade White and Gentle Fawn paint and IKEA YLLEVAD photo frames and LÖNSÅS mirrors  to create the wall mirror,' she says. 'It's completely changed the look of the room.'

Once she'd repainted the wall white (and let it dry), she simply measured and marked out the 'frame' on the wall with frog tape, then painted the section in the fawn color.  With the mirrors placed in the photo frames, she then stuck them to the wall in rows with sticky tabs that came with the mirrors and voila - a huge wall 'mirror'!

What you'll need for this IKEA hack: 

- paint and brush

- frog tape

- 20 x LÖNSÅS mirrors 21x30cm

- 20 YLLEVAD photo frames 21x30cm

- UHU glue 

6. Strike a pose with matt black

Back at mrs_macs_home and another simple SONAG mirror hack. This time a dated silver SONAG has been given a stylish update with a lick of matt black paint. And the request came from her followers.  

'We’ve had this silver IKEA mirror for years and after you all telling me to paint it, of course I do as I’m told,' says the hacker. 'It didn’t cost a penny either as I used leftover Zinsser ALLCOAT paint, colour matched to Farrow & Ball Off Black.'

This hack needs no further instruction, other than to make sure you cover the mirror with newspaper, secured with masking tape, to prevent paint splashes on the glass.

What you'll need for this IKEA hack:

- A SONAG mirror

- A tester pot or two of paint (or any that you like leftover from a previous project) and paint brush

- Newspaper and masking tape

7. Give Lettan a crittal-style edge

This super stylish yet simple hack is from @benedictehn in Norway.  And although it's not her most recent project, the industrial-style result is still on point. In fact, it's a stand-out feature in her stylish living room. 

@benedictehn painted the pre-cut plywood and molding strips black, and glued the moldings to the base once it had dried to create the frame. She then glued the mirrors to the base and stuck the molding strips over the glass. The final flourish was the black string bulb lights casually draped around the edge.

What you'll need for this IKEA hack: 

- A piece of plywood cut to size for the base

- 2 LETTAN mirrors

- moldings or strips of plywood cut to size

- black paint and paint brush

- glue

8. Make a chic bathroom cabinet

Not specifically an IKEA bathroom hack, but this caddy is a cool and clever mirror project from blogger Brittni Mehlhoff @paperandstitch all the same. We've included it as it's a canny idea, which could likely be achieved with IKEA's TOREKOV, or similar. Just make sure the mirror is lightweight and glued securely so it stays in place. 

'To save on floor space, I went vertical with a modern DIY bathroom organizer that you can hang on the wall,' says Brittni. 

Here's how she did it. 'Start by deciding where you want to place the tray and mirror in relation to the backboard and mark those areas off with a pencil.

Flip the board over to the backside and mind the middle point of the width. Use that as a guide for marking off two screws (2-3 inches apart from each other), that are 3-4 inches down from the top of the board. Screw in the screws and wrap wire around the two again and again to form a sturdy loop as shown for the finished piece to hang from.

Next, starting with the tray (which will be your shelf), measure and mark off 2-3 points that are evenly spaced out for your screws to go.

Then, drill pilot holes for each mark you made to make the next step a little easier.

Place the shelf onto the marks you made in step 1 on the backboard. Screw the screws through the pilot holes and down into the backboard, through the shelf.

Using heavy duty glue, attach the mirror to the backboard – being sure to line it up with the marks you made.

Add leather loops to the bottom of the backboard (underneath the shelf) with screws and a drill.'

Brittini then paints the visible screws gold to look like brass, and also cautions. 'Check the sturdiness of your shelf before adding heavy items to it. If it’s just a handful of things like mine, you’ll be fine. But it’s not a miracle worker, it's just a shelf, so don’t overload it with super heavy stuff unless you feel confident in how you built it and how many screws you put in.' 

There's more detail on her blog and details on how to make the leather hooks.   

What you'll need for this hack:

- a piece of plywood (approx 21.5 x 12 inches)

- a simple wooden tray 

- a circular mirror 

- 1/2 - 1/4" leather straps

- Heavy duty glue (like super glue or Gorilla Glue, etc)

- screws

- power drill

- ruler or tape measure

- pencil for marking

- sturdy wire (that's also bendable) to hang when finished

- (optional) table clamp

- (optional) gold leaf paint and paint brush

9. Increase the sense of space with a crittal-style wall

One couple has increased the sense of space in their bijou abode with a wall-to-wall mirrored panel. 

This was another hack with IKEA LOTS mirrors. They've made it sound simple but this would have taken meticulous measuring, super straight walls and painstaking precision when sticking the mirrored squares on.  

'It’s the LOTS mirrors from IKEA they come in packs of 4, and we just painted the wall black and then put the mirrors on,' says Ashley @our_gaff).

It's a spectacular result, which they are quite rightly chuffed to bits with.

What you'll need for this IKEA hack:

- black paint (or color of your choice) brush, roller and tray

- enough packs of LOTS mirrors to cover your space

HOW DO YOU STICK AN IKEA MIRROR TO THE WALL?

Use command strips to hang a mirror or picture frame without nails - they can be bought on Amazon. Clean the wall with isopropyl rubbing alcohol first (normal household cleaning products leave a residue). The manufacturers also suggest leaving a painted wall to dry for a week before hanging frames with command strips.

They work a bit like velcro but follow the manufacturer's instructions in the pack, as the amount you need to stick on the frame or wall will depend on the weight of the frame you want to hang.