B&A: A Basic Pair of End Tables Gets a Not-So-Basic New Look
12 of the Most Colorful IKEA Hacks We’ve Ever Seen
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You like IKEA hacks? Us, too. At Apartment Therapy, we’ve shared everything from the best tips to achieving built-ins from BILLYs, to the optimal DIYs for plant and cat parenthood. So it’s no surprise that we’d once again turn to our very favorite Swedish retailer for project inspiration during Color Month.
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IKEA is generally known for its neutrals, but a little bit of DIY magic can transform even the plainest of pieces into a color party. If you need inspiration on how to pull it off in your space, you’re in luck. Read on to take a walk over the rainbow and see 12 of the most colorful IKEA hacks around. You won’t be able to resist trying one out for yourself.
1. An Island with Tropical Vibes
An island is a great place to add color to your kitchen — it’s small enough that it doesn’t feel like a major commitment, but large enough that it packs a visual punch. Yes, you can buy, or, like Ananda of A Piece of Rainbow, you can DIY. Ananda used IKEA base cabinets and a wood countertop to create her mobile prep space, then completed the look with a vibrant seafoam hue.
2. A Peppy Retro-Inspired Bar Cart
Paint isn’t the only way to enhance IKEA standards. Another great option, especially if you’re a pattern lover, is contact paper or wallpaper. Here, Ariel of PMQ for Two wrapped her MALM dressing table in a stunning retro-inspired wallpaper to use it as a bar cart (oh yeah, she also added the tiniest, most adorable wheels). The trick to pulling off this DIY with a pro look is to take your time and precisely line up the pattern like Ariel did.
3. A Dramatic Gemstone Side Table
Malachite is a beautiful green gemstone with unique whorls when sliced, and it was a popular way to glam up furniture among 18th and 19th century nobility. In 2022, there’s no need to use the real thing. Instead, take a cue from Jewel of Jeweled Interiors. She achieved the same look by covering her plain MALM dresser with malachite-patterned paper.
4. A Whimsical Faux Sheepskin Rug
IKEA’s faux sheepskins are a classic for a reason: They’re affordable, they’re cozy, and they seem to go with almost anything. And while the standard white is lovely, it’s also a blank canvas to create the sheepskin of your dreams. Brittni of Paper & Stitch took up the call and turned hers bubblegum pink — but with fabric dye and some sweat equity, you can achieve any color you’d like.
5. An IVAR Hack with a Surprise Inside
The quickest way to make a simple cabinet look like a statement piece? Paint it the same color as the wall behind it. This trick gives the illusion that the cabinet is bigger than it is (and can even help free-standing furniture look a little more built-in). Here, designer Magdalena (@alloverthehouse) employed that very technique to this set of IVAR cabinets and shelves using an all-over robin’s egg blue color. For a little extra drama, she chose an equally vibrant tomato red for the inside of the open bookshelves.
6. A BESTA that Goes Bold with Color and Texture
Tried-and-true BESTA cabinets can hold their own against IKEA powerhouses like the BILLY and TARVA lines. And no wonder: Their boxy shape gives them a unique silhouette, and the option of doors makes them endlessly customizable. In the case of this hack from Kelly of Studio DIY, the new look is so fresh and unique that it’s hard to see the IKEA cabinet within (it’s there, promise!). Get the look with emerald green paint, statement knobs, new legs, and rattan inserts.
7. A Functional Storage System with a Funky Pattern
The TROFAST system is about as bare-bones as it gets: just a simple pine box outfitted with plain white slide-out tubs. But TROFAST is also a playroom MVP with its ample storage and customizable configurations. Leia (@henry.andhome) punches up the visual appeal of her impressive set with Potter & Mash decals applied over the tubs. In colors complementing the rest of the play space, these decals help the TROFAST look like a statement piece instead of just a workhorse.
8. A Monochromatic Set of Built-Ins
If the trick to making your cabinets look built-in is to paint them the same color as the wall they’re on, then the trick to making them look seriously luxe is to repeat that color throughout. Take inspo from this IKEA hack created by DIYer Tori (@va_va_room). Yes, she paints the wall behind the cabinets a matching sky blue color — but she also paints a half-wall accent on one side and a set of stripes on the other in the same hue. Sticking to a core color palette makes the whole space feel cohesive, not chaotic.
9. Cheery Color-Blocked VALJE Shelving
If you want to introduce maximum color with minimum effort, color blocking is the way to go. It’s easy to pull this technique off with any piece of furniture, but it’s particularly well suited to pieces that have divided sections of various sizes. DIYer Krys of Melodrama used the technique on her hacked VALJE cabinet-turned-bar to highlight each compartment with a different complementary color.
10. A Playful Patterned Lampshade
With all the great furniture hack possibilities, it’s easy to overlook the other treasures IKEA offers. But lighting is another prime opportunity to bring in a little hint of color to your space. This VIDJA floor lamp project, from Claire of Picture Box Blue, features printouts of vintage fish paintings that are tucked inside the shade. Claire’s super easy hack shows how a little creativity can turn a plain floor lamp into a kitschy and whimsical piece of decor.
11. A Statement-Making Wardrobe Surround
The BOAXEL shelving system is a great way to organize a bare closet, but it can also be mounted to any wall with available studs for slim, space-savvy storage. Of course, without a closet the system also lacks a frame — but that doesn’t mean you can’t make one, as designer Judith Achumba-Wollenstein proves in this tween boy’s bedroom makeover designed for a client. The crafted frame packs a big visual punch with a bright red color and a playful shape.
12. An Eye-Catching Upholstered Sofa
Just because you tire of your IKEA sofa’s color doesn’t mean you need to throw the whole thing out. These streamlined couches are a great option for anyone looking to incorporate custom upholstery into their interior design. Designer Christene Barberich recovered her family’s IKEA sleeper in a self-described “1960s atomic Italian modernism” printed fabric for her daughter’s nursery to keep it in use but more in line with the style of the space. This is an especially great hack for reviving sofas that are starting to look a little worse for wear!
B&A: Easy Paint Projects Give One Kid’s Blank Bedroom a Colorful, Cheery Redo
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Colorful bedrooms aren’t reserved for the under-18 crowd, but kids’ spaces do often have color inspiration galore. (Here are 20 of our favorites.) Decorating a child’s bedroom offers up a chance to take bold risks and show off their unique style, personality, and interests in a way that adults sometimes have trouble doing in their own spaces.
Tripurashree Vittal (@craft_myworld) has let the colors of the rainbow guide many past DIY projects, and her daughter’s bedroom is no different. While it was serviceable, the blank-slate look lacked any hint of color or charm.
The walls were all white, which was a “a good foundation to start with,” Tripurashree says. A pink-and-white color scheme fit the bill for her daughter in her younger years, but as she got older, she wanted more color. “My daughter, who is almost nine years old, is getting out of the small kids’ decor and evolving into a sort of tween aesthetic,” Tripurashree says. “This became the great opportunity to design her room into a more colorful, fun, fresh, yet calm space for her to grow up with.”
Tripurashree did several paint projects to help liven things up and move the bedroom into the tween zone. For starters, she painted the wall behind the headboard a minty aqua (Clare’s “Headspace”), her daughter’s favorite color.
“Figuring out the right shade of blue definitely took more time than painting,” Tripurashree says. “It looks green or blue depending on the light and the time of the day! I like both the colors; it works perfectly.”
“Don’t be scared to use paint on anything,” Tripurashree says. “It’s one of the easiest and budget-friendly things you could do to add so much to the space, yet it is very easy to change if you don’t like it.” (Her advice is perfect for Apartment Therapy’s Color Month!) Tripurashree says she decided to use chalk paint on the pieces because it didn’t require as much prep as a latex paint, which helped save some time.
“It took only two weeks to get things together once I planned the layout, decor, and DIY projects,” Tripurashree says of her One Room Challenge redo. “Planning, sourcing furniture, and also working with the ever-changing ideas of my daughter took longer than the execution of the project.”
One of the biggest challenges in transforming the bedroom, Tripurashree recalls, was rearranging the furniture to be able to fit a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and book storage. “The only thing I will do differently is look at the big products in-person rather than ordering online, since I had to return two big mirrors, which took lot of time and effort from my end,” she says.
But she’s pleased she was able to piece it all together in a way that still gives plenty of space to move around, while also incorporating her daughter’s design ideas. “I wanted to involve my daughter in the whole process,” Tripurashree writes on her blog. “She is the one who is going to live in that room, I wanted to get her personality into the space.”
Now, her daughter has a color-filled, functional hideaway to call her own. “I’m super proud of the way the room turned out according to the way it was envisioned,” Tripurashree says.
This piece is part of Color Month, where we’re showing you the best ways to inject more color into your home and life. From paint color combos to vibrant house tours, head over here to see it all.
The Most Colorful Books of 2022 (So Far) to Add to Your Bookshelf
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Looking to add some vibrancy to your bookshelves? Here are some of the prettiest book covers in every color of the rainbow. This list features new fiction releases, both novels and short stories, from 2022, so you’ll most likely be able to find them if you wish to recreate this reading rainbow in your own home.
Starting off is a little pink for the girlies. (Just kidding, pink is typically seen as a feminine color but really, gendered colors are a construct.) “Tell Me I’m An Artist” follows art student Joey over the course of a semester, who has enrolled in a film elective required by her San Fransico university. As Joey struggles to complete a self-portrait assignment (despite having never seen Wes Anderson’s “Rushmore,” she’s chosen to recreate it), themes of imposter syndrome, class, and privilege emerge in this coming-of-age novel.
The eye-catching cover of “Anonymous Sex” oozes a feeling of want and desire with its vibrant red color and plump strawberry hinting at a behind. Between the sheets, you’ll find 27 erotic short stories from 27 authors with zero bylines attached. So pour a glass of wine, draw up a bath, and thank me later.
“Nevada” technically debuted in 2013, but FSG rereleased the cult classic this year with a new afterword from Imogen Binnie. Its reddish-orange cover is a perfect transition book in your reading rainbow, and its insides are equally as alluring. While the synopsis sounds relatively simple — a fiery trans woman embarks on a cross-country road trip from New York City to Nevada — it’s an impactful read that stays with you long after the final page. Torrent Peters, author of “Detransition, Baby,” called “Nevada,” “a book that changed my life.” Going on to say, “it shaped both my worldview and my personhood, making me the writer I am. And it did so by the oldest of methods, by telling a wise, hilarious, and gripping story.”
You can’t tell me the deliciously decadent orange cover of Ling Ma’s short story collection doesn’t do something for you. The eye candy is even sweeter because it’s the much-awaited second release from the author of “Severance,” the post-apocalyptic horror meets satire and road adventure pushed in 2018, made even more popular after the start of the pandemic. Fittingly, Bliss Montage was written during the pandemic, and its short stories, which braid together the all too real with the fantastical, are a strange and wonderful follow-up.
If you’re a fantasy lover, “This Woven Kingdom” makes for both a pretty and enthralling addition to your bookshelf. The first in a new trilogy, Tahereh Mafi’s YA novel has it all: forbidden romance, clashing empires, and an engaging, evenly paced plot.
The saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover, but it’s hard not to be captivated by the design of “Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century.” It’s whimsical, earthy, and is an excellent representation of the speculative and strange short stories that await inside.
Crisp, bright, and relatively simple, the electric cover of “A Very Nice Girl” draws you in, while its story of sex, power, and love — which Meg Mason, the author of “Sorrow and Bliss” called “Sweetbitter” meets “Normal People” — keeps you saying “just one more chapter.”
What lies beneath the ordinary and mundane? Kate Folk explores this, the eerie and unknown, in her creepy, debut short story collection. If the cover is giving you sci-fi vibes, you’re not wrong…
Strap in for a strange and wondrous ride — Anna Dorn’s “Exalted” will take you down a rabbit hole of desire and self-worth, and make you look like a cool, hip astrology babe while reading it.
A vampire novel but make it modern! In the realm of Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” (which is another great cover), “Woman Eating” isn’t for those looking for something more plot-driven. Claire Kohda tells the story of Lydia, a mixed-race vampire struggling to feed her constant hunger while balancing a life living with humans. It’s character-driven and, like the cover, extremely vibey.
This piece is part of Color Month, where we’re showing you the best ways to inject more color into your home and life. From paint color combos to vibrant house tours, head over here to see it all.
B&A: Every Square Inch of This $5,000 Bathroom Redo Features Color & Pattern
