I’m a home styling expert – five ways to make your cheap IKEA furniture look classy and expensive
IKEA is always a budget friendly option when decorating, but the furniture can look repetitive and boring.
If you want your home to look bespoke without the hefty price tag, home styling pro Claire Douglas says there are many ways to get the look and not sacrifice on style.
The styling pro shares that as long as you always prime first, IKEA furniture is fine to paint.
She says: "A lick of paint can really elevate the piece and opens up a whole spectrum of colour to really put your stamp on it."
Customising your furniture this way means that the possibilities are endless.
For a long-lasting finish, Claire recommends using a hard-wearing matte emulsion as "these can be easily colour matched to my favourite designer shades for a fraction of the price and can be wiped and cleaned".
The pro's tips don't stop there, for an ultra-expensive feel building in free-standing units is the key.
Whether it's a bookcase or a bathroom cabinet, building these in can be a bit time consuming if you don't know how, so the pro explained how to achieve it on her blog.
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The project is worth it though and is the perfect weekend DIY task that will help save you hundreds without cutting corners.
The next clever trick to elevate any tired IKEA furniture is to switch the handles to something unique.
Claire says: "The standard issue IKEA handles can look a bit generic and upgrading them is a low effort way to get a more luxury look."
When upgrading her own cabinet, she opted for gold half-moon handles, which gave the piece a retro feel.
"More is more!" according the styling pro IKEA furniture can often look flimsy and cheap.
When upgrading her bookcase the DIYer used mdf strips on the shelves , giving it a super expensive feel for a fraction of the cost.
Her next tip is to play around with the way shelves and drawers sit.
Switching around the normal uniform style can make the finished thing look much more bespoke, according to the pro.
For more money saving tips, this DIY expert shared the cheapest and easiest ways to keep your home warm when it’s freezing outside
And: This Morning’s Alison Hammond reveals kitchen makeover
As well as: I’m an interior designer & these four popular kitchen trends will actually put people off your home
