Reinventing Ikea: 70 DIY Projects to Transform Ikea Essentials

by Isabelle Bruno, Christine Baillet

Ikea is a destination for everyone who wants to simplify the process of decorating a home. Offering modern, ready-to-assemble furniture, Ikea proves that spaces can be functional and affordable. But sometimes you’re left wanting more: furniture that’s adaptable, creative, and most important, in line with your taste. Reinventing Ikea shows you how. The book features 70 customization projects conceived from popular Ikea products. Authors Isabelle Bruno and Christine Baillet share the best DIY projects for every room in your home—from the bedroom to the kitchen, the living room to the office. Organized by four levels of difficulty (easy, intermediate, advanced, and expert), the projects are perfect for anyone interested in quick crafts—like a cake stand—or more involved—like constructing a kitchen island or a Mondrian-inspired desk. With a complete list of the materials needed and easy to follow step-by-step instructions and photographs, Reinventing Ikea is the essential guide to personalizing your home with Ikea furniture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Reference

216 pages, Paperback

Published August 16, 2016

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Many of the projects transformed the clean IKEA designs into cheap looking, junky, hacks.
And some of the projects are waaaay more effort than they are worth - why would you waste your time making a metal mixing bowl into floor lamp with scrap lumber? Just use the bowl as a shade on an existing lamp (or skip it because it is FUGLY)

[Christina]

Skimmed through these projects, and while creative, there were only two projects I’d consider making, and both looked too advanced for me. A good portion of these are for furniture for kids, and many others seem aimed at twenty-somethings looking for an edgy, youthful, unique style.

[Jonii · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of great projects in the book. I think the most consistently useful hacks were all aimed at modifications for use in children's rooms. I did think some of the directions lacked enough detail; I could see some people being frustrated with trying to the next step in the process. Still, overall, this had a decent selection of hacks and would be great for people who are interested in doing their own hacks but haven't really explored the world of IKEA hacking very thoroughly and need a jumping off point.

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and although I won't be making anything from it exactly, it did give me ideas of other transformative possibilities, Ikea or not. Plentiful photos sometimes show things different from the finished product. The very brief step-by-step instructions don't explain in detail what a beginner might need. Also, hated the headline and subtext typography—uggggly! But there are a ton of projects to spark your imagination, and plenty for a young family who might be most in need of this book.

[Mary Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some cute ideas, especially for kid stuff. I liked the train track tree and mini kitchens in particular. I don't see myself making any of these projects, but it was fun to look! It seems like these were taken from an interesting variety of blogs, etc., that I wouldn't have found on my own, so it was nice to see some different ideas (not just using the spice rack to display stuff, thank you Pinterest).

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting and I was curious to see what kind of projects were in it.
Quite comprehensive, great pics to walk you through. Some projects require more technical skill than I have but there is a range to choose from, many quite fun and creative. Great source of ideas.

[Manny Villa · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Pascal · Rating 1 out of 5]

creatief: ja
bruikbaar: nee

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not yet tried any of the ideas in this book, but since my entire first home was furnished by Ikea, it was fun to look at the possibilities outside of the regular configurations. Some of the designs look cheap, while others are not realistic and are more like modern art, though. That being said, there were a few fun project ideas that I could see my mom trying out, so I will probably pass the book along to her.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ideas were neat, but the instructions and pictures were not good enough for me to do some of the more complicated transformations

[Martha]

some great ideas; a lot of tacky deliveries