On the one hand, it’s so affordable. If you’re saving up to move into your first apartment, using IKEA for your furniture budget gets you there that much faster. However, once you buy everything, you have to put it together. Assembling IKEA furniture can lead to complete frustration, especially if you don’t have a few handy IKEA hacks up your sleeve.
The best IKEA hacks to make your life easier
We’ve compiled some of the best IKEA hacks to transform your experience putting together your own apartment furniture. These simple steps will turn you into a master of all things IKEA, even if you’re still struggling to pronounce the names of all the pieces you bought.
1. Swap out the Allen wrenches
If you’ve ever put together any furniture, this IKEA hack can change your life. Even if the piece comes with all the necessary items for assembly, you often end up with tools that aren’t full-sized. They’ll still work, but they can make assembly take twice as long, not to mention causing your hand to cramp.
Instead of painstakingly screwing in all those tiny IKEA screws with a five-inch Allen wrench, opt for a power screwdriver, or at least a manual one that’s full-sized. You can also find Allen wrenches at your local hardware store that are easier to use, so you won’t have to worry about holding onto all the IKEA tools.
2. Take it easy with your hammer
Many types of IKEA furniture require you to join pieces together using tiny, wooden dowels. These are great since they snugly fit into the furniture and aren’t visible once you’re done with assembly. The struggle often comes with trying to get that little dowel into the hole drilled for it.
Sometimes, it’s just too tight to push in on your own. You need a hammer. While you may think to reach for that metal hammer waiting in your toolbox, think twice. The force from a metal hammer to attach the two pieces of furniture may be too strong. It can damage the surface of the furniture. Instead, use a rubber mallet or similar tool.
3. Customize it first
You love IKEA furniture because it’s affordable and relatively easy to assemble. It’s also pretty one-note as far as its appearance. This you might not love. If you feel like getting creative with your piece, customize it before you put it together. This IKEA hack saves you time and makes it so much easier to differentiate your piece from all the other people who went and bought the exact same thing.
There’s nothing harder than painting the back, inside wall of a bookshelf after you’ve put on all the sides. Painting it first, or wrapping it in adhesive wallpaper, lets you get right to the edge. Make sure you’ve looked at the directions right to figure out which side of the backboard will face into the furniture piece.
Customizations can also serve a practical purpose if you want to add an extra hole to pull cables through or anything like that. A little forethought could turn your space-saving nightstand into a charging station without cords to trip over in the middle of the night. It could also improve the appearance of a console table or media stand.
4. Use a level
Struggling to understand IKEA directions means you’re often distracted from being careful while assembling furniture. Another great IKEA hack, while you’re putting things together, is to have a level handy. This is the best way to check on your progress, making sure furniture stays level as it comes together. You’ll keep your tables from tilting and bookshelves from rocking back and forth if you check everything is level as you go.
There’s no need to buy a level though — there’s an app for that. Apple users can launch the Measure app or Compass app for leveling functionality. Android users can download Bubble level or something similar. Both options help make sure everything is firmly on the ground when put together.
5. Use a little glue
Although it’s never listed as a required accessory, keeping a little glue around when building IKEA furniture is another good tip. “IKEA furniture often has a tendency to wobble,” according to ASKFORTASK. Having the right kind of glue on hand can help take care of that.
A few drops of glue to the end of the dowels do wonders but make sure you’re using glue meant for the material. You can find strong wood or metal glue at the hardware store, along with other powerful adhesives if your furniture incorporates additional materials. With IKEA furniture, wood glue is a must-have.
6. Change out the hardware
IKEA designs, by nature, are simple. Simple construction and basic accessories give the furniture its signature look, but you don’t have to settle. Consider changing out some of the decorative pieces on your IKEA furniture, as you’re assembling it, to upgrade your design.
This could mean swapping out the wooden drawer pulls for something in chrome, or taking a monochromatic piece and putting in a pop of color with the handles. It’s best to do this while you’re putting the piece together in case you have to adjust the hole size or add more than one for additional screws.
7. Don’t throw away instructions
Even as you’re feeling that great big sense of relief having finished assembling a piece of furniture, it’s still a good idea to hold onto instructions. You never know when you’ll move next, and want to bring this particular piece of furniture with you. Transporting it fully assembled isn’t always an option, especially if it’s an IKEA bed.
Save yourself the time of remembering the name of the particular model you bought and tracking down directions online. Make re-assembly easier by holding onto the paper directions and any extra pieces of hardware that came with the piece. You can create an IKEA folder for all these materials, making them easy to find whenever they’re needed.
8. Get professional help
Perhaps the best of all IKEA hacks is to give up. “’I’ll figure it out as I go’ should not be the mentality when you’re assembling IKEA furniture,” writes Sophie Miura on MyDomaine. Assembly can get hard and frustrating. It can lead to fights if you’re building it with a roommate or partner.
For a little extra money, which you’ve saved by buying IKEA, hire someone else to put everything together for you. If you can hire a handyman by the hour, you can get everything done at a great deal. Let them manage assembly while you focus on something less stressful, but make sure you tell whoever is doing the work for you where the final piece goes. It’s hard to move IKEA furniture around once it’s put together.
Survive DIY furniture with the best IKEA hacks
We know it’s frustrating self-assembling furniture. Whether you’re doing one piece or your whole apartment, it’s easy to hit that moment where you’d rather quit than deal with another booklet of instructions.
If you’ve ever felt this way, these simple steps are for you. These IKEA hacks will help you have a better experience and get you to the finish line with less frustration.
