5 Clever Ways To Use Ikea Products You Didn't Realize Were Possible

If you set your mind to it, probably everything in the Ikea catalog could be put to a different use than its intended one. And if you're stuck for ideas, the Ikea Hackers website is full of lots of suggestions. However, many of these are really only practical if you've already got an item around the place that you no longer have a use for. One hack, for instance, shows how to turn an Ikea Gulliver crib into a desk. Clearly, it wouldn't make any sense to go out and buy a brand-new crib for this purpose, but if you've already got one, it's a great idea.

But there are some Ikea products that are worth buying new, even if you have no intention of using them for the purpose for which they were originally designed. These are the sorts of things that we've included in this list. All the products here are cheaper than their made-for-purpose equivalents, and most of our suggestions require no DIY skills whatsoever. Sure, it might not be quite as exciting as turning a Billy bookcase into a fold-down bed, crocheting a room divider, or constructing a ball pit out of Ikea shelf units, but it's a good place to start.

A magnetic knife holder, like the $20 Ikea KUNGSFORS Magnetic knife rack, is a handy space-saver in the kitchen. You simply attach it to the wall, and the magnetic metal strip keeps your kitchen knives sharp and in easy reach. But why stop there? There are plenty of other spaces in your home where a wall-mounted magnet is going to prove invaluable.

In your workroom or garage, it's a creative way to keep small tools neat and accessible. It functions as a repository for small, easy-to-lose components like drill bits and screws, as well as larger items like pliers, screwdrivers, and utility knives. You can even store non-metal items by attaching a metal utensil holder – or empty tin can – to the rack, giving you somewhere to store pencils and paintbrushes.

Although the rack is designed to be installed flush against a wall, you can also attach it to the underside of a shelf and use it to display and store glass jars with metal lids, like Ikea's CITRONHAJ
spice jars, which cost $7.99 for four. That way, all your nails, washers, and screws can stay neatly organized and easy to find.

Good cable management around your workspace is a good way to avoid tripping over loose cables. It also ensures that your work zone is less cluttered and easier to clean. Plus, nobody wants to damage their laptop or speaker by accidentally yanking on its wire. Ikea offers a range of cable management solutions, but if you want something cheap and cheerful, look no further than the VARIERA plastic bag dispenser, which costs only $4.99. 

The polypropylene dispenser is designed to be used vertically to store plastic bags, wrapping paper, or socks. However, you can flip it on its side and mount it horizontally on the wall underneath your desk, or attach it directly to the underside of your work surface. It has self-adhesive strips on the back, so it takes only minutes to install. All your cables can be bundled up and stored neatly away, without becoming a tangled mess on your floor. The holes on the sides of the dispenser mean that you can easily access the cables if you need to take them out.

The Ikea STOLTHET bamboo cutting board is a beautiful item, wherever you choose to put it and whatever you choose to use it for. Sure, you can use it for chopping veggies, but its sturdy design and elevated risers make it an excellent mini-table for your laptop.

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The built-in feet raise the board just enough to bring the laptop screen closer to eye level, which helps reduce neck and shoulder strain and will encourage better posture, especially when used with an external keyboard and mouse. The board is also very stable and rigid, since it's designed to support weight without wobbling or bending, and the raised feet create a gap underneath allowing airflow.

At $19.99, it's an inexpensive alternative to many purpose-made laptop risers. Innovative Ikea shoppers have found other uses for it, too, using it to elevate pet food bowls, or turning it upside-down and repurposing it as a mini-bookshelf.

Ikea's picture ledges are narrow wall-mounted shelves designed primarily to display framed photos and artwork, but they're versatile enough that shoppers have found many other uses for them. The store stocks various ledges in a range of colors, prices, and sizes. The NORDHÄGG pine ledge measures 17¾ inches by 3⅞ inches, has a maximum load of 6.61 pounds, and costs just $4.99. The MOSSLANDA range has lengths of 21¾ and 45¼ inches, with maximum loads of 11.02 and 16.53 pounds. They cost between $9.99 and $24.99, depending on size and color. As well as using them as display shelves, people have also turned them upside-down and fitted recessed lighting, and attached them sideways to store long items like umbrellas, walking sticks, and baseball bats.

The most imaginative use we've seen involves using ledges to turn an Ikea storage box into a desk drawer. To do this, take two picture ledges and attach them with screws to the underside of a wooden desk. They'll need to be the correct space apart for the box you're using. This $2.99 SAMLA storage box, for example, is 11 inches wide. The ledges come with pre-cut grooves to hold pictures in place. Here, they can be used to support a thin piece of wood, which will work as additional shelving.

IKEA sells a variety of pegboards, including the budget-friendly SKÅDIS for only $29.99 and the BROR 20-piece pegboard set for $50, which you can combine with the full BROR highly-rated garage storage system. Pegboards are flat, rectangular wall-mounted panels made from fiberboard or steel, with a grid of evenly spaced holes that make it easy to store and rearrange a whole host of different kinds of items. Not surprisingly, shoppers have found many, many uses for pegboards in home offices, craft rooms, and just about any space in the house that can benefit from storage and decoration.

Something you may not have considered is using the boards to display computer accessories and components, but they're actually really well-suited to the job. TikTok users have used Ikea pegboards to hold keyboards, headphones, gaming consoles, and more. You can incorporate Ikea's snap-in accessories, such as hooks, holders, and clips, to get the perfect fit for all your gear.

One contributor to Thingiverse designed a range of 3D-printed holders for Raspberry Pi boards that snap into place on a pegboard. While not designed specifically for the Ikea boards, you could use the designs on a SKÅDIS or BROR system.