If you’re dreaming about designing patterns, here’s a great idea from Magdalena, IKEA Spain. Have fun!

“This table lamp is my favourite IKEA product for two reasons: it costs just a few euro here in Spain, and it’s really easy to personalise, all you need is a permanent or whiteboard heat-resistant marker. Decorate it with doodles, your favourite poem or song lyrics, or design a fun pattern with one or more colours.”

Magdalena Zareba

IKEA Spain

A room divider can give the feeling of more space by creating different activity zones. Alina, IKEA Russia, shows how green plants, white plant pots and thin, airy curtains can give a sense of privacy without stealing light or square metres.

“I’m a plant-lover, but my apartment is small, so I decided to create a vertical plant wall. This way I can have lots of plants, and instead of taking up floor space, they become a room divider, which is a functional bonus because it kind of gives me an extra room.”

Alina Kuzmina

IKEA Russia

Putting wheels on things, even something as simple as a tabletop, means adding flexibility and functionality – you may even have created a new piece of furniture.

“My living space is limited, so I need furniture that can work in different ways. I like to sit on the floor, so I created this movable low sofa table from just a tabletop and four wheels. It’s great for having a picnic with friends and for large puzzles. When I’m not using it, I put it behind the sofa, and it becomes a surface for storage and for displaying favourite things.”

Natalia Subiros

IKEA France

Do your children dream of having a playhouse? Get inspired by this story from Tarun, IKEA India, and create one from flat-pack cardboard while saving yourself a trip to the dumpster.

“My wife and I got this idea after buying a couple of chairs. Due to lockdown, it was a challenge to dispose of the cardboard, and since our kids have asked us to get them a playhouse like a million times, we decided to use the cardboard to build one for them with glue, a pair of scissors, paint and tape (to connect the pieces and protect little fingers from sharp edges). I can’t tell you how happy they were to finally get the playhouse of their dreams! At IKEA, we always talk about doing more with less as part of a sustainable lifestyle, and I think this little family project is a great example of that.”

Tarun Sofat

IKEA India

Wall decorations can be made from lots of things that you may already have at home – a fabric with an interesting pattern, postcards, old stamps, plates, posters or magazine covers, just to name a few.

“I couldn’t find the wallpaper I wanted, so I made my own version using display shelves, some reused pictures and artificial plants. Personal and very affordable, and I really like the way it turned out!”

Lorenzo Silicani

IKEA Italy