The Best IKEA Home Decor For a Stylish Home

Give your home a beautiful high-end look with the best IKEA decor and furniture items! 

Last week, I traveled about two hours away to pick up a large lot of flower frogs that I won at an online auction.

Whenever I'm far away from home I always check out the area and spend the day exploring.  I usually end up finding new antique shops and thrift stores, but this time, I found an IKEA! 

I never pass up a chance to go to IKEA, so after picking up my auction wins and stopping at a few thrift stores I headed to IKEA.

My plan was to grab a couple more sets of my favorite room-darkening white curtains, but I ended up walking out with a cart full.  

Some of their new items are just too good to pass up and considering it's been many years since I've done an IKEA decor post, I thought it would be helpful to round up my favorite budget-friendly decor items. 

THE BEST IKEA HOME DECOR ITEMS FOR A STYLISH HOME ON A BUDGET!

1. MERETE ROOM DARKENING CURTAINS

IKEA is one of my favorite places to buy curtains!  Not only are they great quality, but they come in 98" lengths, which makes them perfect for hanging high and wide.  

I have a set of 100% cotton Merete room darkening curtains in my office, my bedroom, and my vintage booth.

Functional Vintage Decorated Home Office

2. FEJKA ARTIFICIAL POTTED MAGNOLIA PLANT

I prefer real plants over faux, but there are a few spots in my home where it's a bit too dark for real plants to thrive.  One of those places is the corner of my bedroom.  It's in the back of the house and barely gets the evening sun.  

I knew as soon as I saw the artificial potted Magnolia plant at IKEA that it would be a nice change to the Fiddle Leaf that was currently in my bedroom.  It's larger, brighter, and something a little different. 

Artificial Magnolia Plant

Artificial Magnolia Plant

3. FEJKA KENTIA PALM

The artificial Kentia Palm is another option that I thought was a great buy for the price.  It's full, the palms can be adjusted, and it has a nice realistic look.   

Artificial Palm Tree

4. REAL PLANTS 

If you're a real planter lover like I am then definitely check out the plant section next time you visit IKEA.  I find that their plant prices are super reasonable and cheaper than comparable big box retail stores. 

5. VARELD BEDSPREAD

I've had the dark gray waffle weave bedspread from IKEA for a few years now.  It's the perfect lightweight addition to spring/summer bedding.   

Can you spot all the IKEA decor items in my bedroom? 

Rug / Gray Blanket / Upholstered Platform Bed / Curtains / Faux Tree / Sconces (I painted them gold) / Ceiling Fan / 

The curtains, gray bedspread,  artificial Magnolia, and the small frame on my nightstand are all from IKEA!

6. VATTENKRASSE WATERING CAN

I would have bought this adorable ivory and gold watering can if I didn't already have a brass watering can that I love.  The size and style are the perfect combination of stylish and functional.  

7.  MOJNA PENDANT LIGHT 

IKEA always has a large selection of stylish and affordable lighting.  I was immediately drawn to the Mojna white pendant light.  It doesn't really fit the style of my home, but it would make a fun addition to a playroom or kids' room. 

8.  KAMPIG SWIVEL HOOK

I'm a big fan of mixing metals and the brass color hooks from IKEA are a great way to incorporate a touch of gold into your home. 

9.  WOOD CUTTING BOARDS 

IKEA has a great selection of affordable cutting boards in a variety of wood species and sizes. 

Two of my favorites are the small beech and large oak cutting boards.   The small one is the perfect size to leave out on the counter and grab to cut up an apple or a small portion.

10. Pillow Covers

IKEA is hands down one of the top sources for affordable pillow covers.  They have a nice variety of colors, styles, and textures that are perfect for mixing and matching.

I loved the various shades of green textured tone-on-tone covers so much that I bought them all! 

Gray Green / Yellow Green / Pale Gray-Green

11. HORNMAL THROW BLANKET 

This lightweight throw blanket comes in three great colors (green-yellow, light pink, and off-white) and is perfect for adding a touch of texture to any room. 

12.  FLINSHULT ARMCHAIR

Dark gray is a color I'm always drawn to and I noticed two fantastic armchairs right away.  They were very different styles, but both were comfortable and could work with a variety of decorating styles. 

Flinshult Dark Gray Armchair / Morabo ArmChair 

I love that IKEA is affordable and offers a variety of styles that are easy to mix and match to appeal to everyone.

If you have had the chance to wander through the styled IKEA showroom then you know this is just a small selection of the many fabulous home decor items they offer.   

Which IKEA home decor item is your favorite?

     

Curtains / Candleholders / Pendant Light / Gray Bedspread / Gold Wall Hook / Off-White Throw Blanket / Black Cabinet / Brown Glasses / Cutting Board / Textured Pillows / Artificial Palm / Artificial Magnolia / Real ZZ Plant / Cowhide / Gold Frame / Gray Chair / Basket / Watering Can 

     

FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER 

      

How to give a new house tons of character

Thirteen years ago at nearly this exact time of year we were starting the process of buying a house. We had been in an apartment for four years and I had lived either in dorms or apartments for seven years before that. The idea of owning a home had always been a dream of mine and I was so thrilled that we were going to make it happen. 

The funny thing is, we knew immediately we wanted to build a house. We just knew we wanted something brand new, even though I do love an old house. There was something so exciting about picking out each and every detail and personalizing it to how we wanted. And as much as I love old stuff, I loved that everything would be sparkly and new. 

We soon decided on a builder and ended up with Beazer Homes. We were so thrilled with the process from start to finish (and still are 12 years later!), so I was honored when the folks at Beazer asked me to partner with them to share how we've updated our Beazer home over the years. You know this one involves before and after photos so I was totally on board. ;) 

Our superintendent in charge of our build and our design studio contact were both so helpful during our build. When we couldn't decide on a kitchen cabinet finish they allowed us extra time and visits to figure everything out. When I couldn't decide on tile colors our rep pulled out our carpet and paint color and helped me find something that worked with both of them. During the build process our superintendent would make small tweaks along the way and was so accommodating the entire time. It was a little sad when we were done because we knew we wouldn't see all of those friendly faces again.  

Even though we live in a suburban neighborhood, even years ago (before I started changing our home), I still felt like ours was unique. Beyond the fact that we had options that made our house different --  our office could have been a bedroom, our two-story living room could have had another bedroom above, we added a beautiful bay window in the kitchen for extra space and we could have opted for an additional bedroom instead of our open loft. All of the little choices we made created a home like no one else's. 

I've always said I had good bones to build on and that was SO true when it came to our stair makeover. I remember when we were building and I saw the wood stairs -- I was so close to asking them to just leave them without carpet (because I knew they would have). I chickened out though!

For years I thought about the pretty wood stairs under this carpet: 

And about six years ago I finally got the courage up to rip that carpet off the stairs. This was one of my best decisions ever! The pretty white risers and dark stained treads are so classic and make such a difference: 

I added trim below the handrail and painted that wall black later on but the star of this show is the contrast of all that wood. 

Another spot that had quality finishes to start was our kitchen. The cabinets were maple and solid wood:

The island didn't always look like contemporary art. ;) That was the marks from the glue I used to add trim over the years. 

The finish wore like any would over the years and eventually I wanted a new look for the kitchen. I LOVED the design of the cabinets (I think they are timeless) so they got a makeover (well, the whole room did!):

Those quality wood cabinets, a good paint job and some patience on my part allowed for a beautiful, factory finish when I was done. I also used our old kitchen island and built on to it to create a much larger and custom one.

There are little details in our home that I've always loved. One is a half wall in our foyer that gives a little bit of definition between the foyer and living room: 

I knew that was a great opportunity to add even more character so I built a bookcase along that half wall that finishes it off beautifully: 

This is why I laugh about building a new house -- I love old homes and all of their character, but we chose a shiny new one and I'm always trying to make it feel older. And I'd do it again that way! That's part of the reason I blog, because it is most definitely possible to add character where there wasn't much before.

It doesn't always have to be a big build or project that adds personality to your home. I made a tufted headboard for our bedroom years ago but still felt like that wall needed something: 

I grabbed some mdf from the hardware store and spent an evening adding it to the wall. I painted the trim and wall in a dark gray for a dramatic backdrop in our room for very little money: 

The three biggest projects we've done in the house are finishing our basement, the kitchen makeover and a big one that involved taking down a wall between our family room and the office: 

This was one of those "real life" photos that I snapped when we were contemplating this idea.

This is thing about building a house -- my biggest piece of advice? Do your research beforehand! Thank goodness you all have Pinterest, back in my day I tore pages out of magazines. ;) I loved the idea of a corner fireplace and the Beazer folks were all, let's do it! And then I lived with it and wasn't so thrilled with my decision. 

Perhaps it is my odd need for symmetry, but it drove me crazy. One day a reader said, "Why don't you take down that wall?" and the skies opened up and birds sang. 

That we did:  

I got my beloved symmetry but we also got a larger family room that is twice as bright. (I have to mention that we have a ton of windows on our house -- another bonus about the Beazer options.) AND a beautiful new fireplace with a marble surround and tons of built in storage. This is the coziest room in our house and I think this change has to be the best change we've made to date. 

We have never regretted going with Beazer to build our home. Our experience was top notch from the start in the model home to years later as I make this house more ours with every day. This is a well-built house with good bones and I just keep adding good stuff to it. :) 

Be sure to tune into Instagram this Wednesday (the 21st) as I take over the Beazer Homes account and share more before and after photos of our home that I didn't include here. (You can follow me on IG as well and I'll remind you there.) Looking back at our beloved home is one of my favorite things! 

Have you ever built a house or are you considering it? Did you enjoy it? Was it fun for you or super stressful? If you have questions about the process I'd love help however I can!

P.S. I've updated the "Our Home" tab at the top of the page with some new photos of the house and recent projects. Be sure to check it out if you are new around here! :) 

I have been compensated by Beazer Homes to share this post about our home but all thoughts and experience are my own. 

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IKEA Dresser Hacks (as Nightstands)

Hey there all! As you know, I'm in the middle of finishing up two bedroom redos -- our master bedroom that has been in the works for like five years or something. Seriously, I've lost count. And the guest room that I started last year. I absolutely LOVE the direction both are going. It's funny because the styles are different but I just adore each room.

Both are close to being done but the guest room is closer. I had a few updates done to the room a couple weeks ago, including adding an overhead light (which is amazing after going without all these years!) and crown molding. It was the last room in the house other than the mudroom to get that trim and it finishes off the space nicely.

Now to the last big project in that room -- the nightstands. I tried hard to be cool with mismatched nightstands my friends. REAL hard. I can't do it. I am a lover of symmetry and I have to have matching nightstands.

So of course finding two matching in the style I want is not easy. When it comes to nightstands I love a dresser look -- and for a year now I've searched Craigslist for "small dressers" to no avail. Sometimes I can find one, but never two with the look I wanted. At least for what I was willing to pay.

Last year I did some digging on the IKEA site and found two options -- one was the Rast and one was the Tarva. Both are labeled dressers and both are available with three drawers. The Rast was out of stock at our IKEA so I ended up looking at the Tarva for our master bedroom to see how I liked them:

The size was perfect, the price was great and I knew I could dress them up. I wanted to see how I liked the quality before I went back for the Rast. 

I was pleasantly surprised -- the Tarva is kind of the "grown up" version of the Rast. It's much bigger and taller and just more substantial. The drawer mechanisms are metal and it's just more sturdy in general:

I cut down the legs for two reasons -- it was two tall with them at full height and I plan to wrap the bottom with trim. We've been using them unfinished for months now and I quite like them -- now I just need to get them painted! 

We decided to take a last minute trip to IKEA a couple weeks ago and luckily there were plenty of the Rast in stock that day. I grabbed a couple up for the guest room: 

This is the little sister version of the Tarva. ;) It's less than half the price -- only $35! It's much smaller though, and the drawer hardware is plastic instead of metal. Because these will be mostly for storage (that we'll rarely need to access), I'm not worried about that. 

I gotta say, they are pretty adorable!:

The wood is inexpensive pine so I will need a good primer for both. The Rast has a lot more knots to cover than the Tarva -- even in IKEA furniture you get what you pay for! :) 

Now to decide what I'll do with them! I've actually already come up with a general plan for the master bedroom dressers and of course when I searched hacks for this post it was probably the number one way people have updated it: 

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Just changing the hardware and adding simple lattice wood to the front of the drawers makes a big difference!

I loved this version too, with the simple hardware in the middle and the wheels:

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I also liked the contrast of stain and paint -- this is always a great look:

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Again with the wood trim -- love that! The added base around the bottom really makes a big difference too, right? It helps to beef up this small dresser.

The Tarva is a little bigger and the ideas for this one are endless too! What a great idea for a small desk:

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I think this would still be a great nightstand and would do double duty!

There are overlays you can buy for IKEA furniture -- have you seen those? They have tons of options from very ornate to small details like this one:

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They are an added expense (some get pricey) but would be a great way to update it if you aren't a big DIYer.

I LOVE how the just a simple cut to the legs of the Tarva completely changes the way it looks:

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It looks fantastic paired with the long, modern hardware (these are cabinets pulls you can find at the hardware store).

Great ideas, right? I will most likely go more traditional with our dressers, but I don't want to do the same thing in each room. I plan to change it up a little and I'll be sure to share what I do! Spring break will be a perfect time to tackle at least one set! (Putting them together was enough DIY for me for the time being!)

Have you used either of these dressers in your home? If you've done your own hack feel free to leave a link in the comments. They are such a great, inexpensive option for pretty nightstands -- I'll let you know over time how they hold up!

15 Modern Master Bedroom Design Ideas

15 Modern Master Bedroom Design Ideas

15 Modern Master Bedroom Design Ideas