1. Entryway Storage

One of Gater's favorite IKEA pieces to use in her rental transformations (and even in her own home) is a pull-out shoe cabinet—specifically the Hemnes cabinet. "It’s perfect for small spaces because it has a low profile but holds a lot of shoes," she says.

Gater has three go-to projects to make this basic, IKEA piece look custom. First, she adds a coat (or two) of paint. If the cabinet has a glossy finish, Gater reminds DIYers to use a shellac-based primer before painting. After she paints the cabinet, Gater swaps out the cabinet's simple black knobs for ones that fit the style she's designing for. Lastly, Gater likes to add a custom top to the cabinet—which is an easier project than you might think. Instead of attaching the top piece that comes with the cabinet, simply switch it out for a piece of lumber with the same dimensions. Sand, stain, and seal the wood before drilling it onto the cabinet.

The Hemnes cabinet is made to attach to the wall, so when your cabinet is complete, mount it to the wall using screws and a drill. After this, Gater takes the shoe cabinet one step further: "The secret to those DIY built-ins using IKEA furniture is trim," she says. Either use extra pieces of wood or trim to cover the cabinet legs to make it look like the cabinet was custom-built in the space.

Lauren Kolyn 

2. Pet Supplies Cabinet

Gater also uses IKEA cabinets to hide not-so-glamourous pet supplies. "(One of) my favorite IKEA DIYs I’ve completed has got to be my hidden cat litter box hack," she says. In a YouTube video, Gater showed how to transform an IKEA Ivar cabinet into a stylish home for her cat, Lottie's, litter box. The cabinet originally came as untreated pine, so Gater painted the entire cabinet a blue-gray color. To make the cabinet match her style and look more custom, she cut arched shapes in the cabinet fronts and attached cane webbing to the back of the doors with a staplegun.

Gater also coated the inside of the cabinet with polyurethane to seal the untreated wood and cut a hole in the side of the cabinet with a jigsaw so her cat could enter and exit the litter box holder. For finishing touches, she swapped out the cabinet's original IKEA legs for different wooden ones and styled the top of the cabinet with books and dried florals.

"It’s the perfect way to hide a litter box if you have cats and add extra storage for all of their accessories, too," she says.

Carla Antonio

3. Kitchen Cabinets

For a bigger transformation, Gater recommends switching out the fronts of your IKEA kitchen cabinets. "IKEA kitchens are celebrated all over the world because they are so easy to design and hold up for years," Gater says. Because IKEA cabinets are easy to design, they are also easy to customize and change over time. With a little elbow grease, Gater says you can swap out cabinet fronts (her favorites are from Nieu Cabinet Doors) to completely transform your kitchen.

"There are some amazing companies that sell custom fronts of IKEA kitchens, so you can truly have a custom-looking kitchen without a custom kitchen budget," she says. Finish the cabinets off by swapping out old hardware for new knobs and pulls that match your kitchen's look.

Carla Antonio

4. Customized Sofa

Gater transforms sofas and couches with low-lift projects that don't require any DIY experience. An easy way to customize IKEA sofas and chairs is to purchase slipcovers. Gater uses Bemz, a slipcover company, to create customized sofa and chair covers in dozens of different colors and fabrics. "That means you can have that perfect pink velvet sofa on a budget, and not have to worry about it going out of style because they are completely interchangeable," Gater says.

In addition to adding colorful covers, Gater says she also likes to switch out the sofa or chair legs for ones that match the space's style—Pretty Pegs is her go-to shop.