Ikea hacking is about modifying and customizing standard, off-the-shelf Ikea products to make them more distinctive or re-purposed for a new use. And as unusual as that might at first seem, there’s a huge and growing community behind the idea. (Just try typing “Ikea hacks” into Pinterest!)
3D printing is often part of the creative toolset used by inventive Ikea hackers and is even recognized by Ikea itself as having an important role to play. (See our section on accessibility, for example).
In this article, we’ll explore just a few of the thousands of ingenious 3D printed Ikea hacks to be found on the internet, including on dedicated Ikea hacking websites. We’ve divided our selected projects into categories covering topics as diverse as kids’ toys to more classic furniture mods. With so much on offer, there’s sure to be something to inspire your own practical project.
If you see something you like but don’t have the means to print it yourself, check out FacFox’s 3D printing service! With professional 3D printing partners printing on demand and shipping straight to you, you’ll be upgrading your Ikea products before you can say “Hej!”
So now, it’s time to get hacking.
FURNITURE MODS
Mainstream Ikea hacking centers around modifying, enhancing, and re-purposing furniture. In this context, 3D printing is an ideal way to make everything from customized cupboard handles, through brightly-colored door hinges, to attachments and fittings of all sorts.
Replacement Leg for Lack Table
The ubiquitous Lack table is much loved for its minimalism and affordability, but it’s not known for its sturdiness of construction. This inventive, generatively-designed, wireframe replacement leg was created by Dominik Cisar, an architect and computational designer who has also done extensive design work with Prusa Research.
This 3D printed design looks stunning and is very different from any other DIY mod in this space. Each leg is printed in four pieces, and you’ll need to add a brim to each piece. Print just one replacement leg or all four for a statement side table!
Who designed it? CisarDom
How printable/popular is it? With over 8,000 views and almost 400 downloads, it’s clear that this design has generated a lot of interest! It’s not the easiest of prints – and the build and requires careful gluing of sections – but it’s a very rewarding outcome when done.
Where to find it? Cults
Storage Net for Marius Stool
This design, dubbed “Clippy”, has stood the test of time and comes in variants for other Ikea furniture as well as the famous Marius Stool. It includes clips that can be attached to furniture legs to string up a net and create extra storage.
We’ve featured it here because the design and idea are applicable to so many other items, not even just Ikea furniture. Check out the rest of Lauren’s designs and her website for inspiration.
Who designed it? laurlaurland
How printable/popular is it? This versatile design has been liked over 300 times on Thingiverse and features on many other sites.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Caster Wheels for Lack Table
Adding wheels to a Lack table has never been easy from a DIY standpoint (especially if you also need to shorten the legs). This design solves those problems, with the bonus that you can choose filament to color-match your decor. Just don’t forget that you’ll have to supply your own wheels!
Who designed it? Fol
How printable/popular is it? This clever Lack hack has been downloaded over 2,000 times on Thingiverse, and there’s one Make. Also look for the Remix with shorter sides if you’d prefer to save on filament.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Ekby Hemnes Monitor Stand
If you’ve ever added or changed the shelves on an Ikea Hemnes bookcase, you may well have ended up with a spare. Why not press it into service and make a useful monitor stand?
Naturally, although this design is sized for Ekby Hemnes shelves, you could always cut a piece of wood to size, or scale the parts for slightly different dimensions.
Who designed it? SungiKim
How printable/popular is it? This straightforward print has many likes and half a dozen posted Makes on Thinigiverse alone.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Alex Drawer Boxes
Alex office furniture is one of Ikea’s classic lines. Across the world, that adds up to a lot of drawers with stuff rattling around loose inside. You can fix that problem with these handy drawer units customized to fit perfectly.
While they should be easy to print, the designer recommends activating vase mode for the cleanest results.
Who designed it? Glaedi
How printable/popular is it? These handy boxes have been liked 500 times, and there’s a Make and a handful of Remixes for inspiration.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Adils Leg Brace
Adils legs are great on Ikea tables but can be prone to wobble a bit, especially with anything heavy on top. This design fixes that problem with a simple clamp to attach to a wall or another item of furniture. Especially if you use your table for something that requires a steady surface (like 3D printing!) this could be just the hack you need.
Who designed it? PM_ME_YOUR_VALUE
How printable/popular is it? This three-part print needs screws to hold it together but is easy to make. It has several hundred views and almost 20 downloads from Cults alone.
Where to find it? Cults
Technical & Making Hacks
For those interested in more technical pursuits, from hi-fi, through gaming, to 3D printing itself, there are rich seams of custom Ikea hack designs to create the perfect workstation or hobby bench.
Billy Controller Holder
For the gamers out there, this is a simple and effective way to create storage for your Xbox 360, Xbox One, or Steam controllers to a Billy bookcase or Jerker desk.
This was originally designed for Xbox 360 controllers, but there’s an extra file to print an added lip to adapt it for Xbox One and Steam controllers. This is easy to make, effective, and it looks good, too – an ideal Ikea hack!
Who designed it? Jrubia
How printable/popular is it? This is an easy 3D print with 1,200 likes and many Makes and Remixes.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Tertial Webcam Jib
For YouTubers and Vloggers, having a dependable, easily-adjustable jib to mount a webcam is invaluable. Converting one of Ikea’s Tertial lamps might be the answer, and this is one of many designs to do just that for common Logitech cameras.
This design is nicknamed WALT, for “webcam arm lamp truss”. If you’d like to learn more about WALT, the designer has detailed their process on their website.
Who designed it? TheNewHobbyist
How printable/popular is it? There are way more makes of this to be found around the internet than those posted on Thingiverse. It requires a few nuts and bolts to assemble but nothing complex. Also look for variants for other makes of camera.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Livboj Charger Stand
While Ikea has gone through several iterations of phone chargers, Livboj is the most enduring and popular. This design uses the Thingiverse Customizer (or you can use OpenSCAD on your desktop) to allow you to customize the size, shape, tilt, and anything else about the stand to your preference. It also comes with a pre-worked design for an iPhone-8-sized phone.
This is the second iteration of this design, which has been redesigned to fit more phone models without modification.
Who designed it? Maffenberger
How printable/popular is it? The Thingiverse Customizer app has been used close to 100 times for the basic design. Also look for a variant that includes an Apple Watch charger, too. Printing should be easy, depending on the extent of customization.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Linnmon Table Headphone Hanger
We had to include this because of its sheer simplicity and usefulness. Billed as a headphone hanger for the edge of Linnmon table, it can be used to hang many other objects, organize cables, or anything you can think of!
Who designed it? evancli
How printable/popular is it? This design comes in two easy options (one with a cable wrap) and is very straightforward to print. It’s been made multiple times, and you can find a Remix for the thinner Bekant tabletop, too.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Samla Filament Storage Solution
This simple hack upgrades a Samla box into a simple solution for keeping your 3D printing filament dry, dust-free, and in good condition. The small boxes are stackable, meaning the system is easy to expand as your filament “collection” grows!
Each 22-liter box can hold up to five 750-gram spools suspended on a rack. As an optional extra, you can add a 3D printed dry box feeder and print directly from the box!
Who designed it? wstein
How printable/popular is it? There are many dozens of Makes and Remixes; this is a hugely popular solution for filament storage and easy to make with just a few additional screws and fixings.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Lack Table 3D Printer Enclosures
This is much more than a single design. It’s a complete family of solutions stemming from the original idea to modify an Ikea Lack table as an enclosure for an FDM 3D printer.
We’ve included the definitive version here, designed specifically for an Original Prusa i3 MK3, but it works for any printer of a similar size. Indeed, this hugely popular idea has been applied in many different ways, which we explore in our article Ikea Lack 3D Printer Enclosure: How to Make Your Own.
Who designed it? CisarDom
How printable/popular is it? This is an incredible design and with countless Remixes and variants for other printers. There are literally hundreds of Makes and Remixes, although they all do need some care and attention to detail.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
ACCESSIBILITY
Ikea has acknowledged the importance of hacking and has even formally lent support to design modifications that better adapt products to those with mobility and other accessibility needs. Here, we highlight three examples that also have more general applicability.
Visibility for Kallax Shelves
This award-winning design is simple and hugely effective for those in wheelchairs or short in stature. A trio of simple 3D printed fittings holds a mirror at the ideal angle to see what lies at the back of shelves, otherwise out of sight. It’s also designed so as not to take up too much room in each compartment, so you won’t lose any storage space – just gain visibility.
Who designed it? Ikea
How printable/popular is it? This has been featured countless times across the internet. Printing the component parts is easy, and while final installation requires additional hardware, it isn’t complex.
Where to find it? Thisables
Dragon Cutlery Handles
Another award-wining design adds a simple, quickly-attachable handle to Ikea’s Dragon cutlery. It can make an enormous difference to those who have difficulty grasping forks and spoons in particular.
The designer has also shared the underlying CAD files so that the design can be modified for other brands or styles of cutlery.
Who designed it? dbrgn
How printable/popular is it? A very easy print – two pieces are held together with plain old rubber bands.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Bumpers/Fenders for Glass Doors
This clever design – printed in two connectable parts, as it’s larger than most print beds – is useful for more than just protecting glass against wheelchair collision. It could save any valuables from boisterous children, too!
These simple strips are intended to provide a seamless and stylish “bumper” for glass doors, without concealing the contents of the cabinet. They should be very straightforward to print and can be attached at whatever height is desired.
Who designed it? Ikea
How printable/popular is it? There’s no exact information available on how many times this has been made, but it’s been featured many times across the internet.
Where to find it? Thisables
HOME & UTILITY
Ikea’s domestic, kitchen, and other products are possibly most bountiful of 3D printed hacks. Everything from modified Ikea lighting to repurposed cutlery holders have been designed, printed, and used.
Pokal Spice Bottles
Spice up your kitchen with this simple and fun idea. Choose from 11 different designs of simple snap-on lids to transform basic shot glasses into something entirely different.
The designer doesn’t specify, but based on the photos, we assume that these will fit on the 2-oz Pokal snaps glasses.
Who designed it? Prenta
How printable/popular is it? This is a very quick and easy print, with 400 likes on Thingiverse. Ideal for your own kitchen and perhaps for a children’s kitchen playset, too!
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Pokal Twig Vase
Cemel Cetinkaya is a well-known designer who has produced many Ikea product hacks. In particular, his creative repurposing of the popular Pokal series of glasses has gained a big following. (In fact, we have two of them on our list.)
This is a great solution to the common “we need a taller vase” issue! Simply print a Pokal glass extension, and the problem is solved.
The pictured model was printed with 10% infill and a layer height of 0.2 mm. You shouldn’t need supports, as long as you print it standing up.
Who designed it? ccetinkaya
How printable/popular is it? With over 200 downloads on MyMiniFactory alone and several thousand likes, this design is straightforward to print. Check that you have the right size of Pokal glass first, as there are a few variants.
Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Ordning Garbage Bag Ring
The Ikea Ordning Utensil holder is a popular focus for hacking with a variety of 3D printed wall mounts and internal dividers available. We’ve chosen this simple idea (one of a few similar designs) to turn it into a small countertop garbage bin.
This would be ideal for teabags, coffee grounds, and so on. You could even print a few in different colors to sort your waste!
Who designed it? weirdcan
How printable/popular is it? This is extremely simple to print and use, you’ll just need to supply your own bags!
Where to find it? Cults
Korken Jar Lids
This is a brilliant idea. Magnus Ljadas has created a design that can be customized using Thingiverse’s Customizer app (or your software of choice) to produce snap-on lids for Ikea’s popular Korken jars. If customizing isn’t your thing, you can always just print them plain and write on them with a permanent marker!
The design is scaled to fit the 13-cL jar, but you should be able to scale up the file for the larger sizes using 147% along the X- and Y-axes and 160% in the Z direction.
Who designed it? ashpool
How printable/popular is it? There are hundreds of downloads and a couple of impressive Makes. In particular, check out the brilliant two-color Make of this design by Lightfingers.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Lampan Lamp Shade
In the world of Ikea hacks, this is practically a vintage design, as both the original product and the hack have stood the test of time. A collection of 29 alternative Ikea Lampan lamp shades brighten the otherwise plain and simple original product.
These are straightforward prints, well suited to PETG, although most makes are in PLA. Print them in different colors or various translucent filaments for the best effect. (They look stunning in a collection!)
Who designed it? VanAllesWatOntwerp
How printable/popular is it? There are over 1,000 likes on Thingiverse, and the design has been featured in many other articles and videos.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Kallax/Dröna Cat Cubby
This is such a wonderfully simple idea. Although billed as a hideout for a cat, this design could be used for many other purposes. It provides neat access to a Dröna (or equivalent) box designed for Kallax shelves without having to remove it from the shelf.
Essentially, you cut a circular hole in one side of the box, which is then secured with this 3D printed ring. You could even add holes on multiple sides and connect several boxes for a feline playground!
Who designed it? DasMia
How printable/popular is it? There have been 2,000 views and almost 50 downloads so far. The two parts are easy to print, but you’ll need to take care cutting the approximately-sized hole for fitting them.
Where to find it? Cults
Jansjö Light Shade
Ikea’s Jansjö lamp has evolved through several iterations and is now a mainly-USB-powered range of lights. The whole range shares common lamp heads, and this shade should fit them all. It’s a simple snap-fitting 3D print to help reduce glare and direct light where you want it.
The model is designed to be loose for easy adjustment, but, if you want a tighter fit to secure the shade in the direction you need, the designer recommends scaling to 98%.
Who designed it? Svenergy
How printable/popular is it? This is a simple print and the most popular of several Jansjö shades, with over 400 likes and 15 uploaded Makes.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
KIDS & TOYS
Hacking is about having fun, and what better way to have fun than with toys? Of course, when children are the users, extra care has to be taken to ensure items are safe and fit for purpose. That aside, the only limit to what’s possible is your imagination!
Frosta Stool Bicycle
This is one of the most creative Ikea hacks out there! Le Fab Shop produced this brilliant design using 3D printed parts to transform two Ikea Frosta stools into a simple push-along bike.
Unfortunately, while Frosta stools are still on Ikea’s product list, they can be difficult to find. But if you already have a couple lying around, this would be a great project to prove the transformative power of 3D printing!
Who designed it? leFabShop
How printable/popular is it? This design has 5,000 views and is edging towards 200 downloads. The printed parts are simple, but putting them together does require some building work.
Where to find it? Cults
Lillabo Switching Points
3D printed designs and Ikea’s wooden Lillabo railways are a match made in heaven. We chose this because we liked the simple moving parts (always fun to play with) but there are literally hundreds of other designs for points, bridges, trains, and railway buildings out there.
This design prints in five parts, which are easy to assemble. If you’re looking for inspiration, many makers have shared their creative Remixes, including some servo-driven versions. Get ready to roll.
Who designed it? Fittan
How printable/popular is it? There are hundreds of likes and dozens of builds, so this is a tried and true design.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Super Mario Blocks for Kallax Shelves
What’s inside the Super Mario question mark blocks? This is a brilliantly simple hack to add a sense of fun to any small (or big) kid’s bedroom or play area. Simply print the white question mark and bolts and stick them onto a yellow Kallax shelf door.
A larger layer height will work perfectly well for these, as there’s no fine detail to be concerned about. Just make sure there are enough solid layers on top to fully cover the infill pattern.
Who designed it? VadimGutman
How printable/popular is it? This design has been downloaded 400 times from MyMiniFactory and is available on other sites, too. It’s a very easy print, although for the full effect, it needs yellow Ikea shelf doors or boxes to be attached to.
Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Måla Paints Holder
Ikea’s Måla range of pens, paint, and paper are enormously popular, but the paint bottles tend to get everywhere. Problem solved with this simple holder designed to attach to the edge of a play table. Each holder fits five bottles, but you can print a few if you have more colors (or more children).
Who designed it? _MSA_
How printable/popular is it? This is a very easy print. It just needs four countersunk screws to attach to a table or wall (along with whatever other appropriate fittings are necessary for your surface).
Where to find it? Cults
Pokal Piggy Bank
Our final Pokal glass hack is an entertaining piggy bank, guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone’s face. It’s an easy print and looks great, especially in brighter filament colors.
You won’t need to use any settings out of the ordinary to print this: The designer used a layer height of 0.2 mm and an infill of 10%.
Who designed it? ccetinkaya
How printable/popular is it? Downloaded over 1,300 times, this simple, creative, and easy-to-print design is a real winner.
Where to find it? MyMinFactory
Category: Spares & Fittings
It is a fact of life that Ikea’s Salma boxes tend to multiply and then get stacked up high. It is further fact that these stacks can be easily toppled and spill their contents… But with these simple, easy-to-print lid catches, that will become a thing of the past.
There are two files: one for the smaller boxes between 5 and 22 liters and one for the 45- and 65-liter boxes. The clips were designed to be 36 mm long but can be scaled to different lengths without issue.
The designer recommends printing these in ABS over PLA and orienting them sideways on your beds. You might also like to use a raft to avoid elephant’s foot.
Who designed it? Wookbert
How printable/popular is it? These are nice and easy to print, with thousands having been downloaded.
Where to find it? Thingiverse
Ikea Spare Parts
3D printing is ideal for spare parts. You might be working on a furniture hack and need extra components or simply reassembling something only to find parts are missing. Whatever the situation, there’s bound to be a downloadable part for what you need.
In the case of Ikea products in particular, there are often small attachments that are easy to misplace or don’t survive the disassembly process when you want to re-flat-pack some furniture. They are so pervasive, we even have an article dedicated to the subject of 3D printed Ikea replacement parts.
Here, we’ve included designs for some of the most common missing parts (even including dowels).
Who designed it? Various, but MakerBot_Europe has shared several good designs.
How printable/popular is it? We’ll let one comment do the talking, a story we see repeated hundreds of times: “Thanks a lot for this design, it saved my day :)”
Where to find them? There are many good options on Thingiverse, including dowels, arresters, brackets, rail mounts, and bookshelf cams.
Skådis Pegboard Collection
Designer Chris Schneider has put together an incredible collection of almost 60 parts to allow you to add just about anything you can imagine to a Skådis slot board.
There are designs for everything from paper towel holders to small shelves, tool racks, and much more. They are all designed to be tight-fitting, wobble-free, and easy to print.
Who designed it? CSD_Salzburg
How printable/popular is it? This collection is enormously popular, with thousands of likes and downloads across the range. Almost all are straightforward to print, with one or two requiring extra parts (see the comments section on the Thingiverse page).
Where to find it? Thingiverse
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