Your IKEA Frames Will Be Unrecognizable After This Super Simple DIY

Blair Donovan
·2 min read
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Living room with teal green gallery wall, high ceilings with wood beam, white round pendant light, black and white striped rug, blue velvet sofa with warm colored-accent pillows, cane chairs and coffee table (with glass top), wood shelves with books, art objects

When it comes to styling your walls, finding the perfect art is just one piece of the decorating puzzle — the frames you choose to go with them are equally important. Luckily, you don’t have to break the bank on custom framing services or a high-end style: Oftentimes thrift or craft stores will have the best beautiful-on-a-budget selection.

IKEA also remains one of my favorite spots for affordable frames, especially for oversized pieces like posters. Their offerings are fairly simple and minimalist — perfect for letting your favorite prints take center stage — but one DIYer just showed how to make them look like their own works of art.

Tina Le Mac (@tinadoodles) shared a video on Instagram, noting in the voiceover that she’s “saying goodbye to boring picture frames because 2024 is the year we’re going to have fun with our wall art.” To pull this off, she compiled a few different IKEA frames and paint colors to actually freehand fun designs on the frames and mats themselves.

Tracing out her ideas in pencil beforehand, she painted an eye-catching burgundy wavy trim and green-and-tan checkerboard pattern against two different wood grain frames. She even gave a third frame a pretty vintage feel by painting it black and gently brushing brass gilding paint over top.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1sFjAkvSzq/?

It’s really that simple to have more fun with your frames and complement any artwork, not to mention these add another decorative layer to your wall. You can use any IKEA frame size or style to recreate this low-cost project, although the original poster showed the DALSKÄRR, SILVERHÖJDEN, and LOMVIKEN throughout the video. Or, elevate any plain thrifted frames you already have that could use some colorful or antique-looking TLC. Aside from that, you’ll just need a few paint options and brushes, as well. 

I love this IKEA hack because it’s a low-stakes way to lean into trending motifs and styles, like cherry-colored stripes to embrace the “unexpected red theory”, or a charming scalloped trim. If you ever want to redesign down the line, you can simply paint over it! And don’t worry about having perfectly straight lines or “messing up” here — it’s all about the unique, handmade aesthetic, plus you can always stick to just DIYing the matting versus the frame.