TikTok's Stained-Glass IKEA AKERBAR DIY Will Instantly Elevate Your Home Decor

Decorating your home in a way that makes you feel proud, comfortable, and represented can pose a surprisingly difficult challenge. It's not uncommon to find yourself facing budget limitations that can make capturing a unique style feel impossible. This is where a little DIY comes in. Utilizing mass-produced pieces from affordable brands like IKEA feels much less limiting when you can use your DIY skills to make those pieces one-of-a-kind. A perfect example of this approach featuring the IKEA ÅKERBÄR greenhouse has been circulating TikTok.

In a TikTok video, creator @entertainidea depicts tracing a design and using stained-glass paint to customize a plain ÅKERBÄR into a gorgeous, stunning stained-glass masterpiece. Whether you use your customized greenhouse to house houseplants, crystals and gems, candles, a zen garden, a terrarium, or any other display your heart desires, the stained-glass windows create a brilliant view that you can customize however you please and you can rest assured that no one else will have the exact same piece in their home. All you'll need is a ÅKERBÄR greenhouse (available at IKEA for $23), access to a printer, liquid leading, stained-glass paint, and a toothpick or skewer. 

The first step to creating your own stained-glass ÅKERBÄR greenhouse is planning your design. You may wish to create the look of miniature stained-glass windows, as depicted in the TikTok video by @entertainidea, or you might decide to strike out on your own and incorporate imagery like your favorite flowers or birds. Once you've decided on your designs, scale them to fit your greenhouse's glass panes and print them on standard letter paper.

Place your printouts face up on the back side of each glass pane. This will allow you to trace the designs on the front of the panes using your liquid leading. You can purchase a six-color set of stained-glass paint on Amazon that includes a bottle of black liquid leading and five colors for about $17. Use the nozzle of the liquid leading bottle to trace over the lines of your design. Allow the leading to dry, and then color in the larger areas of your design with the paint colors, using your toothpick or skewer to spread the paint evenly over each area. 

The sky is the limit when it comes to creative uses for your customized stained-glass ÅKERBÄR greenhouse. If you have a green thumb, consider filling it with an array of small living plants — like succulents — and display it on a sunny windowsill. If you enjoy the look of plants but aren't quite confident in your ability to keep them alive for the long haul, you can grab a stunning array of potted look-alikes for just $1.25 each at your local Dollar Tree.

A customized stained-glass ÅKERBÄR greenhouse can also make a beautiful and thoughtful holiday gift or centerpiece. Whether you're decorating your home to celebrate Valentine's Day, Easter, the summer solstice, Christmas, or Halloween, you can apply festive designs and fill your greenhouse with seasonal items like heart-shaped candles, faux Easter eggs, and miniature pine trees or pumpkins. Gift your creation to a loved one or make it the centerpiece at your next holiday-themed dinner party.