Use This DIY To Transform An IKEA GRADVIS Plant Pot Into A Lovely Tissue Dispenser

IKEA may be the world's most popular furniture retailer, but shopping for home decor at the Swedish retail giant comes with both pros and cons. While many of IKEA's items are uber-affordable and stylish, they're also far from being unique. However, if you have a little imagination and love a good DIY, you can easily turn everyday finds into Insta-worthy masterpieces with some brilliant IKEA hacks. 

Case in point: IKEA's plant pots are especially versatile. Not only are they great for potting plants (of course), but they're also useful in a myriad of other ways — like tissue dispensing. With a few basic tools — namely a drill and sandpaper — you can easily transform a classic indoor/outdoor 4 ¾-inch GRADVIS plant pot from IKEA and an IKEA 365+ round bamboo lid into a cute tissue dispenser. 

The hardest part of this simple project is actually the first step: choosing your favorite color from the GRADVIS collection. The range currently includes neutral stoneware in gray, black, and light pink (our favorite) as well as a glass version. Alternatively, you can use spray paint to turn your pot into just the right hue for your home. After that, you're only a few steps away from creating a lovely tissue dispenser.

Once you've decided whether or not to paint your plant pot, it's time to work on the bamboo lid. As DIY blogger Magdalena Wöckinger shared with fans on Instagram, you'll want to start by using a ruler and pencil to mark the exact center point of the lid. After that, use a drill with a hole saw attachment to carve a hole in the middle for the tissues to pass through. You don't want the hole to be too small or the tissues will snag, but going too large isn't good either — a 1 ½-inch hole saw drill bit is ideal. Once you're done drilling, be sure to use a piece of sandpaper to brush away any splinters or roughness from the bamboo.  

The final step is to tear open a box of tissues and remove the entire stack from inside, bending it in half. Place it into your pot in an inverted U shape, pop on the lid (which is held in place thanks to its handy rubber seal), pull the top tissue through the drilled hole, and voila! A pretty tissue box in just a few steps. And, while some folks commented it might be easier to buy something readymade, it's worth noting that the two pieces from IKEA will cost you just $12.99, whereas a stylish ceramic tissue box cover from an upmarket retailer like Crate&Barrel starts at $24.95.

If you're not in need of a tissue dispenser (or perhaps you want to make a matching set), you can use the same GRADVIS pot and IKEA 365+ lid to DIY a storage container, just another way IKEA products create the perfect piece for home storage. The pot is the perfect size to stash your keys and anything else you usually dump onto the hallway table or kitchen counter.  

For this DIY, you'll also need a fake plant, some fake moss, a hot glue gun, and (optionally) cardboard. After painting your plant pot to match your tissue dispenser — or leaving it as-is — use a hot glue gun to cover the IKEA 365+ round bamboo lid with faux plants and greenery to your liking. Alternatively, you can swap the lid for a piece of heavy-duty cardboard cut into a circle slightly larger than the diameter of the pot. Once the lid is ready, simply plop your keys, change, and any other doodads you want to hide inside the pot, slip on the lid, and enjoy the look of your new clutter-free space.