IKEA's Top-Rated Coffee Table Will Provide Your Living Room With Stylish Storage
It can be a challenge to pick the perfect coffee table for your home. From deciding on a size and shape, to determining the best color or material, the market is flooded with seemingly endless options. But sometimes, the best design is one that is simple, tried, and true. Enter: the LACK coffee table from IKEA. It's the furniture giant's best rated, most reviewed coffee table, with 1,433 customer reviews and a 4.7-star average rating.
Measuring 35 ⅜ inches x 21 ⅝, the LACK offers moderate surface area and additional storage space, with a shelf beneath the tabletop. The assembly is simple as far as IKEA builds go, and the table is incredibly lightweight due to its internal honeycomb paper structure. That ability to easily move it around the living room, or even the house, makes it all the more versatile. And if you're worried that its lightweight construction means it isn't sturdy, you may be surprised to find that customer reviews consistently remark on how well the LACK holds up to regular use.
The LACK is also a total bargain. For just $30, you can take home a brand new coffee table in either white, black-brown, or oak finish. You may even find one secondhand for even less on Facebook Marketplace, especially if you're a city dweller. And while the LACK is great as-is for those with minimal design tastes, it is also an exceptional canvas for customization. As many DIYers online have demonstrated, there are so many ways to hack your LACK to match your home decor.
Create closed storage for your LACK with a clever DIY
The shelf on the LACK offers a nice space to keep necessities at an arm's length. But if open shelving isn't your ideal storage solution, there's a DIY that can transform your table to hide things away. The project cleverly uses split wood dowel rods, also known as half-round dowels or molding, to cover three sides of the coffee table for a fluted effect and more contained storage.
Start by measuring the length from the top edge of the tabletop to the bottom edge of the shelf – this will determine the length of split dowel you need to use. When choosing a dowel, it's up to you how wide you want each piece to be. Just note that the smaller diameter, the more dowels it will take to complete the job. The dowels will also likely come in a length longer than you need. You'll need to cut them to size with a miter saw and box, like this Craftsman option from Amazon. You may also be able to get them cut to size using the services at your local Home Depot or Lowes location. Then, use a glue like Liquid Nails to secure the dowels side by side along the back and sides of the table. Leave the open side facing toward the couch, and enjoy your discrete coffee table storage solution.
Change up the look of your LACK with different DIYs
One great, simple way to personalize your LACK however you like is to take advantage of peel and stick vinyl. The LACK's flat sided components make it incredibly easy to wrap in the adhesive material. You can cover both the tabletop and legs or just one or the other. And there are so many colors and patterns to choose from. Popular options include marble-effect vinyl like this one from PHINILUX on Amazon. You can also find rolls that mimic the look of different wood grains and stains, like this version from Decoroom, also available on Amazon.
Another popular hack is to DIY a tiled IKEA table. This project can be a little pricey, but it's nothing compared to other tiled tables on the market, which can run you hundreds to thousands of dollars. Plus, the LACK's lightweight frame keeps the piece movable, where other tiled tables are weighed down by heavier frames. A TikTok DIY from @lindsayc.jpg demonstrates the how-to on the smaller side table LACK, but it can just as easily be done on the larger version. Pick out your desired tiles, and use tile adhesive like AcrylPro from Home Depot, to secure them to all surfaces of your LACK. Allow to dry, and follow up by grouting the tile. Use a pre-mixed grout like SimpleGrout, also available at Home Depot, to save you the messy step of mixing your own. Wipe away the excess grout with a large sponge, and enjoy your premium-looking DIY coffee table.