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While most see a regular IKEA product, one home design expert saw it as a canvas.
Dalia Aly, a content creator on TikTok, has come up with an IKEA hack that adds embroidered patterns on the Swedish retailer’s HOL table, resulting in a truly unique piece of furniture.
In her video, she gives followers a look at the table, and its crisscross patterns gave Aly the realization that it looks like a giant cross-stitch cloth. And so, she went to work preparing the item for embroidery, first by taking it apart and staining it a dark walnut.
“I really wanted the wood to be deeper and richer to match the yarn I chose,” she said.
Then, after applying a polycrylic finish to enrich the stain color, she started embroidering. Using white and brown chunky wool roving, which was just the right size for the table’s openings, Aly passed the material through the gaps much like she would with cross-stitch cloth.
Once she finished with the front and sides, she did the same watermelon motif on the lid, except with the colors inverted to give the entire piece some contrast.
“You. Are. A. Genius,” a commenter said. Another joked: “So cute! Now my cat can get into needle felting.”
Others also provided suggestions, such as pairing the table with other IKEA items. For instance, the IKEA HOL side table. Or, “you can match it by doing the same to the IKEA TROMMA clock,” which, for those unfamiliar with the product, has holes patterned along the numbers and can fit needle and thread.
As for those concerned about the table’s surface being unusable because of the embroidery, you can simply add a sheet of glass on top. And when it’s time to clean, here’s a great tip from the comment section: “You can dust fiber pieces like these by placing a piece of screen between the piece and a vacuum!”
You can see more IKEA hacks and DIYs from Dalia Aly here.
