A guide to my top 10 IKEA finds that you'll want to read before your next visit.

Here are my top 10 IKEA finds from my recent trip. I posted a few stories in IKEA a couple of weeks back and was asked to share my top finds, it's been crazy ever since with Christmas shoots (yes really, in June!), DIY projects and general life chaos, but I've finally found ten minutes to sit down and spill the tea, so here goes. Just click on the images to be taken to the product page on the website for further details and stock availability. *Just a quick note to say this isn't an advert or any affiliate links, I paid for all these items in full and won't benefit in any way from sharing these recommendations with you.

1. MÅNHULT Chair, black/Hakebo grey-green - £65

First up are these fab chairs. I bought two to use as dining chairs as the ones we had were beyond help! One side of our dining table ( a charity shop bargain that I'll tell you about another time) is an IKEA dining bench, that I recently made to look old and distressed, you can see the highlights of the process in my Instagram reel here. But on the other side we needed some chairs and these were a no-brainer as they are stylish, affordable and easy to put together.

2. STRÖG Rug, flatwoven, natural, 120x180 cm - £35

These rugs are ridiculously good value and I'm going to get a larger one at some point too. They are 7mm thick, so quite chunky and are really beautiful and rustic, perfect for lovers of neutral decor but would also work well paired with bright colours. I'm a huge fan of layering up texture in a room and this rug is perfect for bringing all the natural texture at a great price.

3. GLADELIG Mug, grey, 37 cl - £3

Before my trip to IKEA, I spent a lot of time looking for natural stoneware mugs and found so many gorgeous examples from places like Nkuku and Every Story Ceramics, but they were expensive and to be frank, I'm clumsy! I couldn't bear the thought of clunking a £25+ mug against something in the dishwasher and chipping it and I also didn't love the idea of having mugs for decorative purposes only that I was too scared to use! So, these bargain mugs were the perfect solution, at £3 each I wouldn't be terrified to use them and they look really lovely so they had to feature in my top 10 IKEA finds. I went mad and bought four (last of the big spenders or what!?) These mugs look perfect hanging on a fake antique brass hanging rail that I hacked which is positioned under the IKEA hack shelves that I made into a DIY coffee station.

4. TJILLEVIPS Basket, jute, 30x30x35 cm - £11

These jute storage boxes / baskets were such a good find. I'm using them in compartments of my IKEA BILLY bookcase hack built-in shelves to hide clutter (all part of my attempts to get more organised and embrace a more minimalist approach this year (well as minimalist as you can be with two kids!). These definitely deserved a spot in my top 10 IKEA finds as they are such good value at £11 each and really versatile, too. The sides can be rolled / folded down so you could squeeze them in smaller spaces like under beds or in cupboards and they look really rustic and natural so are a great alternative to plastic containers. In short, I love them and they are good at dealing with the clutter that I haven't yet managed to lose.

5. VARDAGEN Frying pan, carbon steel, 13 cm - £15

I'm going to be honest and say that the main reason for purchasing this cute little black pan was so I could hang it on my newly installed under-shelf, over-counter hanging rail because it was the perfect height and I really liked the matt black finish. On a practical level, it's really well made and weighty and would be perfect for frying eggs or preparing little dishes, really little dishes(!) as it's a tiny pan. 6. SOCKERÄRT Vase/jug, black, 22 cm - Usually £ 12 on sale at £8

I picked up one of these jugs for decorative purposes and it's currently sitting on a microcement ledge shelf filled with olive branches, but I might decide at some point to use it for it's intended purpose as it's a nice jug. It was a bargain at under £10 and definitely deserves a place in my top 10 IKEA finds. It comes in a range of colours if black isnt your thing. 7. MOSSLANDA Picture ledge, white, 115 cm - £10

As much as I usually love upcycled shelves, these shelves were amazing value and definitely deserve their place in my top 10 IKEA finds. I cut them down to size and attached them to the wall in place of some kitchen cabinets in a little nook I was trying to make look more aesthetically pleasing in our kitchen. I then covered them with microcement (to match in with the wall that I'd also covered in my favourite concrete micro-topping) and then styled with lots of my fab IKEA finds. You can read the tutorial here.

8. GLADELIG Bowl, grey, 11 cm - £10/4 pack

This little multi-pack of stoneware bowls matches the cups that featured earlier in my top 10 IKEA finds. They are a cute little size and look great stacked up on open kitchen shelves. They are a great stoneware colour and are glazed for practicality and at £10 for four, you really can't go wrong.

9. HEAT Pot stand, cork, 23x17 cm - £2.50/2 pack

These brilliant cork pot stands were an amazing bargain at £2.50 for two. They are handy and practical and also look great when styled on shelves as a backdrop of neutral colour and texture. They work particularly well behind IKEA's infamous white crockery. They were an excellent find and definitely had to feature in my top 10 IKEA finds.

10. DINERA Espresso cup and saucer, dark grey, 9 cl - £2

I love these espresso cups and matching saucers, they come in two colours, black and a grey shade and I bought some of each, again mainly for styling purposes but they will definitely get used. They are super cute and well made and the little saucers look fab stacked up on open shelves. The cups work well suspended from hooks on hanging rails, or stacked up on shelves. Another great bargain and deserved entry to my top 10 IKEA finds. I hope you found this round-up useful.

Here are a couple of images featuring some of the above items styled in my kitchen makeover on a budget, but I'll get some of the chairs and rug too as they look brilliant, I just haven't had a chance to snap them yet!

I'm Claire Douglas, a DIY and home interiors writer and content creator specialising in money-saving and creative home interior projects. I've spent years developing my 'bespoke on a budget' approach to DIY and home interiors and I love sharing all my tips and tricks in tutorials and posts here on my blog, in articles I write for work, in the press, on Instagram, Tiktok and my online course .

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