Turn Budget-Friendly IKEA Vases Into Stunning Decor For Your Tables Or Shelves

It's easy to get sucked into the magic of IKEA, whether you're a fiend for their Swedish meatballs or you're in it for the low prices. A stroll through the maze-like showroom might leave you a little disoriented, but it'll also fill you with design inspiration. And while many IKEA finds are stunning on their own, the inexpensive pieces are also perfect for DIY projects that spruce up the original. You can turn an IKEA dresser into a high-end statement piece, for instance. Another example is the PÅDRAG vase. Its unique silhouette includes a rounded bottom that blends into a straight neck with ribbing throughout the vase to add texture. But TikTok creator @jenshomejournal combines two and coats them in a stone-like paint to make an impressive piece.

Because the PÅDRAG has a flat bottom, you can easily glue two together vases' bottoms together and still have a sturdy container. But instead of a single curved section, you have double curves and double the height to make the display stand out on a shelf or table. Painting and embellishing the clear glass containers helps disguise the fact that you glued two of them together, making it look like it was one large piece all along.

If you're feeling creative, you can use this same idea with other vases. Using two of the same kind of vase creates balance and symmetry from top to bottom, but you could also choose two different containers for a more eclectic look. Look for two containers with the same size of bottom, so they join together easily and look like they fit together.

While there are several common items to avoid buying at IKEA, the PÅDRAG vase isn't on that list, so grab a couple and start creating! Use an adhesive that'll work for glass-to-glass bonding, like Loctite glass glue, to stick the bottoms of the two vases together, making sure they align perfectly. Let the glue set so the vases don't shift while you paint them.

The original creator uses a faux stone paint technique to elevate the design. To copy the look, add 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of paint, and stir it together well. You can add a little more baking soda if you want a thicker texture. Brush or dab on two layers to get the coverage you want. Or, try this method of transforming vases into beautiful faux stone decor using stone-like spray paint. Light brown, beige, gray, and terracotta colors all emulate the look of real stone, but you can also use a brighter paint color to cheer up the room.

Here's where you can depart from the original design if you wish. Instead of the stone look, consider a solid paint color. You can also add small wooden beads, gemstones, or similar embellishments along the base, top edge, and center where the two vases meet. To style the vase, display it on its own or add dried or faux florals. It looks great on a mantel, shelf, or table either by itself or with other vases finished in a similar way.