How can I make my flat pack furniture stronger?

There are plenty of good reasons for choosing flat-pack furniture, including the affordable cost, and ease of getting the items home in one slim – albeit heavy – box.

However, one of the downsides is some items aren't always as sturdy as solid pieces of furniture, especially if you're tightening screws by hand.

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One DIYer has found a solution to that problem by coming up with a way to make Ikea furniture more sturdy.

Kim, who shares her DIY projects on her TikTok page @heigheshaus, claims this is "the best Ikea hack for your wood furniture".

Watch the video above.

Kim shared what she calls 'the best Ikea hack' in a TikTok video. (TikTok/@heigheshaus)

While making the Lommarp console, Kim wanted to add extra reinforcement to make sure the piece withstands the test of time.

"Put a dab of wood glue in all of the dowel holes, and a bead of wood glue in all of the slots for the backing and the drawers. The wood glue will seep into the fibres of the particle board and create a super strong bond as it hardens," she said in a video.

While this seems like a good idea and would certainly keep pieces in place if the furniture is ever knocked or moved to a different position in the room, it comes with a huge catch.

Wood glue keeps everything tight and sturdy, but you have to get it right first go. (TikTok/@heigheshaus)

And if you're anything like me, and put at least one piece the wrong way and have to rebuild part of your flat-pack furniture, this might not be a good idea.

That's because if you're going to put glue in the slots and dowel holes, you have to build the piece right the first time, otherwise you will quite literally be stuck.

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But what you could try is putting the furniture together first, and when you're sure it's right add a little glue to any sections you want to be a little stronger.

Kim's tip is just one of many Ikea hacks you'll find online, like one recently shared by home décor fan LeeAnne.

She told her TikTok followers there is a way to paint Ikea or laminate furniture without having to sand it first, which is a huge time-saver.

This cabinet was painted using shellac-based primer, so LeeAnne didn't have to sand first. (TikTok/@lifewithleeanne)

LeeAnne's secret to avoiding prepping her furniture for paint is to use a shellac-based primer.

"The final texture is really thin and it dries very quickly. Let your shellac harden for two to three days before you paint over it. You should get really nice coverage when you paint compared to the splotchy coverage you would get without using this primer," she explained.

Shellac-based primer can be found at stores like Bunnings, and works well on laminate furniture as long as you let it dry fully between coats.

Painting Ikea furniture means you can get the exact colour you want to suit your home, and it also helps update a piece you've had for a while.

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Brooke Christen of @nestingwithgrace notes that “one thing that sets inexpensive furniture apart is the quality of the hardware.” So if you want to trick folks into thinking that you paid a lot more for that dresser than you did—as well as give your fingers something a little more substantial to grasp—upgrading the hardware is an easy fix. “I love to find unique knobs and pulls that not only make an ordinary piece prettier, but also serve and function much longer than cheaper alternatives,” Christen says. She’s also quick to note that you don’t have to bust your budget. “When we installed a little IKEA shoe shelf as a pantry in our old kitchen, I took thrifted leather belts to create custom pulls and added a stained wood top to the piece to extend its life and make it special.”