This viral IKEA mirror hack perfectly fakes an expensive-looking heavy mirror – and for less than £50

We all love the luxurious look of a high-end heavy mirror. But not so much the high price point or the hustle of hanging it that come with it. Which is why we love this latest viral IKEA mirror hack.

Making the rounds on Instagram and TikTok, this IKEA hack utilises the well-known BLODLÖNN light square mirrors laid out on a background of black paint creating a grid pattern costing no more than £50. It comes courtesy of Anna Hoban from @our_home_style_, racking up almost 4 million views on TikTok and 500,000 likes on Instagram to date.

It’s an easy-to-recreate hack that really anyone can do. And it even got a professional stamp of approval from our decorating expert. 

IKEA fake heavy mirror hack

Whether you’re looking for hallway mirror ideas or ones for the living room, this hack is perfect for you. Anna made it the feature of her staircase wall, which she styled in partnership with Contempee. But the mirror hack in her reel just made the area come alive.

'This hack has transformed my stairs and landing,' she says. 'I had a large empty space on my stairs and I knew I wanted to make a statement but a large canvas or gallery wall wasn't something I wanted. I looked at a large mirror however the prices of these mirrors were out of my price range and would be too heavy to put up.'

'That's when I came across the idea of this hack and decided to just give it a go; I had seen similar concepts and had created something similar myself but much smaller. The hardest part was the location; I chose to have the mirror high on the stairs which made reaching the edges a challenge (even with ladders). Other than that the rest was quite easy - once the first row of mirrors were aligned the rest just flowed.' 

Not only that it creates a luxurious finish to your wall, it also fakes a window look, which opens up a space. And according to our decorating expert, it’s even renter friendly. What’s not to like?

‘I’ve seen this hack quite a lot in the past few weeks and I think it’s an amazing way to fill out an empty wall by creating an accent or DIYing a heavy-duty mirror instead of worrying about whether your wall will be able to support its weight,’ says Lucy Fernando, handyman and decorator coordinator at Fantastic Services. ‘Besides that, it seems a much more inexpensive and budget-friendly alternative to investing in a huge heavy mirror, which is usually very expensive.’ 

‘As the creator also mentions in the comments, these mirrors come with sticky taps designed to hold the mirrors, which removes the need for drilling, prevents damaging the wall and is a lot more renter-friendly.’ 

What you’ll need

• IKEA BLODLÖNN Mirrors, 4 pack
• Painter’s tape like this one at Amazon
• Black paint like this one at B&Q

How to guide

Start this easy DIY project by measuring how much surface area you will need to paint, allowing 2cm gaps between mirror blocks and for the border. Then create the outline with a painter’s tape like the Frog Tape Delicate Surface Painter’s Masking Tape at Amazon. Anna recommends using a high-quality painter’s tape rather than any old (and cheap) masking tape.

Then paint the surface with your black paint using a paint roller. Once painted and the paint is still tacky but no longer wet, remove the painter’s tape. 

Then once fully dried, you can start putting the mirror squares on. Anna recommends using a combination of a spirit level, ruler and pencil to get the gaps and lay out as accurate as possible.   

The advantage of the IKEA BLODLÖNN Mirrors is that they come with sticky pads so there is no need for drilling or buying your own sticky tape separately. Lay your mirrors row by row and once happy press them on firmly.

And voila! You’re done.