A mum has created a way to transform every day Ikea pieces so that they look like expensive designer furniture – and it will only cost you $10.
Kylie Hughes is the founder of Stylkea, an online store that sells peel-and-stick panels designed to perfectly fit Ikea furniture, and give them a personalised touch.
The Gold Coast mum-of-one came up with the idea while trying to renovate her own home on a budget.
‘I was spending hours every week looking through magazines, searching for ways to get the same designer looks on a budget,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Kylie Hughes is the founder of Stylkea , an online store that sells peel-and-stick panels designed to transform Ikea furniture and give the pieces a luxury touch
The panels, which range from $9.95 to $34.95 and ship worldwide, currently come in a variety of materials and do not require any tools to apply
‘I kept going back to Ikea to see if I could find something similar, but my dilemma was I didn’t want my home to look like a clone of an Ikea catalog.’
‘I wanted to use it as a starting point, not an end point. I wanted to personalise it.’
When Kylie, 44, couldn’t find anything to provide that customised feel, she decided to make it herself – and realised she had a product that others might want as well.
‘Living costs are so high that people don’t have spare money to spend on tens of thousands of dollars on designer furniture,’ she said. ‘But they still want to live in beautiful designer spaces.’
Kylie came up with her own designs and sketched them out on her computer.
She then had her husband, an engineer, turn them into a computer model that she could provide to a local manufacturer.
Kylie was working on the designs and store website while still juggling her day job as a copywriter and being a mum to her six-year-old son Oscar
But Stylkea also gave Kylie, who has no formal design qualifications, the chance to tap into a passion for interior design and decorating that she has always had
Kylie was working on the designs and store website while still juggling her day job as a copywriter and being a mum to her six-year-old son Oscar.
‘I was working at night and on the weekends and I built the website by myself as well, so I was teaching myself e-commerce,’ she said.
‘Time was one of the biggest obstacles. It took me 18 months from deciding to give it a go to opening up the sales.’
But Stylkea also gave Kylie, who has no formal design qualifications, the chance to tap into her long-held passion for interior design and decorating.
‘It’s great to be in a creative role and indulge artistic expression,’ she said.
The panels, which range from $9.95 to $34.95 and ship worldwide, come in a variety of materials and do not require any tools to apply.
As she continues to expand and grow the brand,Kylie hopes to turn Stylkea into an ‘inspirational one stop shop for Ikea hackers’
There is a white foam option that can be modified with spray or acrylic paint, as well as five different metallics in golds and silvers.
The first set of panels are designed to fit Ikea ranges including Malm, Besta, and Kallax, and were done in a ‘classic’ style.
‘They’re versatile, so they match a wide range of different decor styles,’ Kylie said. ‘It comes down to your imagination and how you want to use them.’
‘Some are glam and luxury and others lend themselves beautifully to a nursery or child’s bedroom.’
Kylie said she felt it was important to make her customers just as involved in the design process as she came up with the concept for Stylkea.
The first set of panels are designed to fit Ikea ranges including Malm, Besta, and Kallax, and were done in a ‘classic’ style
‘I think people are tired of being consumers,’ she said. ‘They want to be co-creators in the style process.’
Kylie also wanted to make sure her business was eco-friendly, and thus all the panels are recyclable to help people ‘live sustainably’.
As she continues to expand and grow the brand,Kylie hopes to turn Stylkea into an ‘inspirational one stop shop for Ikea hackers’.
‘Everyone loves a good hack, but they don’t want a crafty amateur hack,’ she said.
‘They want to take an Ikea canvas and want it to look professional. You want someone to walk into your house and not even recognise it’s Ikea.’