TikTokers are cutting and painting $15 Ikea wicker baskets. An interior designer says it's a clever way to create expensive-looking light fixtures.

• TikTokers are transforming affordable decorative baskets from Ikea into hanging light fixtures.
• Interior designer Kristen McGowan told Insider she loved the DIY project for its simplicity.
• Using a $15 wicker basket from Ikea, McGowan shares how she created a hanging lamp for about $33.

From DIY greenhouses to homemade fluted furniture, TikTok has become a place to share your most creative home renovation projects.

One recent trend involves turning affordable decorative baskets from Ikea into hanging lamps that mimic expensive wicker lighting.

TikTokers like @sharee.designs and @nikki.kole have shared how affordable wicker baskets can become statement light fixtures for any room in a home.

Kristen McGowan, an interior designer and content creator, tried the basket transformation for herself, and it quickly became one of her favorite Ikea hacks.

It also happens to be one of the easiest and cheapest furniture hacks she's done to date, she said.

"It's a really fun one, and it doesn't take long at all to do," McGowan told Insider.

While the trendy wicker light fixtures can run for hundreds of dollars in furniture stores like Pottery Barn and West Elm, the hack costs about $33, and it's done in five easy steps.

What you need for the hack

Just a handful of materials are needed for this project, and you probably already have some around your house.

Start with a decorative basket. For this DIY, McGowan chose one of her favorite wicker baskets, which is Ikea's $15 Flädis basket.

You'll also need a pendant light, which retails for $10 at Ikea, a pair of scissors, and ceiling hooks, which cost $8 on Amazon.

For this hack, McGowan decided to paint half of the basket white, so if you choose to paint your basket, you'll need that, too. McGowan used white acrylic paint and a paintbrush.

How to do it yourself

Once McGowan gathered her materials, she started the simple DIY project.

Step 1. First, remove the handles from your basket and cut a hole in the basket's bottom.

Step 2. If you're painting the basket, paint it and let it dry.

Step 3. Once it's dry, loop the pendant light through the bottom of the basket.

Step 4. Drill your hooks into the ceiling where you would like the fixture to hang.

Step 5. Hang the light fixture, plug it in, and turn it on.

McGowan also shared the step-by-step instructions in a YouTube video, which you can watch below.

It was so simple that after the first hack, McGowan said she tried a similar one.

For the second pendant hack, she weaved twine around an Ikea glass lampshade and added fun pompoms.

McGowan said hacking Ikea wicker baskets is a great way to add texture, interest, and some affordable lighting to any room in your home.