How to Paint Ikea Furniture

There's nothing worse than walking into someones home and seeing wall-to-wall Ikea. There aren't too many affordable furniture options out there, so I appreciate the bargain that Ikea provides, but I don't want anyone to being able to pick out my KARLSTAD, MALM and PAX as if they were walking through a showroom.

Painting is a great way to add some personality to your furniture by hiding the cheap, Swedish, utilitarian vibe. Ikea's material of choice is usually particleboard covered in a faux-wood veneer, so getting the paint to stick is your biggest challenge.

The required supplies are cheap and available at your local hardware store.

-Rollerbrush or paintbrush

-Paint Tray

-Plastic drop cloth (newspaper will work fine if you're painting outdoors)

-Water-based primer

-Indoor hi-gloss latex paint

1. Disassemble your piece as much as possible. I chose to makeover my little birch BILLY bookcase.

2. Hold on to all your hardware. Remove the nails securing the back panel, then slide it up out and out of the track along the frame's edges. Use a damp sponge to wipe the dust from all the surfaces you'll be painting.

3. Use your roller to coat each side of the shelves, frame, and back panel. Stand the frame upright and you'll be able to reach all sides. You'll only need to paint the front of the back panel, and the shelves can be turned over, and edges painted after one side of the shelf has dried for a few hours. Let the whole thing dry overnight.

4. Cover each side with a coat of latex paint. Let dry 4-6 hours before applying another coat. 4-6 more hours and another coat should be all you need (although you can skip that third coat if you're lazy like me).

5. I chose to paint the back panel a bright blue to stand out against the stark, glossy white of the shelf. The idea is to have the whole thing blend in with the white wall, with a peek of the blue back panel over my books giving an unexpected splash of color. If you really want to give your bookcase a unique look, use wallpaper to cover the back panel. Bright geometric patterns look best, but anything will work.

When you've given all pieces ample drying time, reassemble the unit. If yours is a little wobbly like the BILLY I've dragged to 5 apartments in the 7 years I've lived on my own, you can take this time to reinforce everything. Hammer in nails to keep particleboard pieces from chipping away and losing their grip on other parts.