A Two-Toned IKEA Brimnes Cabinet Makeover

DIY
Written By Maria Lorena

**This post may contain affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.**

A few days ago I got the urge to give my IKEA Brimnes cabinet a little makeover. This cabinet sits in our dining room and houses my mom’s wedding china that she recently passed down to me. The china is beautiful and I wanted to display in a way that I could see it everyday.

This was such a simple change, but WOW did it make a difference! I wanted to write this post to help encourage you to paint that laminate furniture. All you need is the right kind of primer in order to help the paint stick to the piece.

Can you believe the difference?!

Before

After

So much better right?! Best of all, it was super easy!

Materials

  1. Bulls Eye 1 2 3 Primer

  2. Paint - in the color of your choosing. I used the same paint I used on my walls because that’s what I already had on hand.

  3. Foam Rollers

  4. Angled brush

Steps:

1. Remove doors and empty the cabinet. It will allow you to clean the surfaces.

2. Clean surface thoroughly with your preferred cleaner. This is critical to getting a smooth, professional finish. Allow surface to fully dry before painting.

3. Now you are ready to apply the primer. I used a foam roller on the large surfaces and on the corners I used the angled paint bush to make sure I spread the paint evenly. The trick to applying the primer is to let it fully dry in between coats and applying light amounts. You don’t want to cake this stuff on, it will only prevent you from getting a smooth finish. I should have done a third coat of primer, but I was impatient and wanted to get started with my paint. All that caused was for me to use less primer and more of my paint. I could have saved myself a ton of paint if I would have just applied another coat of primer. Lesson learned!

First coat of primer

First coat of primer

Second coat of primer

4. Once you have finished priming and allowed the primer to fully dry (I let mine sit for an hour before I started painting). I used a new foam roller and paint brush for my paint and ended up having to give the cabinet 3-4 coats of paint to get an even finish.

I let my paint dry for a full 24 hours before I installed the doors and the glass shelves back on.

I’m so happy I made this update, the cabinet looks like new and so much more expensive than what it really is.

Maria Lorena

Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with interior decorating and using my hands to create beautiful things to incorporate in my space.

I believe that making your house a home shouldn’t be a difficult or expensive but exciting and most of all fun! It isn’t about the size or location of your home but about being able to create a space that is yours to fit your budget without sacrificing style.

Having recently purchased our first home, we’ve been busy creating a space that is ours as we blend my and my husband’s styles together. Explore the site to see what we have accomplished!

http://www.housebythepreserve.com
Previous

A Simple Solution to Unfinished Backsplash when Removing a Microwave Range Hood

Next

Budget Kitchen Makeover - The Plan and Inspiration