Hello Pastels and Macarons readers! I am Anika and I blog at Little Free Monkeys where I share fun DIY’s to create a home for my little kids (or monkeys as I call them lovingly). I am so excited to be sharing this fun Ikea Tarva dresser makeover I did for my kids room on Maria’s amazing blog today! I am a big fan of Maria’s creative inspirations and I am honored to be able to share my project with you all.
My kids share a room and we are always looking for gender neutral decor. However, it is for the kids after all and I love to have a lot of fun and whimsy in there as well. Nothing is better than lots of fun colors! I built them a bedside table with book storage a little while ago which has been such a life saver to keep all the bedtime books organized. Next, we needed a dresser. I wanted clean simple lines and a little splash of color. I have built my fair share of furniture like this X-base nightstand but I opted for an Ikea Tarva dresser because, lets face it – why build a whole dresser when you can buy this simple dresser from Ikea. To go with the fun, whimsical and colorful theme we wanted for the room, I came up with this simple design that adds a ton of fun to the room!
This started off as the plain wood Ikea Tarva dresser from the my local Ikea store…
Just a little bit of paint turned it into a fun and whimsical dresser perfect for the kids room.
Materials needed for the Ikea Tarva Dresser makeover
- 180 Grit Sand paper (and optional orbital sander)
- Shellac based primer
- White oil based primer
- Painter’s tape
- Various colors of latex paints
- Disposable brushes for the shellac and oil based primers
- Good quality bristle brush for the paints.
- Yard stick and pencil
How to create your own Ikea Tarva dresser makeover
- Unfinished wood from Ikea is not perfectly smooth. A quick sand with the 180 grit sandpaper was all that was needed to get a smooth finish.
- In order to seal all the knots and keep them from bleeding through the paint, I gave applied a shellac based primer locally to the knots.
- Next I added 2 coats of an oil based primer followed by 3 coats of white paint.
- After waiting impatiently for the paint to dry, I put the drawers back on the dresser and marked lines where I wanted them using a yard stick. To add to the whimsy, I also wrapped a few lines on to the top as well. Then I took the drawers apart and taped off all the lines that I had marked.
- I painted all the colors I wanted along the taped lines. On some of the overlapping lines, I had to paint one color, wait for it to dry and then tape the other line and paint.
- For the knobs, I used the knobs that came with the dresser and painted them white.
Thats it! A super fun and colorful Ikea Tarva Dresser makeover!
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please do pin it and share with your friends! It makes me smile 🙂
Want to see MORE Ikea Tarva Hacks? Check out these 15 Hacks using the Ikea Tarva!
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This is brilliant! What a fun way to upgrade a basic dresser!
Thanks Jen. Anika did an amazing job didn’t she?!
I love this. Such a great way to add a pop of color.
Love this! So easy to coordinate to any theme or colour scheme. Thanks for sharing!
xx
Neelam
http://patternsandprosecco.com/
Oh, I love the update to this IKEA dresser – perfect for a kids room!
Maria! it look so pretty! I an in total love, you continue to amaze me with all your creative ideas.Hugs
Maria
This is ridiculously awesome! Love, love, loving the dresser makeover, too!
What a great project, the dresser looks amazing. The power of paint strikes again!
Definitely does Michelle! Love painting pretty much everything! haha. Anika did a fabulous job indeed. Sp playful 🙂