We've always been a bit wary of repainting Ikea's laminate furniture mainly because we're just not sure what kind of prepping or materials would work best (latex paint and Krylon have both been recommended). But if you're looking for an easier fix and have a lot of time to spare, take a look at this modified Ikea Expedit bookcase that has been striped in a pattern of different colored tape.
[ Photo from NewYorkSocialDiary.com via MidCentury Jo's Flickr ]
Alexis' Modern Glass House 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Tom Black Espadrille
20 Scrumptious Brunch Recipes 
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (8)
Looks cute from what I can tell, but the position from which the photo was taken doesn't exactly provide the clearest view.
I would be concerned with the ageing of the tape? Wouldn't dust get accumulated around it, or wouldn't it end up by loking ugly over the years?
Agree with Daniel... Even the most adhesive of tape gets funky on the edges after awhile, no? And what if you ever wanted to change it? My favorite thing is certainly not scraping tape gunk from wood...
Contact paper might be good, but not for stripes, of course.
Not the best photo to showcase this...hard to see the details. Nice idea though.
My suggestion to someone who does want to paint an Ikea bookcase is to go poke around the as-is area and grab two or three random Expedit shelves. Test the primer/paint combos on them and see how they looks. Then you know what to do with the larger piece.
There are a lot of things you can do that look great in a picture but not so great in reality.
This seems like one of those.
The coffee table is very interesting. I'd like to know more about it ...