Before & After: Updating Old IKEA Shelving

published Jan 11, 2013

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Sharon and her husband have had these beech shelves from IKEA for almost 20 years, and had no desire to replace these perfectly functional (if outdated) units while they still have life in them. Luckily Sharon had a vision of how she might update these cabinets — a vision she was able to implement for only $10, thanks to a well-stocked DIY supply cabinet.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

After a light sanding, Sharon primed the piece with an oil-base primer and then covered it with a latex paint. She let the paint cure for a full week before stenciling the modern pattern onto the doors. There was another week of curing before she coated with polycrylic, then one last week before the shelves were ready to use.

For detailed step-by-step instructions, and a lot of great pictures of the process, check out Sharon’s full post about the transformation on her blog, Lilikoi Joy.

(Images: Sharon/Lilikoi Joy)

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