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I Can’t Stop Thinking About This IKEA HEMNES Dresser’s Hot Pink Makeover (It’s So Bold!)

Cullen Ormond
Cullen OrmondAssociate Home Editor at Apartment Therapy
I write house tours for Apartment Therapy, but my work can also be found on The Kitchn and Cubby. My favorite part of my job is interviewing people and seeing how their unique personalities are reflected in their spaces — whether it's a full home tour, a kids' room, or a super-cool kitchen. I started working in the home field as an editorial fellow at Dwell in 2019 and I've been hooked ever since. I’m passionate about sharing people’s beautiful and unique homes with the world.
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published Aug 4, 2024
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pink bedroom with pink bed, gallery wall, and pink dresser
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Credit: Rian Westdorp

I’m a big fan of color drenching (aka monochromatic rooms). I’ve risked getting my security deposit back in my rental apartment because I wanted to paint my bedroom blue to complement my blue comforter and match my blue light bulb. (I’m still searching for blue curtains and a blue rug.) 

So, when I came across Rian’s hot pink apartment in The Netherlands, I immediately swooned. Painting a room in all one color (just check out these pink bedrooms) is such a bold choice, but an entire home? Now, that’s commitment. But what really impressed me was how Rian took it a step further: painting some of her furniture to match the vibe, too. 

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Credit: Rian Westdorp

Rian’s bedroom is painted with Histor’s “Rambunctious Rhubarb,” which is a softer pink shade. To blend colors from the rest of the home and match the all-pink aesthetic, she painted her IKEA HEMNES dresser in a bold shade of the same color. IKEA hacks have always been popular (here are 80 different ways to make their products unique!), and the HEMNES dresser is no exception. 

But a couple of things strike me about Rian’s IKEA hack. For starters, it’s her proudest DIY, and when I hear about someone else’s pride, the empath in me can’t help but share that. Secondly, it’s not just the color that she tweaked. 

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Credit: Rian Westdorp

“I hacked an IKEA HEMNES chest of drawers! I got the idea from Pinterest to make it look more chic,” Rian said at the time of the tour. “I used slats to put on the drawers to give them texture, painted everything pink, and added new brass handles.”

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Credit: Rian Westdorp

At the time, she was tackling other projects in the home (believe it or not, she wasn’t a skilled painter when she started this home renovation!), but she thinks it took around four days to complete. “The slats were small in width, and I had to saw them into the right length; I must’ve sawn 120 if not more of them,” she admitted. 

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Credit: Rian Westdorp

Even though it took a lot of hard work, it most certainly paid off. Not only is it a personalized take on a quality piece of furniture, but it’s a bold statement in an already bold home. It caught my eye the second I saw it, and I think that’s an impressive feat, given how colorful and cheerful everything in the apartment is. Just see for yourself in the full home tour. 

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DIY
Furniture