I painted our IKEA bed frame and lived to blog about it.

Before Chris and I got married and moved to Hawaii, we bought all of our furniture (I mean ALL of our furniture) at IKEA. I loved it for a little while, and then grew tired of living in an IKEA showroom. Don't get me wrong- I'm a huge IKEA fan and still go ga-ga when I get a chance to stroll through. But I was dying to mix in some furniture with more character.

We're in a position now where we can start replacing some of our 'newlywed' furniture with 'grown-up' furniture, but for some pieces, it doesn't make sense to replace them. Our bed frame is in perfect condition and while I might not choose the style now, it still works really well for us. (Actually, it's not even functional, since we had to buy a separate stand alone split-boxspring when our original one wouldn't fit up our stairs. So, the IKEA bed frame is just fer looks.)

You may think I'm crazy for having the notion to give a fresh coat of color to our black HEMNES bed frame, but thankfully, Chris was all for it. Surprisingly, he gives the thumbs up on most of my silly ideas. He's pretty awesome like that.

Our bed frame is now a gorgeous shade of yellow-- Twenty Carat by Behr, if you're wondering-- and it took me a few weeks before I quit squealing every time I walked into our bedroom. The cheery color gives life to the room-- especially when we haven't had a chance to hang any art or buy fresh throw pillows yet. 











If you are looking for a detailed step-by-step on painting furniture, John and Sherry over at Young House Love are great experts at that. Get a full tutorial on general furniture painting here. I'll just share some tips below on specific things that helped me get a beautiful glossy and even finish on the bedframe. 

1. Gripper is heaven- sent. This is a big one, friends.  Glidden's Gripper is a heavy-duty latex primer that will make your paint stick to anything-- even slippery IKEA surfaces. This stuff is awesome. I did two coats, but wish I had done more-- just for the color coverage. It took me about six coats of yellow and if I had done one more of primer, I bet it would have covered the black better.  I didn't even sand before priming-- just brushed it on and let it dry. 

2. Thin, even coats are your friend. It's really easy to get overzealous and glob it on. Towards the end, (after 6 coats!) I was getting really anxious to finish up and there are a few drips here and there where I used way too much paint on my brush. It's tempting to think that more paint = less coats, but your paint job will just end up looking sloppy and may not dry properly if the paint is too thick. 

3. Go cheap-- foam brushes all the way! I have done a few projects in the past with fancy $12 brushes-- humungo mistake. You can spend $5 and get a whole bag of foam brushes in all different sizes. They work beautifully for getting a smooth coat and they rinse out so easily. I used a small 1" brush for the small edges and the rails on the headboard. For the rest of the bed, I used 3-4" brushes. 

4. Finish with a little gloss. After using an Interior Satin Enamel paint for my main coats, I put on two coats of Rust-oleum's Polyurethane in gloss finish to seal it and add a little shine. I'm so impressed with how it has held up to Silas banging his toys on the headboard and climbing all over it. I haven't seen a scratch yet. It also didn't dry sticky or tacky at all and the poly didn't affect the color. The finish is exactly what I hoped for!

5. Don't rush it. It's tempting to rush through it, but take your time between coats and before using your furniture. If the paint hasn't had time to cure and you set a glass down on it or it gets bumped, you may have a permanent dent. I spent about a week on the frame, spacing out the coats over a few days.



I'm thrilled with how the bed frame turned out and so happy I took the chance when it could have been a disaster. Beware dressers and chairs-- I'm coming for you next. 

Comments

  1. I love this! It really brightens up your room! xo

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  2. good job! I think it looks amazing!

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  3. Love the yellow! I have never repainted any of my wood furniture, but am tempted to update all of my bedroom set with new knobs I found on clearance at Anthropologie.

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    Replies
    1. I love Anthro knobs. I have a few dressers that need a few of those myself.

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  4. I have that exact bed, and I'm going to paint mine now! I've been dying to but was terrified. Thank you for the advice!!!!

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  5. This looks amazing! Yay for Gripper!

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  6. GORGEOUS!U have the patience of a saint... Looks very professional.. btw is it Silas proof? (teething proof that is, :-) )

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    1. He doesn't really chew on furniture right now. Mostly just his rubber duckies' heads. ;) I'm sure it would chip off he really started gnawing, but hopefully we won't find out!

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  7. Looks fabulous.
    I have some ideas for idea now. Had no idea about gripper...lovin' the tip!

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  8. Oh my golly goodness, your bed looks AMAZING. This marigold color is absolutely perfect! :) My bedroom (still living with the parents!) consisted of mostlky ikea furniture too until we finally got some decent furniture last year that I can take with me when I move out :) xo

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  9. you did a great job, love the pop of yellow!! I love Ikea too. We did the same thing when we first got married too. A lot of our stuff is from Ikea. I really like it too, but I know what you're saying about living in a showroom :)

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  10. It looks AMAZING. Makes me want to go buy an IKEA frame and do this!

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  11. It looks so wonderful!! Way to go, girl! :-)

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  12. I've never heard of Gripper before! That sounds amazing. I would love to repaint some furniture, but I hate the hassle and mess of sanding. Thanks so much for these tips! Your bed looks amazing!

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    1. Yes, check it out! I was pretty amazed by it. I bought a gallon, so I think I'll be putting it to good use on other pieces soon.

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  13. GORgeous!! I am so bad at these kind of projects because I always want to rush to the finished product when I get something in my brain to start. :/ YOU my friend, are amazing!!

    xo

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    1. Oh man, I do that too. I'm the opposite of a perfectionist, so sometimes I'm like, "I don't care what it looks like, let's just get it done!!!" So many projects around the house these day!

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  14. What a beautiful color! I love it, now my minding is whirring with possibilities for whenever we get around to getting an actual bed frame.

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  15. I LOVE this bright + cheerful color!! Brilliant tips!! xo

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  16. I wish I saw this post before my weekend trip to Ikea. I saw a "slippery" desk there in the AS IS department that I could have painted a vibrant teal!

    Thanks for sharing your experience!

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  17. What a wonderfull contents in your blog...Ohhh I really like it.Double TV Bed in Brown

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  18. Your bed is beautiful! I'm currently refinishing a bed for my son and need a good protective layer over it. Did you use a spray polyurethane or on you brush on? Thanks for your idea and help!

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  19. This is a beautiful project, and in such a happy color! I had never heard of the Gripper Stuff, but it seems like a great idea!

    Though I am honestly distracted by your beside table. Where did you find that? I love the little trim around the top, and the fact that I'm guessing it folds up.

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  20. This is gorgeous - and I love the color you chose. I am tempted to totally copy cat you! :D

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  21. Looking from the outside. Deep into the inside. At home.Hope you have a wonderful week. I will, it's the only time we get to have this week. So enjoy it..Find Pins about murphy bunk ikea on Pinterest.

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  22. Its looks amazing. I saw this you have painted it good. It looks like new. Thanks for sharing these tips regarding painting. This will help for those people who paint their furniture at home. Every body can paint the furniture like beds, tables,black chairs etc.

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  23. Nice work. It looks very clean and modern but could go with a lot of different themes.

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  24. Did you use a water or oil based polyurethane? Thanks!

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  26. Hi. Lovely job. I would like to paint my ikea bed too. Could you let me know how much paint did you use? And are six coats necessary for he colour to show well?

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  27. Okay, so we have the same bed and have since we got married. We've moved twice and it's gotten a little dinged up and could definitely use a makeover but, being from IKEA and therefore kind of cheap, out squeaks like crazy every time one of us so much as breathes. We're about ready to replace it, but after reading what you wrote I'm wondering how you're using the frame. Is it just a mattress on a box spring on the got floor? And after moving a couple times with it did you find it started to squeak?

    I'd love to just give it some paint and update it but daaang the squeaking makes me crazy.

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